Jetpack Adds to eMarketer Report on US Display Advertising Trends

Last month, eMarketer  Senior Analyst Lauren Fisher interviewed Jetpack co-founder Chris Tragos to discuss the current state of digital advertising for her US Digital Display Advertising Trends: Eight Developments to Watch For in 2016.

We’re honored to be among the short list of ad tech industry leaders included, and while we’re not at liberty to share the full report, we found what wasn’t published just as interesting. We’re excited to share a few of our key takeaways from their interview in this post, including Jetpack’s POV on native ads, ad blocking and mobile advertising.

NATIVE ADS

The conventional industry narrative about what defines “native ads” is largely around standard ads seamlessly incorporated into a webpage’s content. While that’s one accurate definition, we’ve long held a broader definition of native ads.  Instead of a one-design-fits-all approach, publishers can create more value by building native inventory that is unique to their site.  As Tragos pointed out, moving the ad out of the box is really just the starting point, from there publishers can re-imagine the advertising experience by customizing the form, function and placement of their native ad offering to more seamlessly integrate into the flow and aesthetic of their content presentation. By satisfying an advertiser’s need for viewability and engagement without sacrificing user experience, Jetpack puts control of the experience into the hands of publishers to create units that will satisfy the needs of their agency and brand clients.

AD BLOCKING

Excerpt from eMarketer Report:

“In the face of such variance and uncertainty about the growth of ad blocking, publishers will increasingly look inward to better understand blocking’s effects on both their monetization efforts and audience makeup as the year unfolds.”

Tragos reaffirmed Jetpack’s stance on ad blocking, explaining the focus shouldn’t be on making ads smaller, nor hiding them into standard ad slots, because ultimately that’s not going to deter the act of blocking ads, nor is it going to deliver value for its advertisers. Making advertising invisible is not a viable solution for anyone on the buy side. Tragos argues what’s needed is to create a better balance between an advertiser’s need for engagement with a user-friendly ad experience. He believes it’s possible for larger, high-impact ad units to meet everyone’s needs, so long as the ads are creatively designed, well-targeted and politely delivered. Maybe it’s a tall order but what if every publisher could develop their own version of a Superbowl sponsorship package – advertising presentations that their audiences actually want to see. Because honestly, what’s the alternative, stacks of carefully targeted tiny ads that aren’t going to bother anyone? Although the industry as a whole may still be years away from adopting this approach, Tragos believes this shift will eventually happen and, in turn, could stem the tide of ad blocking.

MOBILE

The higher adoption rate of mobile by consumers in recent years has caused the publisher community to focus on how to capitalize on this trend, primarily by reclaiming the mobile inventory it had previously commissioned to ad networks and DSP partners. As publishers have made this shift back to generating revenue from mobile, it has also created a need to develop more innovative advertising solutions designed to run seamlessly across every screen. One of the core elements that differentiates Jetpack is our ability to quickly create ads once and have them be ready to run across both desktop screens and mobile devices.

Click here to purchase the full report from eMarketer.

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