• by Anthony Iacovone , March 25, 2013

Change for the sake of change is never a good a thing, but change for the sake of progress is a necessity. Mobile RTB is not just change for the sake of change – it offers immediate value to advertisers and consumers. As with many new technologies, there is fear of the unknown, and incumbent industry players will inevitably paint a bleak picture of a future without their (antiquated) technology.  

Uncertainty, lack of understanding and complacency can cost billions, as has happened before. Traditional broadcast radio companies shout about not losing any listeners, while new car manufacturers build Web-enabled vehicles and Pandora has become the most listened-to “radio station” in Los Angeles. And not too long ago, IBM made the mistake of thinking hardware would always be “king” while letting two guys named Paul Allen and Bill Gates own the operating system. The inability to think ahead and to see change as an opportunity and not a threat can stultify the potential of any organization.

For digital advertisers, while it may be a bit dramatic to suggest you might go out of business by missing the shift to intelligent RTB -- the second generation of mobile media networks -- I am certain you are wasting money and time in mobile (and for that matter digital) advertising. 

Perhaps you have heard criticisms from first-generation ad network executives and their VC counter-parts, such as: “RTB is all long tail, no quality publishers and mostly non-viewable impressions.”  To the contrary!  A solid mobile RTB solution is more premium, more controllable and as brand-safe as any other network solution.

Moreover, mobile RTB it is more efficient and accurate in meeting an advertiser’s goal – finding the right audience, getting the audience to engage and returning a meaningful ROI.

The shift to RTB and intelligent advertising is not a risk for advertisers. To the contrary, the risk to advertisers and the mobile media industry generally is the millions of dollars wasted guessing about audiences and blindly buying from first-generation networks.

To understand mobile RTB vs. historic mobile advertising, look at it this way…

A)     You can throw 1,000 darts that cost you $10 that were invented 20 years ago and hit the bull’s-eye five times; or

B)      You can change your darts to the latest laser-guided model, which costs $5 and hits the bulls-eye 15 times.

By the way, the next time you use your new darts, your chances are likely to hit your target 16, 17 or more times, as they are capable of learning to create increased accuracy and precision each time they are thrown.

Which darts would you chose?