As we enter 2021, there are many key Digital Advertising trends and opportunities expected for this year. Connected-TV (CTV) is one of them. In our member guest blog post, we caught up with Nick Morely, EMEA Managing Director at Integral Ad Science (IAS) about their recently released UK Streaming Wars report that looked into UK consumer use and preferences for CTV devices and ad-supported streaming services.
Nick Morley joined Integral Ad Science (IAS) in January 2017 to lead the strategic development of the EMEA business. Nick has a proven track record in launching and scaling high-growth businesses across Europe, with a decade’s worth of digital advertising industry experience.
CTV adoption has skyrocketed in recent years. Consumers are drawn in by the ability to watch their favourite content on devices and subscribe to streaming services that meet their preferences and budget.
But when subscriptions start to add up, how does this impact consumer choice? What are the most preferred devices and platforms? IAS asked UK consumers about their CTV usage and preferences when it comes to paying for subscription services.
CTV and streaming on the rise
With major changes to consumer habits last year, viewer patterns have rapidly evolved.
The overwhelming majority (90%) of UK consumers have access to a CTV device, with integrated smart TVs preferred for almost two-thirds (64%) over external box or stick options.
Among consumers that have paid-for subscriptions, Netflix is the streaming service of choice, with almost two-thirds (78%) of UK consumers having access to the platform, followed by Amazon Prime Video (53%), Disney+ (39%), NowTV (19%) and YouTube Premium (15%).
Consumers willing to shift to ad-supported streaming content
The UK Streaming Wars report shows that viewers are now increasingly open to ad-supported video options, so the onus is on the digital advertising industry to help marketers meet consumer needs with an enjoyable experience.
Eight in ten UK consumers (83%) are willing to watch ads to gain access to free streaming content. While over half (56%) plan to start watching free ad-supported streaming services over the next 12 months.
Contextual targeting helps to drive ad completion with over half (54%) of consumers willing to view an ad to completion if it’s relevant to the content that they are watching.
Digital video and CTV can provide enhanced targeting and richer data insights compared to standard linear TV. As a result, almost one-fifth of UK consumers (17%) are more likely to remember ads or likely to look up products and services of ads when viewed while streaming video or watching CTV.
The driving factors behind digital video consumption
Cost is the driving factor for UK consumers that switch to free ad-supported streaming content. Almost two-thirds (61%) of consumers want to save money and three in ten (30%) say that they already pay too much for subscription-based streaming services.
Almost half (44%) of consumers find the ability to skip certain ads as the top reason they prefer free streaming services to linear TV.
Free ad-supported streaming services can differentiate themselves with both price and content, offering a clear opportunity for brands to connect with consumers if relevancy and frequency are prioritised.
You can download the latest IAS UK Streaming Wars UK research here.
You can also join IAB Europe and IAS in a webinar on 16th February 2021 at 11:00 CET to explore how consumer behaviours have changed in the UK and what the future holds - register to secure your space here.
On 15th August 2020, The Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) upgraded from v1.1 to v2.0. Now with over 650 vendors and 115 CMPs registered, it is well on its way to assisting all companies in the digital advertising supply chain to meet transparency and user choice requirements related to data processing, with great success.
With many of the largest Vendors and CMPs in programmatic advertising, including Adobe, Axel Springer, Criteo, Google, GroupM, Integral Ad Science, MediaMath, Oracle Data Cloud, OneTrust Preference Choices, The Trade Desk, Quantcast, Xandr, and more registered to implement TCF v2.0, now is as good a time as any to make it your resolution to join.
So, what is the TCF v2.0, who is it designed for, and what benefits can it bring?
To help vendors, publishers, and CMPs implementing TCF v2.0, we have created a host of materials, from workshop webinars and FAQs to Vendor Fact sheets and more. All of which you can find here. But if you want to get up to speed on what the TCF v2.0 is quickly, then why not take it from those involved in shaping and creating the new version of the framework?
