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Q3.2014 1
Q4.2014
A glance back to the “mobilike year“
2014 SUMMARY
How will the mobile world shapein 2015?
2015 TRENDS
Updates and new releases
Looking at the digital world with Bora Başman
INTERVIEW
seamless
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4
12
22 24
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7 8
Index Q4.2014
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Goodbye2014
Hot topicsof 2014
New trendsin mobile
Mobilenumbers
Looking atthe digital world with Bora Başman
FAQProgrammatic
A rewardingyear
seamless: hassle-freemobile advertising
3Q4.2014
Dear reader,
The mobile industry saw many wonderful achievements in 2014. Mobile and tablet usage is continuing to rise and the time consumers spend on mobile phones is growing day-by-day.
Fortunately for us, mobilike also had an amazing year, complete with a number of great success stories: we conducted entire product launches, expanded into the Greek market, and were granted a number of prestigious awards. mobilike continues to grow at an unprecedented pace indicative of mobile advertising success.
In this madreport..
With the closing of a successful year, we are thrilled to reflect on all that has happened in the mobile world over the past 12 months. We are also excited to report on the future of mobile advertising and the great opportunities that await us in the coming year.
In this issue, we will focus on both changing trends and new integrations in the mobile world–we will dive into 4G and 5G integrations and discuss the future of the Beacon.
Contact us
Similar to other madreports, we will also provide insights regarding the programmatic world, with a focus on how programmatic and mobile technologies influence and change our lives. On top of that, we will also explore mobile video and its growth impact on mobile usage.
As you may have already guessed, in addition to covering trends, integrations, programmatic, and mobile video, our madreport covers the development of seamless technology–with numerous awards to its name, seamless is one of the biggest topics and greatest success stories achieved by mobilike. This will be followed by a journey back to the beginning of 2014 where you will have the opportunity to see what happened in the “mobilike kitchen” throughout the year.
So lean back and get ready for a great arrangement of 2014 flashbacks. Whether you are a publisher, advertiser, or mobile user; we’re sure this madreport will have something to offer you.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
Volkan Biçer Şekip Can Gökalp
/ mobilike
/ themobilike
/ mobilike
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2014 is almost over where we shared a lot of moments with our friends and family, which we captured with our smartphones and tablets. But, whether we are with our friends or our family, we spent the most of our times with our smartphones and tablets.
The smartphone ownership in Turkey has increased up to 84%, surpassing the global average by 4%.
Tablets on the other hand are also starting to gain a significant role in our lives although they are
not irreplaceable as smartphones are. With an ownership of 54% in Turkey, the ownership rate
surpasses the global average by 7%.
Tablet Internet usage has also a steady increase similar to the smartphones. With a yearly increase of
almost 10% we observe that the tablets are gaining important share by means of data consumption.
A relatively new technology mainly introduced to us via Google Glass, which day by day raise
awareness and curiosity among us. 71% of Turkish consumers are interested in wearable
technologies where already 9% own a smartwatch.
In order to see how 2014 was for the social media platforms, we checked the top social media platforms by
means of active users. The first place, as you may also guess belongs to Facebook with 56%.
Also on the messaging app side, Facebook has a remarkable share with WhatsApp and
Facebook Messenger constituting a share of 49% and 44% respectively.
With the ownership, our usage of Internet has also increased year by year. With an increase of
almost 10% each year from 2012 and on, mobile Internet usage has reached 77%. We became
more and more smartphone dependent where we have spent 2.09 hours daily during 2014.
Source: GWI Market Report
5Q4.2014
65% of global mobile users are using their phones to go online.
29% of them are using tablets to access the Internet.
53% of tablet users have the Android OS,
where iOS holds only shares of 40%.
By means of mobile and tablet Internet access, mobile Internet is most commonly used in China
with 83%, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Mexico with over
70%.In the case of tablets, China again
leads the accessibility market followed by Mexico, Singapore,
Turkey and the US.
54% of tablet users say that they share
their device with at least one person.
The OS differentiation is led by Android once again with
a usage rate of 65% and followed by iOS’s 20%.
Source: GWI Device Report
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In the demographics of the global mobile users compared to the demographics of the global PC users, we see some convergences and some divergences. For instance, by means of gender, in both categories, the male users have a dominance with almost the same numbers.
By looking at the age of the mobile and laptop users, we can clearly see that the laptop users have a higher average age compared to the mobile users, from which we can deduce that the trend has been led by the younger generations.
