PubMatic’s Q3 2016 Quarterly Mobile Index report reveals that the company saw rapid growth in header bidding for mobile web as well as a shift of mobile brand dollars to programmatic
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – PubMatic, the automation solutions company for an open digital media industry, announced that its Q3 2016 Quarterly Mobile Index (QMI) report identified major trends in programmatic mobile advertising, with highlights around header bidding and private marketplaces (PMPs). The company found that global adoption of header bidding for mobile web increased significantly across its revenue management platform, SEVEN, over the past twelve months.
“As brand advertisers become more comfortable transacting programmatically, dollars continue to shift to PMPs where they can access high-quality mobile web inventory in transparent, brand-safe environments”
“As programmatic gains popularity among brand advertisers and consumer attention continues to shift towards mobile web, premium publishers will see increased value from their mobile properties,” said Rajeev Goel, Co-Founder & CEO at PubMatic. “This is especially true when publishers also adopt new monetization strategies such as header bidding for these impressions.”
While the US accounted for 100 percent of mobile web header bidding impressions flowing through the PubMatic platform one year ago, Q3 2016 marks a significant shift in mobile web header bidding, with the US accounting for 82 percent of mobile web header bidding impressions, EMEA representing 17 percent of these impressions, and APAC beginning to see header bidding break through with a 1 percent share.
PubMatic’s Q3 2016 QMI report demonstrates that publishers around the globe are adopting header bidding strategies for their mobile web inventory as the result of the significant lift generated when all sales channels are able to compete at the impression level. In fact, PubMatic found that mobile web impressions sold through header bidding received nearly 50 percent higher eCPMs than the average for mobile web. The company anticipates further growth in mobile header bidding as new innovations for mobile app and video inventory are released to market in the coming quarters, as well as buy-side advancements enabling PMP transactions through header bidding.
Publishers are not the only ones to benefit by adopting header bidding for their mobile web inventory, however. Demand Side Partners (DSPs), for example, are provided with increased opportunities to bid on the high-value audiences they are targeting, ultimately resulting in improved advertiser campaign performance.
Additionally, PubMatic’s new report revealed that brand dollars are continuing to shift to PMPs, resulting in significant mobile web monetization opportunities for publishers. In Q3 2016, eCPMs for mobile impressions sold via PMPs were 189 percent higher than the overall average for mobile eCPMs. This trend in significantly higher average mobile web PMP eCPMs was present across all regions, but most prominent in APAC, where mobile web PMP eCPMs exceeded the average for mobile by more than 800 percent.
“As brand advertisers become more comfortable transacting programmatically, dollars continue to shift to PMPs where they can access high-quality mobile web inventory in transparent, brand-safe environments,” Goel added.
Globally, PMP eCPMs are not only higher than average across the board, they also continue to rise according to data from the Q3 2016 QMI. In fact, mobile PMP prices rose over 30 percent year-over-year in Q3 2016. Data from the report also found that Entertainment & Leisure publishers saw the greatest lift, with a nearly 300 percent increase over Q3 2015, while publishers in other lifestyle categories including Real Estate, Sports and Automotive all saw triple-digit increases in mobile web eCPMs as well.
The quarterly report, which analyzes billions of daily impressions from Q3 2016 operational data, found four key trends in global mobile advertising for the quarter:
1. Mobile web private marketplace inventory value exceeded the mobile average by nearly 200 percent, reflecting the continued shift of brand dollars to programmatic;
2. As header bidding proliferates in programmatic, mobile is seeing tremendous growth in adoption;
3. Retail publishers saw a more than 230 percent increase in mobile web inventory value during the back-to-school season;
4. Although mobile app inventory share increased worldwide, mobile web monetization continues to provide the largest monetization opportunities for premium publishers.
To view the full Q3 2016 Quarterly Mobile Index (QMI) report, click HERE.
QMI Methodology
PubMatic’s yield and data analytics team analyzes billions of impressions on a daily basis, utilizing the company’s best-in-class analytics capabilities. The Q3 2016 QMI incorporates impression, revenue and eCPM data from these daily reports to provide a high-level glimpse of key trends within the mobile advertising industry. Data is from calendar year Q3 2016, i.e. July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2016. “Monetized impressions” are defined as impressions that were sold through the PubMatic platform, and “eCPM” is defined as the cost per one thousand monetized impressions.
About PubMatic
PubMatic is the automation solutions company for an open digital media industry. Featuring the leading omni-channel revenue automation platform for publishers and enterprise-grade programmatic tools for media buyers, PubMatic’s publisher-first approach enables advertisers to access premium inventory at scale. Processing nearly one trillion ad impressions per month, PubMatic has created a global infrastructure to activate meaningful connections between consumers, content and brands. Since 2006, PubMatic’s focus on data and technology innovation has fueled the growth of the programmatic industry as a whole. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, PubMatic operates 11 offices and six data centers worldwide.
PubMatic is a registered trademark of PubMatic, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This press release and the QMI may contain inaccuracies, and the QMI is based on operational data that has not been audited or reviewed by a third party. They may contain forward-looking statements about future results and other events that have not yet occurred. Actual results may differ materially from PubMatic’s expressed expectations due to future risks and uncertainties. PubMatic does not intend to update the information contained in this press release or the QMI if any information or statement contained herein or therein is or later turns out to be inaccurate.
