PubMatic Report Finds Header Bidding And PMPs Drive Global Mobile Revenue Growth

Ad-tech firm PubMatic on Tuesday said it has seen strong growth in mobile header bidding, according to the findings of the company’s Q3 2016 Quarterly Mobile Index (QMI) report. In fact, the mobile web accounted for nearly one in five impressions transacted via header bidding on the platform, according to the findings of the report.

The data from PubMatic’s QMI report also identified the following:

--Mobile private marketplace (PMP) inventory value exceeded the mobile average by nearly 200% globally, reflecting a shift of brand dollars to programmatic. PubMatic noted that in APAC the shift outpaced the average by nearly 800%.

--Retail publishers saw a 230% increase in mobile Web eCPM value during the back-to-school season. The company found this notable in light of the amount of time consumers spend on mobile apps.

--While mobile app inventory increased on a global basis in Q3, mobile Web monetization offers the best opportunities for publishers.

--Publishers are benefiting from header bidding strategies across screens.The traditional waterfall is being eclipsed by header bidding for programmatic monetization, and publishers on a global basis are pursuing the tactic as a way to maximize yield from mobile impressions, as well as desktop. When publishers make their mobile impressions accessible via header bidding, advertisers have greater visibility into the bid landscape and more opportunities to win an auction for a highly-coveted mobile consumer.

--As consumer buying shifts to mobile-first behavior, advertiser demand for mobile retail inventory during busy shopping periods is increasing. As the holiday shopping season approaches, retail publishers should ensure that they’re making their higher-quality mobile inventory accessible to  advertisers increasing their mobile budgets to target the mobile-first consumer.

--While mobile advertisers and publishers need to balance their strategies between mobile apps and mobile Web, PubMatic maintains that the mobile Web has an edge where monetization is concerned.

Commenting on the findings, PubMatic CMO, Jeff Hirsch told Real-Time Daily via email, that publishers are adopting mobile strategies for programmatic buying and selling at a faster pace than display.

“We’ve all heard about brand advertiser reluctance to commit to programmatic advertising, based largely on concerns over inventory quality, transparency, etc. Private marketplaces, specifically in mobile, address advertisers’ concerns by offering the opportunity for ads to be served in environments that provide transparency, help limit fraud, and promote accountability,” Hirsch said.

The company’s data showed that the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s publisher categories that enjoyed the most growth in mobile web eCPM for Q3 were entertainment & leisure, real estate, sports & automotive. Hirsch said this is evidence that brand advertisers are becoming more comfortable with header bidding and PMP as programmatic tools.

With respect to the adoption of header bidding strategies: While mobile Web header bidding impressions were just emerging a year ago, as of Q3 2016, the mobile Web accounted for nearly one in five impressions transacted via header bidding on PubMatic’s platform. “We found that mobile web impressions sold through header bidding received a nearly 50% higher eCPM than the average for mobile Web,”  Hirsch said.

PubMatic expects more growth from mobile header bidding as new features for mobile app and video inventory are released in the coming quarters, as well as buy-side advancements enabling accelerated PMP transactions through header bidding. “Ultimately, we expect to see header bidding in mobile become a preferred monetization tactic for mobile inventory,” Hirsch said. “We expect header bidding to move beyond the header via mobile app implementation.”

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