What’s in and what’s out in ad tech? Header bidding, walled gardens, quality, server-to-server, GDPR, user experience, first party data, transparency, privacy…where do they all fit in? Check out our infographic for the hottest 2018 ad tech trends. We have French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese versions, too!
8 Digital Advertising Trends for 2018
IN: Server-to-server SSP Integrations
OUT: Header bidding
Header bidding started as a hack and is still a work-around. Server-to-server SSP integrations help increase yield like header bidding, plus it’s easy to add a new SSP, doesn’t require ad server setup, and reduces latency.
IN: User privacy
OUT: No user control of private data
The threat of fines makes businesses listen; as of May 28, 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), will go into effect, fining all non-compliant companies 4% of global turnover. Vive l’user!
IN: The ecosystem uniting in the fight against fraud
OUT: Arbitrage that adds no value
Anti-fraud initiatives ads.txt and ads.cert show the IAB is making an effort to clean up the mess programmatic created. According to Pixalate, 71,288 publishers had implemented ads.txt as of mid-December. It’s a decent start.
IN: Investing in first party data to compete with walled gardens
OUT: Data leakage
The day has come! Revenue growth for companies other than Google and Facebook will rise from +2.8% in 2017 to +4.8% in 2018 and +6.5% in 2019. Alliances and innovation articulated around first party data will lead the fight against against the duopoly.
IN: Better ad experiences for users
OUT: Oversaturation of ads
Programmatic gave us cheap inventory at scale, but it was a little too “quick and dirty”. It’s time for a shower.
fewer ads = scarcity = better UX = better performance = better value for advertisers
IN: Private transactions
OUT: Open Auction domination
It’s time to ride the private transaction train. Over the next year, programmatic direct will grow 26%, and PMP transactions will shoot up by 28.9%, while Open Auctions will grow just 7.9%.
IN: First party data
OUT: Ignoring data that’s YOURS
Ignoring your valuable user data is like walking past a $100 bill on the sidewalk. eMarketer reported that 58% of leading North American companies have gotten the memo and are investing strongly in their 1st party data. Time to play follow the leader, folks.
IN: Transparency
OUT: Black boxes and hidden fees
This one is a no-brainer. If transparency reduces inefficiency, then advertisers get better value and publishers get paid more. We could say “waste is out and value is in”!