At last, by means of income, the two categories have almost the same demographic information, although mobile does look less affordable to the bottom to mid-income individuals.
Tablets are mostly used within the age range of 25-34, which is followed by equal shares within the ages of 16-24 and 35-44. From this data, we can deduce that the tablet market will grow within years with a force coming both from the younger and elder generation.
Source: GWI device report
Source: GWI device report
7Q4.2014
Source: GWI device report
MomentsThe moments the users experience via their mobile phones within seconds are now and will be
very important in the upcoming year. Theses moments will be contextually relevant to give a more personalized and engaging experience to the users.
Location Based MarketingWith the help of beacons and other location based technology, location based marketing will gain more and more importance in the lives of us users. We will be offered discounts and campaigns based on our location, which will enable us to be responsive at the moment thanks to proximity.
Content MarketingContent marketing, non-interruption marketing, is seen as the art of communicating with your customers and
prospects without selling. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.
Internet of ThingsA whole new world of asset sharing: spontaneous, useful, fun, and profitable. As more objects become connected, new ways of deriving value from them will become possible for consumers, shared access being one. IoT is beginning to grow significantly, as consumers, businesses, and governments recognize the benefit of connecting inert devices to the Internet.
Second ScreeningThe rate of second screening rises to a point so high that only 95% of Turkish Internet users aged between
16-64 say that they second screen. This creates a great opportunity to launch cross device advertising reaching the consumer from several different channels with different opportunities. Reaching the users
that second screen with the TV and their tablets can be captured now with both the commercials and the digital advertisements.
Programmatic
Programmatic is the automated way of buying and selling digital media. It uses real time systems to automate the delivery of data driven, targeted and relevant experiences to consumers as they interact with a brand’s many touch points.
Hot Topics of 2014
New trends: 4G integration in Turkey and development of 5G technology throughout the worldIn today’s world, everything is moving faster day-by-day. We want to access information instantly via our laptops, mobile phones, and tablets wherever we are. This demand for accelerated connection has increased so rapidly that, on average, 60% of mobile users hold an expectation that an Internet site will load in three seconds or less. Mobile phone operators are working tirelessly to serve customers with the best possible coverage available. But, is this enough to meet all expectations? Given that the time allocated to smartphone screening is 147 minutes (and 50 minutes for tablets) per person per day, we as mobile consumers expect higher rates of traffic with faster connections.
Following the launch of 3G technology, mobile Internet has changed the attitudes of mobile users by introducing thousands of different apps spanning a range of different categories. These apps both entertain and offer many desirable benefits to the user in the form of enhanced lifestyle efficiencies. The combination of 3G technology and application development has led to increased focus on data usage. Data usage is such a fundamental part of mobile monitoring that, in some countries, demand has grown so significantly that an entirely new technology is now required: fourth generation mobile telecommunications (4G).
Almost all countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia have overhauled their technologies to meet increasing demands for data consumption. Only a few countries in the Middle East and Africa continue to operate with 3G and 2G technologies. In countries like Turkey, 3G technology is almost as good as some 4G technologies. The need for more sophisticated infrastructure, however, is a clear requirement. As such, 4G technology will be
integrated into the Turkish telecommunications network in 2015. This switch to 4G technology will invariably impact the user experience. Turkish consumers have had access to smartphones supporting 4G technology for over two years. It is only in the near future, however, that they will have the capacity to fully utilize the benefits of their technology.
The change in user experience driven by 4G technology will first impact commercial organizations. Companies using 4G technology will be able to access consumers much faster than they could before. One prediction from Cisco indicates that by 2018, 4G technology will represent over half of the mobile data traffic, meaning that consumers will visit more and more web-pages and download more and more apps over 4G. This creates a great opportunity for brands to boost visibility in a multitude of environments to the greatest possible number of customers. Additionally, the speed of 4G technology means that consumers will spend less time waiting for web-pages to load and more time watching ads. All of these factors will increase a combination of: access to customers, visibility, and brand engagement.
While Turkey is moving towards implementing 4G technology, the rest of the world is also progressing with mobile modernization, specifically through fifth generation mobile telecommunications (5G). According to the Ericsson Mobility Report published in November 2014, 5G subscriptions will be commercially available by 2020. It is too early to predict the exact implications of 5G technology, however, it is certain that with an increase in speed, demand will also expand.