Featuring members of the TCF Steering Committee, the snackable videos below will provide you with all the information you need to know.
Video 2 - Who is the TCF designed for?
Video 4 - What’s new in the TCF 2.0?
Video 5 - User & industry benefits of the TCF 2.0
Next steps
Ready to register? You can find all the information you need on how to join the TCF here.
As we say so long to 2020 and get ready to welcome 2021, we take a look back on some of IAB Europe’s highlights from what has been a great (albeit very different) year.
From navigating the post-third-party cookie era to creating definitions and best practices for new emerging channels, right through to learning how to adapt in exceptional times, no topic was left unexplored. We’d like to say a big THANK YOU to all of our members that came together and helped drive the industry forward, despite the increased workloads and lockdowns we faced. 2020 has further cemented what we already knew, that our members are the foundation of our organisation and we very much look forward to working with you all in 2021.
With that, and to wrap everything up, we’ve put together our top 5 focus areas for 2020, so you can catch up on what was discussed, debated and delivered throughout the year.
1. Digital Advertising Research, Definitions, and Best Practices
Measuring the value and growth of our industry across Europe has been of huge importance to us this year. Which is why, in collaboration with members of our Research Committee, we have undertaken benchmarking projects and shared a number of pan-European studies and surveys to help gain a deeper understanding of key topics such as Digital Video Advertising, Programmatic Advertising, and more.
Discover some of our top 2020 research projects below:
IAB Europe’s Channels and Formats Taskforce (a part of our Brand Advertising Committee) has also been on a mission this year. Looking to increase awareness and drive investment by providing best practices and guidance in emerging and established digital advertising channels and formats. Helping brands and buyers to navigate the opportunities new platforms bring, it has been a collaborative effort to create harmonised definitions and provide best practices across Europe for some of the most exciting new channels: Connected TV, Programmatic Out Of Home (OOH) and Digital Audio. Check out our 101 guides below, and keep an eye out as we look to take a deeper dive into these channels next year.
2. Post Third-Party Cookie Education and Guidance
Back in January, IAB Europe sought to unearth what we can expect from the post third-party cookie era, and what we can do to work together as an industry to navigate it. Working in close collaboration with our Programmatic Trading Committee, we covered a series of webinars and panel discussions and even released a Guide to Navigating the Post Third-Party Cookie Era, to ensure everyone was up to speed. An update to this guide is due to be released in January, with key work continuing through 2021, so be sure to keep an eye out for this.
In 2020 we also launched a new joint Post Third-Party-Cookie taskforce with IAB France, open to all National IABs and their members. Its mission is to enlist a broad network of European stakeholders to support the emergence of a technical outcome or outcomes, in which comprehensive individual privacy control and responsible addressable internet advertising coexist safely and comfortably, to support a rich and diverse universe of online content and services available, at low or no cost to users. Meeting bi-weekly, it’s been a great forum for everyone to keep up to date and provide input to this new digital era, with this work set to continue well into 2021.
If you’re interested in joining the taskforce, please use this form.
3. Digital Advertising Trust and Transparency
Trust and transparency is fundamental to a sustainable future for digital advertising. As such, in collaboration with our Quality and Transparency Taskforce and Programmatic Trading Committee, IAB Europe took the time to assess quality and transparency concerns and address the challenges that the industry faced across 2020. Taking a deep dive into everything from Supply Chain Transparency to Brand Safety and Suitability, we looked at how to overcome some of the industry’s biggest hurdles and to see how we can fuel consumer trust and brand investment in the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem.
Take a look at some of our top 2020 trust and transparency outputs below:
4. Policy Advocacy and Legal
As always, IAB Europe represents the interests of Europe’s digital marketing & advertising industry to ensure that future EU policy and regulation enables continuing innovation and sustainable media, while maximising the industry’s potential to contribute to Europe’s digital economy.
