'Net Features : Real-time bidding

Real-Time Bidding Boosts Ad Revenue for Publishers

Michael Garrity — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:25:00 GMT

The increased use of real-time bidding (RTB) and private marketplaces for selling online ads has resulted in a noticeable boost in revenue for publishers, including a lift in CPMs, according to the digital media platform PubMatic.

A recent analysis by PubMatic of publisher monetization in 2012 showed that by the fourth quarter of last year, RTB was representing almost 31 percent of its paid impressions (a figure that was nearly double what it was at the same time in 2011), as well as accounting for 48 percent of the company’s entire revenue. This means that RTB revenue is experiencing an annual growth of approximately 57 percent, and it now nearly matches the value of the entire ad inventory that is sold through its ad networks.

“[Publishers] are moving from the fixed prices sales of ad networks to dynamically traded inventory,” said PubMatic President Kirk McDonald. “They’ve found that RTB can consistently generate higher CPMs and allow them to react to in-the-moment market opportunities.”

In addition, PubMatic found that private marketplaces (PMPs) may end up increasing inventory value even more than RTB, as the use of PMPs allow publishers to offer ads to select buyers from a guaranteed inventory in a transparent negotiation environment. PMP usage has more than doubled, while the revenue that they generated grew by 120 percent in the third and fourth quarters of 2012.

“While still an emerging mode of selling, it’s also important to underscore the growth in usage and strong results for implementing Private Marketplace sales,” said McDonald. “We’re moving from an era of blind inventory to one where buyer and seller [sic] use programmatic as a tool to increase efficiencies but also build long-term sales relationship sin a transparent manner.”

PubMatic’s data analysis was based on a quantitative review of premium publishers and demand-side ad networks that had been utilizing its Strategic Selling Platform (SSP) from Q1 2011 through Q4 2012, which includes thousands of buyers and sellers.

Dissecting Display Advertising's Rebound

Mike Phillips — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:30:00 GMT

Display advertising is making a comeback. Across the board, display ad spending is up and across all mediums, too -- banner ads, rich media and video, included. But what's leading this resurgence, and how can advertisers take advantage of it? For answers, we spoke with Iggy Fanlo, CEO of adBrite in this week's edition of Website Magazine Radio.

Listen now, and subcribe to Website Magazine Radio in iTunes!

LISTEN NOW! (Please visit the site to view this media)

Direct Download (right click and save)

If you would like to have your questions answered on Website Magazine Radio, please send email to mike@websitemagazine.com with "WM Radio" in the subject field.

Real-time Bidding Makes an Impression

Linc Wonham — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:30:00 GMT

Real-time bidding was one of several emerging technologies in online advertising last year that we believed would drive the resurgence of display in 2011. Based on the most recent data from advertisers and agencies that have already used the functionality, it is well on its way to becoming one of the year’s biggest trends.

Google and DIGIDAY conducted a survey of more than 300 online advertising professionals in February, and more than 90 percent of those who have used real-time bidding said they will continue to spend at least some budget on the functionality this year. Almost half (47 percent) said that real-time bidding was the most satisfactory method for buying online display ads, whether through a demand-side platform, ad exchange or network.

In real-time bidding, advertisers make bids on impressions based on the website, the placement of the ad, the number of impressions desired and any data for use in retargeting and other segmentation. The sellers then auction off the ads in real time based on the bids and the users who are actually visiting the site at that time.

This method holds a lot of value for advertisers and agencies because they are purchasing highly targeted audiences at costs they can control. For publishers and ad networks, the biggest advantage is that they can sell their inventories quickly and seamlessly to the highest bidders, often at a premium.

But real-time bidding still has a long way to go before it reaches the mainstream. There is definitely still an unfamiliar aura about it and only 4 percent of online advertising was bought in real time in 2010. That spending is due to increase by 133 percent in 2011, according to Forrester, as advertisers continue to invest more in display, video and rich media.