Source: CompuwareMillwardBrownWorldTimezoneCiscoEricsson Mobility Report November 2014
NEWTRENDS
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BeaconCurrently, Beacon technology is one of the hottest items in the tech and marketing world. The attractiveness of Beacon is that it enables advertisers and retailers to reach their target audience at the right place and the right time.
So, how does it work? Beacon technology utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which enables smartphones to perform specific functions within close proximity to a Beacon. Specifically, Bea-con technology transmits unique, universal identifiers that are picked up by mobile applications to connect shoppers with loca-tion-based content via push notifications. This includes inform-ing select shoppers of product sales or releasing special offers intended to directly target and connect with customers based on her/his loyalty.
But don’t forget about compatibility. A Beacon network without a supportive app ecosystem is unfortunately like a TV channel with no viewers. Beacon technology is ineffective without the assistance of corresponding apps and their users. Despite this fact, compatibility set-up is simple and hassle-free. The only require-ment for accessing smart Beacon technology is the effortless integration of a software development kit (SDK) with mobile applications.
While there are many advantages and opportunities for retailers and advertisers to reach their target audience via smartphones, barriers also exist. The effectiveness of Beacon technology, and its ability to function as a “smart solution” for advertising and other promotional activities may, for example, be limited when users switch off their Bluetooth or are operating with an old handset. Nevertheless, the indoor positioning system offered by Beacon technology is a massive step towards direct consumer targeting–it presents the potential for advertisers to connect with consumers at the most opportune moment, and also eliminates the require-ment for brands to distribute personalized messages (such as point-of-sale campaigns) to individual shoppers.The greatest value offered by Beacon technology to the end user is the ability to receive messages/push notifications based on location. The focus on consumer location drives up consumer-ad engagement. According to a survey, “consumers who receive location-based messages are 16 times more likely to use an app in-store than those who don’t”.
Audio WatermarkThis single technology platform enables brands to utilize individual components of their marketing campaigns to achieve a number of strategic outcomes, including: enhanced mobile consumer engagement, brand loyalty, and increased purchase opportunities. Today’s mobile technology enables consumers to both “see and hear” media content. As a result, brands and retailers are encour-aged to adopt Audio Watermark technology across all media types to facilitate deeper customer engagement–the technology creates brand loyalty by connecting retailers with consumers at every touch point of their shopping journey.
Ed Knudson, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Digimarc, had the following to say about mobile marketing: “The advantages of assigning unique digital identities to every media component are game changing for mobile marketing”
Wearable TechnologiesWhile it appears to most that wearable technology has only re-cently emerged as a new product trend, the truth is that wearable technology has a long history spanning almost 50 years. The first wearable technology was used in the 1960s and 70s in casinos to improve gambling odds at the roulette table.
Sci-fi films also have a reputation for publicizing the benefits and appeal of wearable technology. This fad, however, is no longer re-stricted only to the movies. Since the turn of the millennium, more and more consumers have been recorded purchasing wearable technology for daily use.
If we consider the volume of wearable tech world-wide, and com-bine this data with the knowledge that healthcare and sport activi-ty trackers are rapidly becoming mass-market products, we can be certain that the role of wearable tech is set to rise significantly in the near future. “The next twelve months will be a critical period for the acceptance and adoption of wearable devices,” says senior analyst Joshua Flood from Datamonitor Energy.
On the flipside, before they are invited into the mainstream, wearable devices (such as smart watches) will need to overcome some critical obstacles. Specifically, improvements are required in relation to: design aesthetic, protective case/packaging attrac-tiveness, battery life, and economic value. How vendors approach these challenges and the respective solutions offered will affect the wearable technology market far into the future.If you are still skeptical about the potential for wearable technol-ogy to be applied to everyday life, the statistics speak for them-selves: “Ninety million wearable computing devices were shipped in 2014 for the Sports, Health and Fitness industry alone. It is also expected that more than two million smart glasses will be shipped in 2014, with strong growth in this category projected for 2015 and beyond. Mobile enabling technologies, such as augmented reality, will play a vital part in enhancing smart glass capabilities.”
Source:abiresearchmashable
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Mobile and Big Data
Collection and use of big data is a well-known trend both for com-panies and institutions nowadays. Companies place a high level of importance on big data in order to understand their customers and ultimately serve them better. All of the operations associated with big data have improved within the scope of laptops and PCs, but what about mobile phones?
