The Latest: Facebook Expands Audience Network to Mobile

Here is our take on the most notable stories in Digital and Social Media Marketing from last week.

Last week it was all about growth and maturation of various ad types and platforms. Facebook is growing their Audience Network offering into mobile, digital display is set to surpass search later this year, and native and video ads are “gaining momentum.”

Facebook Expands Audience Network To Mobile Ad Placements

Media Post | January 11, 2016

Facebook’s Audience Network, which just boasted a $1 billion run-rate for Q4 of 2015, is now testing ad placements on mobile websites.

Our Take

If you are not aware of Facebook’s Audience Network (FAN) it has the potential to be a game-changer. In short, FAN uses Facebook data to target ads outside of Facebook’s website and app. This targeting, which replaces the unreliable third-party cookie, is much more intelligent. Taking this a step further, by pairing FAN with audience onboarding, advertisers can greatly expand their direct-digital reach.

US Digital Display Ad Spending to Surpass Search Ad Spending in 2016

eMarketer | January 11, 2016

For the first time in the United States, digital display advertising will leap over digital search to claim the most ad spend dollars in digital. eMarketer has projected digital display to garner over $32 billion in ad spend while search will collect over $29 billion. Here is the full chart:

Our Take

While the incredible growth in mobile use is going to be raising both search and display, the explosion in digital video ads and social media advertising is what will give digital display the edge going forward. Since 2014, digital video ad spend has almost doubled and Social Media display ads, while not specifically cited here, will become a larger and larger chunk of digital marketing year over year.

Mobile Banner Ads To Drop In Popularity, Native And Video Ads Gain Momentum

Media Post | January 6, 2016

In relation to the article above, a study from Trusted Media Brands, Inc. (formerly Reader’s Digest) revealed that 45% of responders are going to use traditional mobile banner ads in 2016. That number was 63% in the beginning of 2015. 45% of responders also cited that they were going to use digital video and native ads on mobile since they are “perceived to be less intrusive, increase brand awareness, and foster better engagement and interaction.”

Our Take

The drop in the popularity of mobile banner ads is not all that surprising considering the how easy, inexpensive and effective other display options like social media and native advertising are. However, just because they are being deemed “less popular,” it doesn’t mean that they are going away by any means. It will be interesting to see if the aforementioned Facebook’s Audience Network mobile banner offering will boost the popularity back up.

Native advertising, which took off last year due to their high engagement rates, will continue to rise. However, with new FTC regulations looming, the ability for native ads to be inconspicuous could be slightly compromised, thus slightly stumping their growth.

Digital Video Ads will continue to grow as budgets from television shift over to digital. In fact, over 72% of agencies say that digital video is as effective, if not more, than TV. Touted as having “the highest click-through rate of all digital ad formats”, it’s easy to see why marketing dollars are flowing this way.

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