Digital Lifescapes

A new group of publishers are rapidly taking over the mobile display advertising market in the United States. Where in past years, advertising networks -- such as Google, Millennial Media, and Apple -- received most of the spending on mobile display ads, now individual publishers control the segment. Facebook, Pandora, Twitter, and The Weather Channel all registered strong sales in 2012 -- most of them started from zero sales in 2011. Publishers controlled 52 percent of U.S. mobile display ad spending in 2012 -- that's compared to the 39 percent they received in 2011, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "Mobile ad networks are losing market share to publishers, and we expect them to lose even more going forward," said Karsten Weide, Vice President of Media & Entertainment at IDC . Networks, especially independent ones, are entering a difficult phase, in which, with an ever smaller share of revenue, they'll have to ...

BIA/Kelsey forecasts U.S. social media advertising revenues will reach $9.2 billion in 2016 -- that's up from $4.6 billion in 2012, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2 percent. According to the finding from their fall update, the local segment of U.S. social media advertising revenues will grow from $1.1 billion in 2012 to $3 billion in 2016 (CAGR: 28 percent). "The year 2012 can be viewed as social advertising’s coming of age," said Jed Williams, program director, social local media at BIA/Kelsey . The continued development of native ads, such as Facebook Sponsored Stories and Twitter Promoted Tweets, and the acceleration of mobile monetization will be the primary drivers of social advertising growth through 2016. BIA/Kelsey defines social media advertising as money spent on advertising formats across social networks. Social display advertising will continue to account for a higher percentage of revenues, due in large part to Facebook’s Ma...

What is advertiser Real-Time Bidding (RTB) and why does it matter to online marketers? Who benefits from real-time advertising buying? What factors and industry trends will affect future RTB growth? These are the key questions that eMarketer considered during their latest market study. Real-time bidding will account for 13 percent of all U.S. display advertising spend in 2012 -- that's more than triple the market share in 2010, according to the eMarketer assessment. Over the next few years, RTB will continue to gain momentum and share of online advertiser spend -- accounting for a quarter of the display market in 2015 -- as more media buyers and publishers benefit from its efficiencies. This year, the overall American display advertising market will grow by 21.5 percent to $14.98 billion -- that's compared with $12.33 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer estimates. In the same year, growth in RTB spending, at 98 percent, will easily outpace display advertising. Ma...

Advertising that's displayed on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, is gaining momentum in the U.S. market. Relatively speaking, people that are exposed to it are more likely to engage with the content. In contrast, prior research has focused on the accelerating trend of "advertising avoidance" by most consumers in America. The slight difference in consumer receptiveness has started to impact marketer's budget allocations. eMarketer estimates U.S. advertisers will spend over $1.1 billion on mobile this year -- up by 48 percent from 2010 spending levels. Of that amount, 30 percent, or $334.5 million, will go to display ads (excluding video). Moreover, eMarketer predicts that in 2012 mobile display spending will surpass messaging -- the current leader in spending. Display banner advertising will constitute the largest portion of U.S. mobile ad spending. As more marketers from across industries begin to embrace mobile advertising, more attempts at ...

  Search advertising has the largest share of online adverting in the U.S. market, but display ad spending is gaining share. The steep growth in online video ad spending, combined with solid increases for banners, will help display ads eventually exceed search ad spending. Total online display ad spending -- including online video, banner ads, rich media and sponsorships -- has already brought the category close to the range of investments in search engine marketing. According to the latest market study by eMarketer , this year U.S advertisers will spend $14.38 billion on search ads and $12.33 billion on online display -- that's up by 19.8 percent and 24.5 percent, respectively, over 2010 spending. Display will continue to grow at a faster pace than search throughout the forecast period, and is on track to surpass search by 2015. "The re-balancing of ad budgets across the board, among companies both large and small, national and local, will be pushing more brand-orien...

Legacy marketers continue to merely shift their obsolete advertising approach online, rather than invest the time and effort to learn how to effectively utilize today's digital media self-publishing opportunities. These traditional marketers have created a revenue bonanza for online social networking sites -- who gladly sell them the display ad space. Clearly, for those marketers that still see all marketing opportunites through the lens of traditional media buyers, writing a check to Facebook is a comforting alternative to embracing the disruptive transformation that's turning their whole world upside down. comScore released an overview of the U.S. online display advertising market for Q1 2011, indicating that nearly 1.11 trillion display ads were delivered to U.S. Internet users during the quarter. Facebook accounted for 346 billion impressions, nearly double the number it delivered in Q1 2010 -- and accounting for nearly one third of all display ad impressions deliver...