What is big data?Big data refers to enormous and exponentially growing volumes of data. It does not have any specific parameters, but is defined by the three “V’s”: velocity, volume, and variety. Kipp Jones from Sky-hook adds a fourth “V” to the equation: value. In order to retrieve and interpret information from data, understanding of the four “V’s” is paramount.
The data, most companies are gathering today, include informa-tion such as average consumption and average usage, or similar data where only one number is used to represent a group of peo-ple. Big data, on the contrary, provides real information for each individual, thus enabling us to understand the separate actions of each person.
The next step: mobileMobile usage is increasing day-by-day and users have demonstrat-ed an overwhelming preference to consume additional data. Thus, the importance of big data in the mobile industry is now of key consideration. People have their smartphones with them every-where they go–so much so that the daily screening rate of mobile technology has reached 147 minutes per person per day.
With increased mobile data consumption, companies have begun to focus on mobile opportunities where they can monitor data even when users are not active. The first step in developing the industry of mobile data is the use of big data in acquiring informa-tion for app developers looking to optimize and personalize their services.
This new focus on big data has also created room for improvement in advertising. The most striking factor differentiating big data attributed to mobile technologies from web oriented big data is the ability to access location data with mobile technologies. This allows companies to advertise with a hyper-local targeting focus. That is, advertisers are able to target specific users within certain, fixed areas.
Another feature distinguishing mobile from web based big data is that users can be traced among multiple devices via algorithmic analysis. This introduces a new concept called cross-device target-ing. Since mobile phones and tablets don’t typically use cookies, actions executed on laptops or tablets can be tracked via mobile big data. This provides companies with more information about users as it offers the opportunity to observe the precise actions of consumers on multiple devices.
Given the two targeting features differentiating big data attribut-ed to mobile technologies from web oriented big data, it is clear that mobile big data will have an increasingly larger role to play in the strategic operations of many companies.
Source:BusinessInsiderMillwardBrown
11Q4.2014
Programmatic As mobile devices assume a central role in the digital lives of almost all consumers, the importance of cookies is rapidly reced-ing. Consequently, there is now an urgent need for alternative methods of audience identification, segmentation, and analysis to be developed. Programmatic is applicable to all media types: paid, owned, and earned. It traverses screens, devices, as well as count-less other media sources, and is regarded as the optimal solution for both the sale and purchase of media. As such, programmatic supports the needs and desires of advertisers for richer and more actionable customer profiles that can be addressed across a range of channels and media sources.
The audience-centered efforts of programmatic (a function regarded as the backbone of this new, refined technology) will support data to grow in strategic value. Programmatic reinforces the importance of strong management and identifies merit in enterprise governance strategies focused on ensuring access to and security of robust management processes. Programmatic is evolving as a tool with the potential to accelerate marketing activ-ity to great new heights. With a multitude of support technologies in place/development, various organizations in the digital mar-keting supply chain will be looking to realign their infrastructure to achieve compatibility with the programmatic system. The use of programmatic is set to become mainstream, thus companies are encouraged to follow the momentum of mobile modernization efforts to avoid lagging behind.
seamless platformThe effectiveness of mass marketing is declining, hence personalized marketing is being adopted as the preferential strategy. The
rise of mobile device usage has made it easier for marketers to distribute relevant brand messages to target audiences in a timely fashion. Thanks to its TargetSense™ technology (a combination of sensor-driven targeting and behavioral target-ing) seamless enables advertisers to pinpoint specific audienc-es. Behavioral targeting records historical data, creating user profiles and segments–it enhances the relevance of market data by capturing personal information. The seamless platform guarantees a direct link between marketers and their target audiences. In addition, the personalized marketing approach of seamless has been proven to increase engagement rates. When the bulk of marketing content a mobile user encounters is aligned to their personal preferences and interests, they are more inclined to engage with ads and products in a positive and enthusiastic manner.
TargetSense™ technology is not the only benefit of seamless. The platform also provides native ad placement options to create a smooth mobile user experience. Banners displayed across a mobile interface can sometimes be intrusive. Thus, ad placement is key to minimizing ad interference and maintain-ing a user-ad relationship that is welcomed by both parties. The seamless platform offers a masterful integration of ads and mobile content–the ads supported by seamless adopt the look and feel of the applications and mobile sites visited by the user. Last, but not least, seamless also enables publishers and advertisers to connect with what has been labelled as “the next big thing” in mobile technology: programmatic. The seamless platform works as an SSP (supply-side platform) add-on with a single unified SDK (software development kit). These charac-teristics allow publishers to connect with multiple SSP sources and hundreds of DSPs (demand-side platforms).
