• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, December 18, 2013

It’s no secret that marketers spend more in the months leading up to the holidays when it comes to targeting gift givers, but it's still worth noting that holiday shoppers were the most expensive audience to reach on digital ad exchanges in November for the second straight year.

The data comes from ChoiceStream’s monthly Audience Cost Calendar, which ranks the relative cost to buy impressions on programmatic exchanges between segments.

In September, the Holidays & Events: Giving Gifts segment was ranked 304th in terms of relative cost. In October, it rose 119 spots on the index to 185th overall. It jumped another 184 spots in November to lay claim to “most expensive segment.”

Bill Guild, VP of marketing at ChoiceStream, called the ranking “no surprise,” and said in a statement that it’s “always the one to watch at this time of year.”

Interestingly, Automotive: RV’s was the fourth most expensive audience segment last month. Guild told RTM Daily this is of note because RV’s have been the exception to a “very volatile” automotive segment when it comes to cost of targeting -- the segment has ranked high throughout the year.

“Apparently, RV ownership correlates to an audience that is in demand for a side range of products and services,” Guild reasoned.

The full calendar can be seen here.