5. Creating a Platform for Continued Collaboration
As many of us were in lockdown and forced to practice social distancing, it was more important than ever to enable people to connect and benefit from the digital infrastructure. IAB Europe is known for hosting virtual events and webinars to bring people from across Europe and beyond together. In 2020 we increased our number of virtual events by 150%, reaching over 10,000 people! All of the events were recorded and can be accessed from our knowledge hub. Key highlights included:
Once again a big thank you to each and everyone of you who got involved in our initiatives this year, and made all of our outputs such a huge success. We hope you have a wonderful break and look forward to collaborating and continuing to drive the industry forward with you in the new year.
Authored by Industry Leaders from Across Europe
Provides Valuable Insights and Preventative Measures to Ad Fraud in the Digital Advertising Ecosystem
8th December 2020, Brussels, Belgium: IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, has today released its ‘Guide to Ad Fraud’, to help drive media quality and effectiveness in the digital advertising industry.
This guide has been developed by experts from IAB Europe’s Quality and Transparency Taskforce (a part of the Brand Advertising Committee). It defines specific types of fraud in digital advertising and outlines how verification companies work to combat new and emerging types of ad fraud across all channels. It also provides top tips for buyers and planners to prevent Ad Fraud in their next campaigns and serves as a call for action to the industry to follow best practices to tackle ad fraud.
Brands in Europe are now spending around €4.7 billion on digital advertising, and they want to know that this significant investment isn’t squandered. But with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) estimating that by 2025 over $50 billion will be wasted annually on Ad Fraud, it is vital for all stakeholders to ensure they have the right preventive measures in place. A key part of the guide therefore focuses on the importance of rapid detection, which includes the stages of ad fraud detection that companies should follow. Commenting on the importance of Ad Fraud detection, Diana Romero, Manager, Digital Standards and Partnerships, at Publicis Media Exchange said "Publicis Media agrees with and supports the industry's best practices to prevent Ad Fraud, which mandate that marketers should work with at least one verification provider and TAG-accredited partners; take advantage of tools like ads.txt and app-ads.txt; and stay up-to-date on potential threats in new channels that may not be addressed yet by verification providers."
It has been a collaborative effort to produce this European-level guide for Ad Fraud, with contributors including Integral Ad Science (IAS), DoubleVerify, Oracle Data Cloud, Group M, Pubmatic, and Publicis Media. Agora S.A also contributed their knowledge on behalf of IAB Poland.
Commenting on the importance of the guide to help tackle Ad Fraud, Nick Morley, Managing Director EMEA at Integral Ad Science said “The fight against ad fraud is ongoing and ever-changing. As fraudsters become more sophisticated, it is imperative that advertisers and publishers ramp up their fraud prevention technologies to stay one step ahead. Integral Ad Science welcomes collaborative, industry-wide efforts to combat ad fraud and is proud to be a part of this IAB industry guide, alongside key partners. The guide serves as a vital resource to understand the numerous forms of ad fraud, its challenges, and provides actionable solutions to the digital advertising community.”
Mark Kopera, Head of Product for Moat by Oracle Data Cloud echoed this point, commenting that “Oracle Data Cloud is committed to both educating the industry through initiatives like this collaborative paper, and providing sophisticated ad fraud solutions to arm marketers against known and future threats. We’re proud to work with IAB Europe on this piece, and hope it serves to jumpstart conversations around the various types of ad fraud, the solutions available today, and the importance of choosing the right partner to fight this battle.”
In order to build a sustainable future for digital advertising, it is essential that the industry collaborates to build solutions that limit the influence of fraud across all channels, formats, and devices. Commenting on IAB Europe’s focus to raise quality and transparency in digital advertising, Helen Mussard, Marketing & Industry Strategy Director at IAB Europe said, “When we set out with the work of this Taskforce in January, our main focus for the year was to build confidence and trust in digital advertising and marketing. With the threat of Ad Fraud ever-present and ever-evolving, we have seen just how fundamental this type of work is to the future of our industry - building trust through sharing best practices. Wide advances in verification tools and machine-learning technology capabilities are enabling us to tackle this threat, and being able to provide a space for members to collaborate on this work is vital if we want to beat the bots. The Ad Fraud Guide is proof that industry initiatives work to create collaborative success.”