There are numerous trends in modern advertising, including use of mobile technology and social media, e-commerce integration, as well as development of real-time and native campaigns. What’s more, these trends are constantly changing. It is clear the zeitgeist of modern advertising is heading towards digital marketing.
We discussed new trends and changes in the marketing world with Bora Başman, who is member of the IAB Turkish Committee of Education. Mr. Başman shared his thoughts on the digital marketing strategies and methods of 2014, and also provided insight regarding the evolution of advertising in 2015.
INTERVIEWLooking at thedigital world withBora Başman
How should brands use digital media in their marketing campaigns and how should they develop their marketing strategies?
It’s true that paid media reach, gives advertisers a huge amount of opportunities. Yet, it’s also possible that you’ve been wasting it all without proper management. You should always focus on your desired actions and the target audience. Your desired actions could be downloads, video plays, clicks, impressions, dwell times, filling forms, content sharing etc. and you’d need some youngsters to do the bidding; good to hear! From organic reach to paid media support, making a decision on what type of impact you would like to generate is the hardest one, because it should be set at the idea phase and should be carried out all the way to the end; one simply does not adapt the campaign into a digital ad that naturally. It’s not rocket science, but it needs a proper preperation.
In 2014, which digital marketing methods were most in demand, and which trends will be on the agenda in 2015?
We’ve heard a lot about BIG DATA, CONTENT/VIDEO MARKETING this year and expect to hear a lot of MOBILE MEDIA, PROGRAMMATIC BUYING and INTENT BASED MARKETING next year. I think it’s vital to seperate the buzz words from the actual marketing part, because it doesn’t reflect the real adspend or focus most of the time.
From a customer engagement perspective, how different are digital marketing methods from the classical ones? In traditional advertising, the race is fierce with your competitors; whether it’s the first place or the last, between thousands of mixed messages, sound logos, call to actions, big fonts, bigger ad units, advertorials, cinema ads, newspaper ads, bigger newspaper
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ads or magazines. When compared to digital marketing, traditional communication is a solitary and basic experience. Initiatives like following up messages, becoming followers, visiting websites and search actions are so powerful, that you’d wish you could master it in a shorter time period.
Do the developments in mobile technology impact investments in digital marketing?
I’d be lying if I say “yes”. In short term, it has a small impact. In the longer term, the more the meaning of mobile marketing develops, the higher will be the possibility that it’ll take over more slices of the budget pie; thus pushing the whole spending up the ladder. What really improve the digital adspend are “People” and “Adtech”. For curious readers: my article about digital media adspend on LinkedIn gives more insights regarding this topic.
In your opinion, what impact is likely to be observed in response to increased mobile device penetration?
Mobile handset count has a direct effect on the mobile Internet consumption, as well as becoming a much more dominant device in our daily life. Basically, more reach equals more budget. But I believe that ad technology will have a larger and vertical impact on digital adspend. Traditional ad units often repeat themselves, or get either bigger or smaller in size and usually do not innovate. Adtech gives you the option to laser-focus on your target audience; making it a mutual improvement for both publishers and marketers. And with the wearable tech becoming mainstream, it’s possible to expect changes in advertising for cross channels.
Why is the integration of digital communication in marketing strategies so important?
Protecting the brand image is a tough job. Considering the multiple possibilities and the real time effect that digital marketing can generate, you have to plan it beforehand. In the past we used the 3 second long “taglines” to give direct, full brand messages; but now it’s possible to maintain that relationship and effect for the long term. Also, the toughest part is to change the perception on digital marketing, because it’s out of our comfort zones. Marketers and brand executives have been focusing on controlling the branding and communication issues very strictly, but digital marketing is mainly about real time and going with the flow. It is as if the meaning of the word “strategy” has shifted from solid/strong to versatile/continuous when it comes to the digital ways of communication. This is one of the reasons why you need to think for a digital framework first.
How do you create an effective mobile marketing campaign?
