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. Check out our infographic for the hottest 2018 ad tech trends. We have a French version, too!
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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"!