IAB Europe continues to work with its members to shed light on key topics around quality and transparency, ensuring our industry is built on trust.
IAB Europe’s Guide to Ad Fraud can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here.
IAB Europe’s second VPD of 2020 took place on the 19th of November and what a truly insightful day it was. With over 1,000 joining us for the biggest and best virtual programmatic event in our industry, it provided everything we needed to know about programmatic. A big thank you to our sponsors OneTrust PreferenceChoices and MoPub for helping to make this event such a huge success.
Featuring speakers from IAB Europe member companies and advertisers including Adform, BBC Global News, CNN, DoubleVerify, IndexExchange, Magnite, Mediacom, Microsoft, PubMatic, Spotify, SpotX and more, the event was split into a keynote presentation and five panel sessions. In a series of blogs, we have provided a wrap-up for each of the sessions. Click on the sessions below to watch the panel video and read our key takeaways from the expert speakers!
Keynote - The European Programmatic Advertising Landscape
Panel 1 - The European Programmatic Advertising Landscape
Panel 2 - Programmatic Advertising Beyond Third-Party Cookies
Panel 3 - TCF v2.0
Panel 4 - SSP Data Best Practices
Panel 5 - Delivering Powerful Creatives with Programmatic Advertising
You can watch the full event recording here.
IAB Europe’s second Virtual Programmatic Day of 2020 took place on the 19th of November and what an insightful day it was. Featuring speakers from IAB Europe member companies and advertisers including BBC Global News, CNN, DoubleVerify, IndexExchange, Mediacom, Microsoft, PubMatic, Spotify, and more, the event was split into panel sessions to address and debate the hottest industry topics. From the programmatic landscape to delivering powerful creatives, no programmatic stone was left unturned.
Keynote Presentation: The European Programmatic Advertising Landscape
The event started with a keynote presentation from Daniel Knapp, Chief Economist, at IAB Europe, and David Goddard, Senior Director of Business Development from DoubleVerify as they explored the European Programmatic Landscape by sharing the results of the Attitudes Towards Programmatic 2020 Study and Programmatic Ad Spend 2019 report.
Event recording
Watch the session recording here.
Key Takeaways
For more information, you can download the Attitudes to Programmatic Advertising 2020 and Programmatic Advertising Spend research for 2019 reports in full here.
IAB Europe’s second Virtual Programmatic Day of 2020 took place on the 19th of November and what an insightful day it was. Featuring speakers from IAB Europe member companies and advertisers including BBC Global News, Xandr, Xaxis, MoPub, and more, the event was split into panel sessions to address and debate the hottest industry topics. From the programmatic landscape to the post third-party cookie, no programmatic stone was left unturned.
The European Programmatic Advertising Landscape
The first panel of the event addressed the opportunities, barriers, and trends within Programmatic Advertising in Europe. It explored the driving factors that are increasing programmatic spending, supply chain transparency, and what the future growth areas of programmatic are expected to be.
David Goddard, Senior Director of Business Development, DoubleVerify moderated the panel and was joined by:
Event recording
Watch the session recording here.
Audience Poll
We ran an audience poll during the session to ask our audience what the biggest growth area in programmatic will be in 2021. A staggering 61% thought CTV would see the largest growth, followed by Audio at 23% and Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) at 16%.
Key Takeaways
IAB Europe’s second Virtual Programmatic Day of 2020 took place on the 19th of November and what an insightful day it was. Featuring speakers from IAB Europe member companies and advertisers including AdForm, CNN International, IAS, IndexExchange, Magnite, MediaMath, and more, the event was split into panel sessions to address and debate the hottest industry topics. From the programmatic landscape to the post third-party cookie, no stone was left unturned.