Having the target audience and the campaign aims set, seek out the reach and interaction rates when it comes to performance for best impact. It’s a MUST to advertise to your target audience, not at a specific mobile site or an application. See through the vast mobile inventory, combine the business intelligence with your previous experience and build a creative campaign that is impossible to ignore. Methods such as adapting native advertising and getting your priorities in programmatic buying will help you to effectively use the budget at hand. Also remember that, post-click analysis always helps for better references.
Photo Credit: Burak Teoman
We would like to thankMr. Başman for his contributions to madreport, sharing his vision about the digital marketing world.
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The strength of a marketing campaign is maximized when the following combination of factors is achieved: reaching consumers at the most appropriate point in time with the right message. As the media industry fragments and customer attention spans dwindle, brands need to adopt specialized mechanisms for identifying and engaging their audience. Systems using programmatic technology achieve a collaboration of speed and agility with paid digital media–this makes it an effective tool for targeting consumers in real time. Despite all of its usefulness, programmatic is still a mystery for the majority of media owners, advertisers, and marketers. To assist with developing knowledge of the programmatic concept, we are answering the questions everyone is afraid to ask.
What does “programmatic” really mean?There is a lot of confusion regarding the term programmatic. Many people mistakenly refer to it as real-time bidding (RTB), however, this is only one part of the programmatic ecosystem. Others believe it is only used for remnant inventory. The term “programmatic” is the umbrella term for the automated buying and selling of media. Through SSPs (supply-side platforms), DSPs (demand-side platforms), and ATDs (agency trading desks), media buyers and publishers can purchase and sell displays, videos, mobile ads and more using automated technology.
What is RTB?RTB refers to real-time bidding, which is an auction-based mechanism for media buyers to bid on ads at the impression level (that is, according to the measure of the number of times an ad is seen). The auctions are often facilitated by ad exchanges, ad-servers, or SSPs.
When an ad impression is determined, a call is made to the exchange and the impression is submitted to all bidders. Bids are then placed (usually in less than 100 milliseconds). Ad exchanges federate bids to ensure bidders are contacted according to demand preferences and are only submitting defined selections to the exchange. However, not all programmatic advertising uses RTB. Some programmatic or technology-driven ad platforms let publishers sell their inventory in advance for a fixed price, as opposed to auctioning it off. This is sometimes referred to as programmatic direct or programmatic guaranteed.
What are the SSPs and DSPs you are talking about?SSPs, supply-side platforms, are software programs used for the automated sale of advertising. SSPs are mostly employed by online publishers to sell displays, videos, and mobile ads. An SSP is basically the publisher equivalent of a DSP.
While SSPs are designed to maximize publisher yields, DSPs, demand-side platforms, are used by marketers to buy ad impressions from exchanges in an efficient manner. SSPs and DSPs are empowered with a similar technology.
By using SSPs, publishers connect their inventory to multiple ad exchanges, DSPs, and ad networks all at once. This expands the potential range of ad inventory purchases. When an SSP throws impressions into ad exchanges, DSPs analyze and purchase them on behalf of marketers the latter takes place according to certain pre-defined attributes, such as where the impressions are served and the user profile the ads are being served to. The idea is to open impressions to as many potential buyers as possible so that publishers can maximize the revenue of their inventory. Publisher inventory is also known as yields, hence, SSPs are sometimes referred to as yield-optimization platforms.
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FAQ PROGRAMMATIC
15Q4.2014 15
What do you mean by ad exchanges?Think of the finance world where stocks, bonds, commodities, and derivatives are sold over “exchanges”–the sale of advertising operates in a similar manner via a platform known as an ad exchange. Most exchanges are second-price auctions. This means the highest bidder of an ad impression wins that impression, but only pays the price (sometimes plus one kuruş*) that the second-highest bidder was willing to pay. Almost all of these exchanges have moved to RTB. Ad exchanges provide liquidity to the marketplace by enabling supply and demand to match fluidly. Ad exchanges are a relatively inexpensive conduit through which demand and supply flow.
* kuruş is a Turkish currency subunit. One Turkish Lira is equivalent to 100 kuruş.
Can you provide more information about programmatic direct/guaranteed?Programmatic direct is a mechanism for automating direct ad purchases for set campaigns. As a new subset of the programmatic ecosystem, its functionality is still being developed, however, the main goal remains the same: to increase automation of the buying and selling of media. Purchases can take place via a number of channels including displays, videos, social and mobile applications, as well as a rage of other traditional mechanism, such as television, radio, and print. The programmatic ecosystem consists of vendors who independently support the needs of buyers and sellers–a few also offer hybrid solutions.
