Getting Started With Programmatic Mobile Advertising

Reading time: 6 minutes

One of the best methods for delivering programmatic ads is mobile programmatic advertising. This is largely due to the fact that at least 52% of all user traffic is generated from mobile devices. 

Additionally, roughly 91% of mobile users make a positive purchase decision based on viewing a relevant ad.

We could list the statistics regarding mobile advertising all day, but the point is that programmatic mobile has become the epicenter of all things digital marketing — and it’s only growing in popularity which means these statistics are only going to increase in its favor. That’s why we’re going to talk all about how you can get started with programmatic mobile advertising in this article. 

Keep reading to learn more.

What Exactly Is Programmatic Mobile Advertising?

Programmatic advertising, generally speaking, is the algorithm-based technology that allows for automated ad buying and displaying. Before programmatic advertising exploded onto the scene, advertisers had to conduct manual searches for available ad spaces from publishers and negotiate payment terms along with durations for ad campaigns.  

Now, programmatic ad tech has simplified and optimized the entire process by using real-time bidding (RTB) to automatically match advertisers and publishers based on a laundry list of criteria.

Mobile programmatic, on the other hand, is characterized by this same automated process — only for displaying ads specifically formatted for mobile device screens. Mobile ads can include banner ads, video ads, native ads, and more, as long as it’s optimized for mobile displays.

How Does Mobile Programmatic Advertising Work?

Put simply, mobile programmatic advertising facilitates the interaction between two specific parties: The demand-side platforms (DSPs) and the supply-side platforms (SSPs).

First, the DSP will search for a spot to display relevant ads for the advertisers. While this is happening, the SSP will provide that space — on a website or app. However, rather than the two sides coming together to negotiate manually, a programmatic ad platform such as an ad network or ad exchange will work to automate the negotiation process. 

These are all “players” within the programmatic ad buying ecosystem, also referred to as demand partners. You can learn a little more about demand partners here.

How Big Is the Programmatic Ad Market?

It may sound like there’s a whole lot of exterior involvement in programmatic ad buying, but the beauty of it all is that all the demand partners work off the same intelligent automated technology. In other words, these platforms operate within milliseconds and in real-time. As you can imagine, this has made life much easier for all the players involved in the ad tech world.

You can likely also imagine how big of a market it has created.

For a better perspective, in March 2021, a Statista report revealed that in 2020 alone, the share of spending geared towards programmatic mobile advertising reached upwards of 83.3%. To make things clearer, this quantity is represented in billions of US dollars — and it’s continuously growing. 

It’s growing so much that forecast excerpts are expecting 95 billion US dollars in investments towards all types of programmatic ads by the end of 2022.

So, we guess you can say the programmatic market is pretty big. In fact, it’s like a black hole that’s only getting bigger. 

What Are the Benefits of Mobile Programmatic Advertising?

Here’s a breakdown of all the benefits that come with mobile programmatic advertising, which contributed to the ad investments mentioned above:

More Precision Targeting

One of the greatest benefits of mobile programmatic digital advertising is the capabilities for more precision targeting. Precision targeting is what allows advertisers to reach their audience directly and in real-time, which also means they can determine the correct audience using specific metrics and demographics.

Higher User Acquisitions

There are over six billion people using mobile devices worldwide. Most of these users spend upwards of two and a half hours on their mobile devices each day and roughly seven out of 10 users reach for their mobile device to conduct some sort of product research. 

What’s more, there are well over three million apps available for download, which only increases user activity on mobile devices.

As a result, programmatic mobile advertising is the perfect channel for brands to expand their reach and increase their user acquisition rates.

More Relevant Data and Insights

With mobile programmatic advertising, marketers can get direct access to relevant customer data and insights from both apps and mobile web browsers. This is exactly what will allow you to improve your audience targeting and choose the best ad creative and ad formats that garner higher conversions.

Greater Transparency

Programmatic advertising, in general, provides a mechanism that makes it easier for advertisers to track their ad spend, monitor campaign performance, and manage their overall ad budget and other decisions. Publishers are also able to view which inventories are generating the highest rates from advertisers.

Improved Revenue

Thanks to precision targeting, transparency, data reporting, and more, mobile publishers are able to gain valuable insights into the type of revenue they can generate from advertisers as well as how to optimize it fully.

Mobile Programmatic Buying Deal Options

With mobile programmatic, there are plenty of buying deals that advertisers can choose from. 

This includes the following:

Open Marketplaces (OMPs)

OMPs are auctions that are essentially open to everyone interested in buying ad impressions. OMP auctions allow DSPs to compete transparently, as long as everyone involved has the same interests and priorities. 

From there, the highest bid wins.

Private Marketplace Programmatic (PMP) Deals

PMP deals are closed auctions, allowing for only participants that have been given a deal ID. This ensures that the media buyers and sellers correspond to the ad request at the highest possible level. 

Unlike open auctions, PMPs allow advertisers and publishers to directly collaborate and build relationships. This gives both parties more confidence in the deal as publishers retain more control over their inventories while advertisers reap the benefits of brand safety since they get to decide when, where, and how their ad units are displayed.

Of course, the inventory in a PMP is more exclusive, which means the prices will be higher.

Programmatic Guaranteed Deals Aka: Programmatic Direct  

Programmatic direct deals consist of straightforward cooperation between the advertiser and the publisher. These deals are referred to as guaranteed because the volumes of inventory and prices are fixed — and only offered to one party (versus whoever has a deal ID or whoever is participating in the open markets).

Getting Started With Programmatic Mobile

As an advertiser looking to get started with programmatic mobile advertising, there are a handful of steps you’ll need to take to ensure you set yourself up for success.

Here’s an overview:

  • Find a DSP. The first thing you’ll need to do is zero in on a DSP made for mobile media buying. This means researching the various DSPs out there and getting to know about their architecture and whether or not it’s capable of reaching across mobile websites, browsers, apps, devices, and locations. Most importantly, make sure the DSP you intend to partner with can guarantee brand safety and high-quality traffic to avoid ad fraud.
  • Get to know the available inventories and mobile ad formats. There are several mobile ad units out there, however, the ad tech industry is always developing new ones as well as new guidelines for them. Your best bet is to become familiar with the different formats out there, including rich media, mobile video ads, native ad placements, dynamic, interstitial, static, and so on.
  • Personalize your messages. Set your mobile campaigns up to deliver personalized messages to your audience. Personalized messages typically fall under the realm of retargeting, but it can work for brand awareness as well if you know your target audience well enough. The goal is to enhance the mobile experience for your audience. 
  • Generate real-time reports. Be sure to clarify how often the information in your performance reports will update for your mobile campaigns. This will ensure you receive the most up-to-date insights that can help you improve your future campaigns. 

These are the basics of assembling a successful mobile marketing campaign. Of course, you’ll want to be sure to stay current with the latest in ad tech news so you can get on board with any new trends and changes.

Our Takeaway

Programmatic mobile advertising is just like any other kind of digital advertising, only it’s optimized for the smaller screens that we carry around with us in our pockets and purses. It’s also a much more popular way of consuming content and information, and its popularity isn’t going anywhere.

Of course, mobile advertising has different intricacies you’ll need to become familiar with, which is mostly why you’ll need to choose a DSP that can offer you the necessary capabilities that will generate success for your mobile ad campaigns. Once you find that demand partner, nothing can stop you from finding success in the mobile ad world.

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