Opt In, Opt out – 5 Trends in Mobile Advertising 

Last Updated: December 16, 2021

Privacy challenges, the return of contextual ad networks, consumer engagement measurability and more! 2020 is going to change the media and advertising landscape in huge ways. These 5 trends will have you prepared for what’s on the horizon, says, Gabriella Stano Aversa, Manager, Strategy & Planning, AdColony.

Most end-of-the-year roundups and future year predictions tend to be full of “what’s new” and exciting for marketers. And while I do think we might see some new and interesting trends pop up in 2020, the coming year is going to be more about the continuation of trends that we’ve already seen emerge; they’re just becoming more prominent. In other words, 2020 will be the year that ad-tech trends we’ve seen building for years become a reality for everyone.

Learn More: Key Milestones on the Path to Improved Trust in In-App InventoryOpens a new window

Privacy Measures Will Continue to Spark New Identity Solutions, Such as Internal DMPs

Between browser-level blocking, ad-blocking apps, and new regulations like GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the traditional cookie marketers have relied upon for 25 years will soon be obsolete. Yet advertisers still need consumer data — be it first, second or third-party — in order to deliver effective campaigns. As a result, I believe we’ll see even more companies start to merge and create their own solutions to identity tracking and targeting. 

It started with IPG snapping up AcxiomOpens a new window  for $2.3 billion, and then Publicis acquired data intelligence company EpsilonOpens a new window  for nearly double that amount. Agencies are taking back responsibility of data and putting it back into their own hands so they can act on it, legally, and take advantage of the insights and targeting it creates.

Contextual Targeting Is Coming Back, With a Vengeance

Advertisers always talk about the holy grail of serving ads to the right person, at the right time, in the right place. There’s a reason why contextual ad networks rose so quickly in the early days of the internet – they addressed the latter two criteria. The internet has grown from 600M users back then to 4.5B today, and the amount of content has exploded to the point where it’s almost immeasurable. Now add in the mobile app ecosystem and the unique content found in those millions of apps, and it’s easy to see how advertisers could target their interest-based audience at scale if they could leverage a mobile ad network that creates custom portfolios of apps that contextually fit certain audiences. 

Opt-Out Is the New Default Choice, Making Active Engagement Even More Valued

You don’t have to see Apple’s new “Privacy. That’s iPhone.” ad campaign to know that the company is taking big steps to protect consumer privacy and making opt-out the default on many of its features, including location tracking. Now, if you want to target users in a specific location, your best bet is to go a more straightforward route, like going in-app in spaces where location is already part of the experience. More importantly, now that consumers are opting out of everything they can, the focus will continue to shift to ad engagements, and “active eyeballs” will be valued the highest. Any ad format where you can prove that the user isn’t just watching idly, but is actively choosing to opt-in (rewarded video) and/or engage with the ad (interactive video) is going to see increased adoption. 

Supply Path Scrutiny Will Become the Norm

In 2020, advertisers will no longer be able to be unconcerned about where their inventory is coming from, as ad fraud will be difficult to ignore. Like identity theft, once it’s happened to you, you see possibilities for it everywhere. As we’ve written beforeOpens a new window , app-ads.txt will ramp up over the course of the year as app publishers realize that brands need that level of certainty and that they could be missing out on brand dollars flooding in through programmatic pipes. For brands, more programmatic means bigger opportunities to push strong cost-per-install ads from other apps out of the way with more transparent pricing. 

Learn More: It’s Time to Focus on Retargeting and Re-EngagementOpens a new window

Social Media Will Still Have the Volume, but Not the Quality

There’s no denying the sheer volume of users that log in and actively engage on social media every day, some even every hour. But for advertisers, several factors will come into even greater play next year and make them reconsider their social spend:

  1. Privacy – With further regulation and scrutiny into data collection practices, the most desirable demographics for advertisers will continue to curate their socially available data set, limiting the opportunity to build audiences on social as effectively as in the past.

  2. Brand Safety – As we run into an incredibly contentious election year, social will be flooded with advertisers’ brand-safety nightmares. Fake news and vitriol — nothing puts consumers in a worse buying mood than politics. By contrast, mobile games offer consumers an escape from stressful comment fights with distant relatives
  3. Consumer Mindset – We’ve seen study after study about how social media creates stress and other negative emotions. Brands looking to invest in a space where their audience in a positive mindset will turn to other channels that have proven to boost mood, not bring it down. 
     
Gabriella Stano Aversa
Gabriella Stano Aversa

Manager, Strategy & Planning, AdColony

Gabriella Stano Aversa is an advertising professional with extensive knowledge in the mobile ad-tech industry. Her experience includes roles in strategy & partnerships, sales planning, account management and media planning, where she has cultivated personal growth in customer service, strategic thinking and problem-solving.  In her role at AdColony, Gabriella explores and manages prospective and current partnerships with third-party data, measurement, and verification partners to further enhance AdColony’s strategy and offerings. She also works with internal marketing & sales teams to develop new go-to-market strategies and tactical sales materials to drive revenue across the brand programmatic and managed service business.  
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