Many DSPs are now plugging into programmatic direct inventory sources as well, allowing one-stop-shop purchases of both RTB and direct inventory.
So, it is different to RTB?Yes. Programmatic direct/guaranteed ad purchasing does not involve an auction. You can think of it as being similar to Wall Street–spot markets involve real-time bidding, but the majority of trading takes place through guaranteed purchases.
So, RTB covers remnant, low-quality ad space while programmatic direct focuses on the high-quality stuff?Wrong. They are just different ways of buying ad inventory. The idea behind programmatic direct is to take the mechanisms of automation that were popularized by RTB and apply them to typical ad buying processes.
But how can I be sure that my ad won’t end up in the wrong place? How will my brand be protected?Careful planning should be conducted from the start. It is also important that the campaign is managed dynamically and optimized over time so that brand safety can be monitored and managed. Ad purchases under the programmatic system have a far broader reach than conventional media purchases, therefore the system may be abused through automated traffic or misrepresentation. As such, when planning programmatic activity, it is important to work with partners that are committed to the highest standards. This includes partners that are actively working with bodies such as the IAB or collaborating on programs such as ‘Traffic of Good Intent’.
Is it different to private exchanges?Yes. The private marketplace gives more power to the media buyer to choose whether it wants the ad inventory.
OK, what are the advantages of using programmatic for advertisers?Programmatic enables a media buyer to specify exact goals and to look only for ad inventory that matches those goals. It allows advertisers to pinpoint audiences and deliver the right message, at the right time, in the right place. As a result, media wastage is diminished significantly, buying efficiency is improved, and overall campaign effectiveness is boosted.
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This is different from buying from publishers directly, where the publisher specifies the inventory type. With RTB, the buyers specify the inventory desired and only purchase what they want.
Why should publishers use programmatic?Exchanges and supply-side platforms enable publishers to control the minimum prices at which their inventory is sold (often called price floors). This system supports publishers to offer their ads at an auction while setting a reserve price that must be met in order for a transaction to take place. Also, programmatic selling achieves higher yields because publisher sales costs are lower and inventory is being used more efficiently (idle stored units are minimized).
What should media owners do to achieve successful programmatic selling?
Publishers have started to adopt programmatic as a core part of their monetization strategy, but this approach may pose some internal challenges. The top five activities, as recommended by the IAB, for building a successful programmatic publisher organization are: (1) aligning incentives and compensation; (2) educating direct sellers by encouraging them to attend Programmatic 101 Training; (3) establishing a programmatic team focused on supporting direct sales (agencies) and covering programmatic buying entities (DSPs, trading desks); (4) creating a programmatic rate card; and (5) maintaining internal and external quarterly budget reviews.
I think I understand, so programmatic replaces humans with computers?This is true to some extent, however, systems such as programmatic are a natural part of the technological revolution and offer an entirely unique humanistic component all of their own. For brands and media buyers, programmatic creates a large range of opportunities for customer engagement. In this way, programmatic, increases the ‘human touch’ applied to ad sales through promoting a system based on personal creative taste and preferences. Programmatic technology replaces traditional media-buying processes with a new set of tools that enable both parties (brand and audience) to enrich conversations with relevant data. It creates clear efficiencies for media buying and selling, and removes the headache of repetitive negotiations.
Furthermore, human creativity and programmatic are not enemies. All ads should leverage the audience signals used by the programmatic system to create relevant ad units for a target
17Q4.2014
audience. This can be done by integrating first or third-party data (such as demographics, location, and previous user behavior) to alter the ad components (such as headline call to action, image, or assets of the ad unit) to ensure the message resonates with the user. This combination of factors can double yield on interaction rates and increase engagement by 50%.
Is programmatic becoming the new mainstream?Yes. Public and private conversations across the industry with executives from both marketing and media agencies, indicate the zeitgeist of the mobile industry is definitely moving in this direction. In the past, publishers have been reluctant to embrace new mobile technologies, however, they have gradually come to acknowledge the benefits of programmatic. Many publishers are finding that programmatic provides higher yields, either because their cost of sales are lower or because their inventory is being used more efficiently. Also, Interpublic Group, one of the biggest agency holding companies, has stated that it wants to move 50 percent of its media purchases to programmatic methodologies by 2015, with an intention for all other media types to follow suit in due time.
