The year 2020 has been a wild ride for digital media and ad tech.
At the onset, it looked as if it would be one of the best years for nearly everyone on both the buy side and sell side. Then the pandemic hit bringing with it the great ad spend slowdown of 2020 wreaking havoc on revenues across the ecosystem. And oh, let’s not forget all those brand safety issues.
It was a year of great uncertainty, overshadowed by the pandemic, privacy regulations like CCPA and CPRA and threatening privacy updates being made in Google Chrome and Apple iOS. And all the while, everyone was prepping (or confused about how to prep) for the third-party cookie’s demise. And we at AdMonsters were there to cover it all.
What have we learned? That with tighter collaboration and a dose of cautious optimism, the industry is persevering. As the path toward recovery begins, let’s take a look back at some of the hot topics we covered that were top of mind for the industry.
How Is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Impacting Digital Media and Advertising?
In AdMonsters new weekly newsletter, The Wrapper, we summarize exciting news items that catch our eyes and link them to wider developments in digital media and advertising. As the global Coronavirus pandemic hit, we’ve been covering news about how it’s impacting digital media and advertising, which includes ad ops, rev ops and ad tech. And guess what, it’s not all doom and gloom. Read more.
Reading the Programmatic Tea Leaves From Google’s Earning Report
AdMonsters Editorial Director Gavin Dunaway doesn’t always pay attention to Google earnings reports, but there were some surprising inclusions—and absences—in the fiscal year 2019 that got the ad tech speculation machine humming at full speed. There may be big changes for ad tech on the horizon. Read more.
Esports: Changing the Name of the Advertising Game
With millions of people worldwide now homebound from Coronavirus and screentime increasing exponentially, for those publishers and advertisers that are willing to gamble on an industry that’s comparatively wet behind the ears, odds are esports is a winning hand. In fact, Twitch reports an increased usage of both gaming and non-gaming content in recent weeks. “We’re working with organizations across music, sports, esports, and more as people look for ways to connect with their fans and communities during this time,” says a spokesperson from the live streaming platform. Read more.
How Will an Entire Industry Unlearn Ad Tech 1.0?
“Ad Tech 2.0 won’t offer marketers nearly as much access to deterministic, user-level, and cross-site/cross-app data as they’ve grown accustomed to. In many cases, user-level data will dry up completely,” says Myles Younger, Senior Director of Marketing, MightyHive. “No matter what “Ad Tech 2.0” ends up looking like, hundreds of thousands of digital advertising professionals around the world are going to have to relearn how to advertise under a very different set of assumptions and constraints.” Read more.
What Can Blockchain Really Do for Advertising in 2020?
Back in 2018, there was a lot of hype about blockchain saving advertising and Senior Editor Lynne d Johnson was riding the wave—high. Now that the hype is over, there are actually quite a few projects proving every day that blockchain and related technologies like cryptography and permissioned ledgers can actually bring more efficiency and transparency to the advertising ecosystem. We caught up with seven blockchain for advertising advocates to get a grip on reality in 2020. Read more.
AdMonsters Playbook: The Identity Connection
As the sunset of the third-party tracking cookie approaches, one of the most promising options—enabling publishers to monetize their audiences and advertisers to address audiences with confidence—is identity or people-based marketing. This playbook, created in partnership with Lotame, dives into identity as a concept and explains the wealth of advantages an identity-based individual ID offers both brands and publishers. Read more.
Five Questions for Evaluating Cookieless Publisher Solutions
While the needs of each publisher may be slightly different, generally there are five questions every publisher should ask when evaluating whether or not a cookieless solution is right for them. Any solution that satisfies these criteria will likely enable publishers to sustain and grow ad revenue, while simultaneously establishing and building trust with individuals and key partners. Read more.
Reach & Message Frequency in CTV and OTT: “I Keep Seeing the Same Ads Over and Over Again.”
Part I of our overview of Reach and Frequency in the emerging Digital T/V landscape will cover the basics of the media planning and buying formula that has served as a key analytical tool even before television converged with digital video to become T/V (Television/Video). We’ll also look closely at some of the advertising challenges affecting both consumers and advertisers. Read more.
Essentials for Working From Home in the Time of Coronavirus
So, you’re working from home now? (Go team #WFH!) For some of us, this is simply business-as-usual, but for many more, it’s likely your first time in this situation. With this in mind, AdMonsters brought together a group of ad operations professionals to discuss the unexpected move to working from home during Coronavirus. Plus we provide 13 essential tips to making your WFH transition as smooth as possible. Read more.
SSP and DSP Value Is in the Eye of the Publisher
As the main feeder exchanges settles at three—GAM, Amazon’s Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM), and Prebid—there’s a great deal more murkiness in the middle; even more cross-pollination as SSPs pine for advertiser spend and DSPs tighten their bonds with premium publishers. The question of “how many intermediaries are actually necessary?” is ringing louder than ever, and to some extent SSPs and DSPs are trying to usurp each other’s positions as there may not be room for both parties. The thing is, they should both squarely have their sights on pleasing publishers. Read more.
AdMonsters Playbook: Mastering the Mobile Web
Mobile monetization strategies are about the bigger picture—a coordinated effort around several distinct digital publishing areas that ensure both better user experience and optimal monetization. Better site performance means increased pageviews, equaling more impressions and ultimately higher revenue. This playbook, created in partnership with Marfeel, will dive into the nuances of each of the areas mentioned above, illustrate how they are interconnected, and assist you in making your mobile web performance the best it can be. Read more.