Programmatic Advertising Beyond Third-Party Cookies
The second panel of the event explored the status of different solutions and industry initiatives to ensure our industry can continue to deliver privacy-first relevant ad experiences, in a post-third-party cookie world.
Sara Vincent, Senior Director, Strategic Partner Development, Index Exchange moderated the panel and was joined by:
Event recording
Watch the session recording here.
Audience Poll
We ran a poll at the end of the session to ask our audience what they think the depletion of the third-party cookie actually means for programmatic buying and selling. The vast majority (45%) felt they would see some decreases in programmatic. This was followed closely by no change at 29%.13% felt it would show some increase in programmatic, 9% said it would see a large decrease, and finally, 4% said they felt it would see a large increase.
Key Takeaways
To find out more about the impact of the post-third-party cookie era on our industry and the solutions that are being developed, check out IAB Europe’s Guide to Post-Third-Party Cookies here.
IAB Europe’s second Virtual Programmatic Day of 2020 took place on the 19th of November and what an insightful day it was. Featuring speakers from IAB Europe member companies and advertisers including IAB Tech Lab, OneTrust PreferenceChoices, Xandr, and more, the event was split into panel sessions to address and debate the hottest industry topics. From the programmatic landscape to the role of the Transparency & Consent Framework, no programmatic stone was left unturned.
TCF v2.0
The third panel of the event discussed the latest version of the Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) v2.0. It explored market adoption, and future developments, whilst looking at the future of sustainable advertising in a privacy-centric world.
Townsend Feehan, CEO, IAB Europe moderated the panel and was joined by:
Event recording
Watch the session recording here.
Key Takeaways
IAB Europe’s second Virtual Programmatic Day of 2020 took place on the 19th of November and what an insightful day it was. Featuring speakers from IAB Europe member companies and advertisers including DoubleVerify, IPONWEB, Pubmatic, Yieldbird, and more, the event was split into panel sessions to address and debate the hottest industry topics. From the post-third-party cookie to data management best practices for SSPs, no programmatic stone was left unturned.
SSP Data Best Practices
The fourth panel of the event discussed data management best practices for SSPs, to increase transparency, trust, and solve unnecessary trading and information sharing complexities within the ecosystem. It looked into how publishers can reap the benefits of data in programmatic, and how working with SSPs can help them to maximise control of programmatic, and shape their future.
Daniel Knapp, Chief Economist, IAB Europe moderated the panel and was joined by:
Event recording
Watch the session recording here.
Audience Poll
At the end of the session, we asked our audience whether or not they agree that SSPs should standardise taxonomies and data to help publishers on the open internet. The vast majority of the audience (62%) agreed yes, that this was very much needed. This was followed by 37% that felt it was needed to some extent. Only 1% didn’t agree.
Key Takeaways
For more information on Demand Path Optimisation (DPO) for publishers, check out our Guide to Supply Path Optimisation.
IAB Europe’s second Virtual Programmatic Day of 2020 took place on the 19th of November and what an insightful day it was. Featuring speakers from IAB Europe member companies and advertisers including Mediacom, Microsoft, Pubmatic, Spotify, Triton Digital, Xaxis, and more, the event was split into panel sessions to address and debate the hottest industry topics. From the programmatic landscape to delivering powerful creatives, no programmatic stone was left unturned.
Delivering Powerful Creatives with Programmatic Advertising
The final panel of the event discussed how in a world where advertisers are fighting for consumer’s attention, innovation, technology, and data delivered programmatically can help to power creatives that resonate with audiences.
Lisa Kalyuzhny, Senior Director, Advertiser Solutions, PubMatic moderated the panel and was joined by:
Event recording
Watch the session recording here.
Key Takeaways
Authored by Industry Leaders from Across Europe
Provides Valuable Insights To The Digital Audio Advertising Landscape
23rd November, Brussels, Belgium: IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, has today released its ‘Buyer’s Guide to Digital Audio’ to help planners and buyers of media navigate the opportunities that a new world of audio creates for marketers.
