Video advertising is growing rapidly and seen as having a high ROI by publishers. While mobile traffic is up, monetizing mobile remains a challenge due to user behavior patterns. Programmatic advertising has evolved from a threat to an opportunity for publishers, who are using it to increase yield. Attribution of advertising campaigns to sales remains difficult but important to measure.

1. THE STATE OF
DIGITAL ADVERTISING
FOR PUBLISHERS
2016

2. 1
2
3
10 Digital Advertising Trends for Publishers
Conclusion
About the Data
Table of Contents

3. VIDEO IS KING
• When asked to name the biggest trend in digital,
publishers interviewed overwhelmingly said video
• Gap between advertiser demand and publisher
supply has created a seller's market
• Publishers who develop for 'video everywhere'
approach now will be better positioned to win

4. Video = Value
When asked to rank ad formats on perceived
ROI, publishers consistently gave video the
highest marks.
Survey Question:
In your experience, what digital ad formats have a high ROI or drive
the most revenue? Please rank on a scale of 1 - 5, with 1 representing
High ROI / Revenue and 5 representing Low ROI / Revenue.

5. Facebook Dominates
50% of those surveyed have run video campaigns on
Facebook, compared to only 31% on YouTube. As
social networking has taken over the web, publishers
have responded by distributing their content with both
paid and earned posts on the social network.
Video Grows Beyond O&Os
In the past year, 61% of publishers
have sold video ads as a part of their
audience extension packages.
Key Findings

6. PROGRAMMATIC HAS EVOLVED
FROM PUBLISHER FOE TO
PUBLISHER FRIEND
• Publishers fueling programmatic's 40% year-over-year growth
• Using to increase yield of both their unsold (through exchanges)
and directly-sold (through audience extension) inventory
• Publishers who create their own private marketplaces will retain
value of CPMs

7. Programmatic is
an opportunity,
not a threat.
For the majority of publishers we interviewed,
programmatically-powered audience extension is their
fastest growing revenue source.
of publishers surveyed currently
leverage programmatic to power
audience extension.
Key Findings
of publishers surveyed do not
currently leverage programmatic
to power audience extension, but
plan to in 2017.

8. MOBILE IS STILL A CHALLENGE,
BUT FOR NEW REASONS
While the mobile user experience has improved, most publishers remain
at the starting line of monetizing mobile.
• Consumers spend 25% of their time on smartphones, yet the channel
grabs just 12% of ad budgets
• Mobile traffic comes from clicks on article links within social feeds
that leaves just one article to monetize per user, per visit
• Cookie-based targeting doesn’t work on mobile
• Publishers must adopt mobile-first ad formats

9. Devices may not be the
concern, but mobile
consumption patterns are.
While mobile devices may not be the pain point, 48% of
publishers are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned with the
increase in mobile consumption itself*. Less inventory and
less direct traffic can mean less revenue.
Key Findings

10. PUBLISHERS RELY ON FACEBOOK
MORE THAN EVER, BUT IT’S A
DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
• Facebook has surpassed Google as leading driver of publisher referral traffic
• Site traffic easily disrupted by algorithm changes
• The new user path to content is clicks on article links from Facebook's mobile
app to small screens with few ads
• While the improved user experience of Instant Articles sounds compelling,
publishers wary of becoming dependent on third-party platforms that define
how their content is monetized
• People-based targeting, through sites such as Facebook, may be able to
solve this

11. Instant Articles may help, but
publishers are skeptical.
While the improved user experience of Instant Articles sounds compelling, publishers
are wary of becoming dependent on third-party platforms that define how their content
is monetized.
of publishers we surveyed use
or plan to use Instant Articles.
Key Findings
13.6%

12. CABLE DOUBLES DOWN ON VIDEO,
WHILE LOCAL BROADCASTERS
CAST A WIDER NET
• As cable companies further digitize their programming, many
focusing digital sales efforts almost entirely on video
• Local broadcasters, on the other hand, are positioning themselves in
a manner similar to that of an advertising agency by becoming a one-
stop shop for all types of media—including TV, display, audience
targeting, social, search, and email products

