• by Tyler Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_tyler, August 14, 2013

U.S. media spend on real-time bidding (RTB) dropped 13% in July, and total impressions saw a 7% decrease, according to new data from Rubicon Project's real-time marketplace app. July marked the fourth straight month that impressions decreased. Additionally, July had the largest month-over-month decrease in spend since December 2012 - January 2013. On the global scale, spend decreased 12% and impressions were also down 7%.

Looking at the bar graph depicting U.S. spend (see below), the totals are about the same now as they were back in November 2012. After major fluctuations around the holiday season, RTB spend has remained relatively stagnant through the spring and summer months.

The top five spenders were the same in July as they were in June, but the order changed. Technology & Computing held the top spot (a position it has held every month since March 2012), followed by Personal Finance, Automotive, Shopping, and Travel. No advertising category saw any significant spend rank changes.

Real Estate spent 46% more in July compared to June, and remained in the top two for total spend. Law, Government & Politics had the biggest drop in spend, dishing out 69% less in July. Shopping (down 38%) and Religion & Spirituality (down 35%) also had significant spend cutbacks. 

In terms of eCPM, the Careers category had the largest boost. A 66% jump in eCPM only bumped the category from 20th to 16th in overall rankings, but no other category had more than a 12% eCPM boost in July. Style & Fashion (the category that had the 12% eCPM increase) also had a good month. After ranking 10th in eCPM in both May and June, the Style & Fashion category jumped to third in July, its highest 12-month ranking.

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