This guide has been developed by experts from IAB Europe’s Channels & Formats Taskforce (a part of the Brand Advertising Committee). It provides harmonised definitions for digital audio in Europe, an overview of the evolution of audio advertising and the landscape in Europe, as well as key considerations and best practices for digital audio advertising. In doing so, it ensures that buyers of traditional audio and buyers of digital advertising have the necessary knowledge to implement effective digital audio advertising campaigns.
Digital audio is reaching a pivotal moment, where it is critical for buyers to understand this channel and to maximise their digital investment in it. Commenting on the opportunity of digital audio, Marco Bertozzi, VP EMEA & Multi-market Global Sales at Spotify said “Audio consumption has changed drastically over the past decade. With the boom in smart speakers and other connected devices, consumers now have the ability to access streaming audio content, however, or wherever they like. Unlike other media, this makes digital audio unique in that it can be a constant companion. It moves with consumers whether they’re on-the-go or winding down and comes in a variety of forms, from spoken word to podcasts to music and more. This offers fantastic opportunities for advertisers to reach engaged audiences. Digital audio is now paving the way for greater connection with audiences and has the ability to address consumers in a more personal way. With that, we believe that the runway for this medium is massive and we’re just at the beginning of seeing where it will go.”
It has been a collaborative effort to produce this first European-level guide for Digital Audio, with contributors including Spotify, Magnite, Oracle Data Cloud, Triton Digital and Xaxis. Representatives from IAB Finland and IAB Italy also contributed their knowledge.
Commenting on the value of the Digital Audio Guide Steve Wing, Head of EMEA at Magnite said "The IAB Europe Digital Audio Guide serves as an invaluable resource. Digital audio is a unique format and this guide offers actionable advice to help advertisers adapt their strategies to fit this medium for the highest impact."
Moomal Shaikh, Senior Product Manager at Oracle Data Cloud, reiterated this point, commenting that “It’s an excellent tool for savvy marketers to get a better understanding of just how large the audio opportunity is and how to capitalise on it in the coming months and years. The potential of this resonant and untapped medium is hard to overstate, and the Moat by Oracle Data Cloud team is excited to lead the conversation around the measurement of audio advertising.”
This guide is the second output from IAB Europe’s new Channel & Formats Taskforce and follows the ‘Buyer’s Guide to CTV’, which was released in June 2020. The taskforce was launched in January 2020 with the aim to increase awareness and drive investment by providing best practices and guidance in emerging and established digital advertising channels and formats. As we enter 2021, the taskforce will continue to focus on these emerging channels and will also approach new topics including influencer and creator marketing.
In order for channels like Digital Audio to flourish, it is vital to work together as an industry to ascertain guidelines and best practices. Commenting on IAB Europe’s focus to raise awareness, education, and standards in such channels and formats, Helen Mussard, Marketing & Industry Strategy Director at IAB Europe said, “When we set out this taskforce in January 2020, our main focus for the year was to build brand confidence and greater investment in digital advertising and marketing. Hit with the impact of COVID-19, we have seen just how fundamental this type of work is to our industry. Being able to provide a space for members to collaborate, and share advice and best practices has never been more important. The Digital Audio Guide is proof of what industry initiatives can achieve when working collaboratively. It shows how they can open up new opportunities in the face of crisis and find key ways to overcome barriers to success.
IAB Europe is working with some of its members to provide additional insight into channels such as the connected TV and digital audio landscapes in a series of Industry Insiders that explore buy-side and sell-side perspectives, as well as how these channels sit in the broader advertising ecosystem. These will continue to be expanded upon, alongside new initiatives in 2021.
The Buyer’s Guide to Digital Audio can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here.
For more information, please contact:
Helen Mussard, Marketing & Industry Strategy Director, IAB Europe - mussard@iabeurope.eu