13. LOCAL PUBLISHERS VALUE
OPERATIONAL SIMPLICITY OVER
CUSTOM AD PRODUCTS
• Local publishers are actively paring down their vendor lists to reduce ad tech
taxes and simplify campaign workflow
• Many are willing to limit creative freedom and even eliminate high-impact ad
formats altogether if it will help them run more seamless campaigns
Campaign complexity is a pain point
44% of publishers indicate being “very” or
“extremely” concerned with the sheer
complexity of digital campaign execution.
Multiple vendors are the norm
Nearly 54% of publishers surveyed
work with at least four ad tech vendors,
and 5% work with more than 16.
KEY FINDINGS

14. NATIONAL PUBLISHERS VALUE
CUSTOM AD PRODUCTS OVER
OPERATIONAL SIMPLICITY
• National publishers are better equipped to handle the operational
complexities that challenge local publishers
• They bemoan having too many vendors, but are willing to tolerate
complicated workflows if it allows them to accommodate every RFP
Specs still matter
Even though national publishers like to feature
“custom” ad opportunities, most are beginning to
formalize these unique ad products with specs and
templates to make them easier to execute.
Creative freedom trumps simplicity
National publishers are unwilling to limit
creative freedom and will work with many
vendors to execute on a variety of high-
impact ad formats.
KEY FINDINGS

15. MORE VENDORS MEAN LESS
MEANINGFUL INSIGHTS
• Performing an apples to apples comparison of reports from multiple
vendors has become a fundamental problem for publishers
• Differences in ad formats, analytic tools, metric definitions and device
capabilities creates confusion

16. Most important metrics
when measuring a campaign
Survey Question:
What metrics are most important when measuring a digital branding / direct
response campaign? Please rank on a scale of 1-6, with 1 representing
most important and 6 representing least important.

17. CORPORATE AND FIELD
SALES TEAMS VIEW
ATTRIBUTION DIFFERENTLY
• In the digital era, where data is abundant, the pressure for publishers to
prove their value in the sales chain is greater than ever
• Corporate executives are wary of relying on a sales conversion KPI, while
sellers view their inability to report on sales attribution as a weakness
• As cross-channel audience identification improves, so will attribution

18. Attribution is a
major concern
of publishers.
of publishers that were
“very” to “extremely”
concerned.
Key Findings
of publishers that were
“not at all” to “slightly”
concerned.

19. AD BLOCKING IS A THREAT,
BUT PUBLISHERS ARE UNSURE
OF WHAT TO DO
Ad blocking is a critical threat to publishers and a problem that they know
will have to be dealt with, but for now, it's not impacting revenue enough
to make it a top concern.
On long list of concerns, ad blocking isn’t at the top
Publishers are feeling more urgency to address new(er)
advances such as viewability, attribution and measurement,
and ad fraud and bots, than they are ad blocking.
Ad blocking is a threat.
46% of publishers said ad
blocking is either “extremely”
or “very” concerning.
KEY FINDINGS

20. The world of digital continues
to spin at a remarkable pace.
The good news is that the business of digital advertising is maturing and publishers are
beginning to operationalize in a much more thoughtful way than they had in past years. This
means simplifying sales pitches, reducing vendor duplication, making programmatic work
for them, and creating elegant video and mobile ad experiences that meet market demand.
At the same time, publishers are under attack like never before as Facebook replaces
them as the daily homepage for information, and mobile consumption disrupts ad formats
and inventory volume. Those who will win in 2016 and beyond will be those who produce
premium content to demonstrate the quality of their audience, brand and inventory.
It will be those who turn threats into opportunities by leveraging social and mobile to
grow audience. It will be those who create operational clarity by consolidating vendor
relationships to reduce duplication and streamline workflow. Importantly, it will be those
who both develop ad product catalogs that scale with market demand and invest in
educating their teams to increase their human and product value to advertisers at every
point of a campaign, from pre-sales concepts to post-campaign performance translation.
Conclusion

21. About the Data

22. What keeps publishers up at night?
The issues facing publishers today are vast and
interrelated. When asked how concerned are you with
the following, 31% - 69% said they were “extremely” or
“very” concerned with every one of the twelve issues.

23. About Mixpo
Mixpo combines technology with human expertise to simplify how publishers sell, produce,
and manage superior digital ad campaigns. Our technology makes it easy to create quality
ads that engage audiences and deliver more value to advertisers. Our people provide the
tools and expertise to streamline campaign management and boost digital sales. Please tap,
click, or call us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help.
To learn more visit www.mixpo.com or request a demo: www.mixpo.com/contact/.
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