• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 9, 2018

Advertising industry experts predicted that investments in digital media would rise considerably in 2018, as advertisers pulled budgets away from radio, TV, and print in May and June, writes Erica Sweeney. But this trend may be even greater than originally projected, says the report. Ezoic's popular Ad Revenue Index highlights a record-breaking upward trend in digital ad rates since the start of the year.

Ezoic's head of marketing, Tyler Bishop, says “We are seeing a really opportune time for digital publishers… Ad rates are really in a prime spot for those that know how to capitalize on the increased competition in the marketplace. We see even more information internally that points to 2018 being a record-breaking time for digital advertising…"

As marketers continue to shift their investments from traditional formats like TV and print to digital, there's more competition for digital ad inventory, which drives up prices. Ezoic's index findings found programmatic ad prices had been steadily rising over the past 12 months across desktop, mobile, apps and video. The increases varied from less than 1% to more than 10%.

• Digital ad rates have seen record-breaking trends in 2018, as investments in digital media continue to increase, according to findings from the Ezoic Ad Revenue Index 
• This year, the index set record highs in May and then reached its highest index at 100 on June 29. In previous years, the index only saw record highs on Black Friday in late November, when ad rates are typically at their peak for a given year
• The digital ad rates' upward trend is expected to continue in 2018. However, Ezoic's head of marketing Tyler Bishop predicts a dip in Q3, as it began on a Sunday and includes the Fourth of July holiday early on, says a statement in the release

Rising digital ad rates could be good news for publishers because they potentially signal marketers spending more to ensure transparency, and that their ad dollars are going toward high-quality, viewable placements. Digital transparency has been a top concern for marketers as they increase their digital ad spend. 

Facebook and Google have a combined share of digital ad spend projected to reach 56.8% in 2018, according to separate eMarketer research. But the share is also expected to slip as they face fresh competition from Amazon and smaller social media players like Snapchat. AT&T's recent acquisition of the digital advertising platform, AppNexus, could help the telecom become a major player in the space. 

Facebook's average price per ad jumped 43% during Q4 2017, and analysts were predicting bigger increases after the platform introduced News Feed changes earlier this year, that prioritized user posts over organic posts from publishers and brands. 

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