How is seamless integrated with programmatic?seamless is an SSP add-on that provides unique targeting through its TargetSense™ technology, ad placement, engagement, and ad format options. It is where programmatic and creativity actually meet. When a publisher integrates the seamless SDK (software development kit) into its mobile site or other applications, they are not required to integrate other ad exchanges and SSPs–the seamless SDK platform will directly integrate with the programmatic ecosystem. Hence, seamless supports publishers by employing only one unified seamless SDK to integrate with Google, AdX, Mopub, Liverail, and Facebook audiences.
Programmatic, SSP, DSP, RTB, AdX... Well, this seems like an alphabet soup, so confusing.Yes, it can be quite confusing, but only at first. As you become more involved in the world of ad-tech, these terms will become more familiar to you and will function as a natural part of your dialect. In the increasingly sophisticated industry that mobile applications have created, such acronyms and advanced terminology assist by creating a common language between buyers and sellers, ultimately enhancing communication in the long run.
Programmatic: Zeitgeist of the Ad Industry Brands, agencies, trading desks, and publishers have all increased their RTB for video use in the last year. Trading desks are now operating with 100% video use. 19% of brand advertisers are already employing trading desks to pick up inventory. More than two-thirds of agencies have 20% of their budgets allocated to automated ad buying, and more than a third have an allocation proportion of at least 60%. Programmatic is expected to account for nearly 30% of all display ad spending (approximately $9 billion) by 2017. Programmatic delivers results that are three times more efficient than traditional online advertising by incorporating cross-platform retargeting to reach users across all devices. Mobile and video ads are at the forefront of programmatic advertising due to the increased usage of handheld devices and tablets.
85% of advertisers currently use programmatic–this figure is expected to increase to 91% in the next two years.
Programmatic is the fastest growing digital segment in ad-tech.
Mobile programmatic ad spending in the U.S. is predicted to reach $8.36 billion next year. This figure sees programmatic surpassing desktop spending (estimated at $6.62 billion) for the first time.
Desktop spending is forecast to decline 3.9% in 2016, while mobile applications are set to continue growing (up to 69.2%).
Real time bidding accounted for $9.25 billion of the $10 billion purchases made available this past year.
Programmatic direct is growing much faster than real time bidding (up 850% this year to $800 million).
By 2016, it is predicted programmatic direct will hold a value of $8.57 billion, compared to $11.84 billion for real-time bidding.
Private marketplaces are growing in the real-time bidding ecosystem–open exchanges still dominate, but the gap is closing. By 2016, open exchanges are expected to handle 72 percent of programmatic buying (compared to a figure of 88% today).
By 2016, it is predicted that $3.84 billion, or 40%, of all digital video ads in the U.S. will be bought programmatically.
Source: Forbes, eMarketer, IAB
An intelligent mobile advertising platform unlocking complete smartphone potential
seamless:HASSLE-FREEMOBILEADVERTISING
seamless, part of the mobilike group, has unveiled a proprietary technology platform to enhance the mobile advertising capabilities of premium publishers. seamless offers its users a number of sophisticated and competitive advantages, including: capacity for monetizing mobile applications without disruption to the user experience; ability to reach target audiences through sensor driven and behavioral targeting; unique native advertising features supporting revenue maximization and peak industry fill-rates.
The primary mission of seamless is to assist publishers with inventory management of ads while maximizing revenues. We
provide yield optimization through a range of sources, including: various mediated ad networks, DSPs (demand-side platforms), as well as other direct sales and ad exchanges. The single, unified SDK (software development kit) of seamless enables publishers to access the greatest number of demand partners. seamless eliminates the need for clients to reproduce content across multiple ad networks–seamless achieves this integration for you. This feature is particularly useful for those migrating from other monetization networks as it removes all requirements for revenue sources to be integrated, tested, and serviced against multiple SDKs.
At mobilike, we strive to create publications that achieve app-advertisement harmonization. This strategy of matching the correct ad to the appropriate mobile application supports user acquisition and retention. seamless offers a wide range of ad placements because we understand the importance of diversity–we want to support our customers to best utilize their inventory to meet all campaign goals. Our publisher relations team, along with seamless’ advanced programming capabilities, ensures the maintenance and optimization of your inventory; you may elect to receive monthly reports of your inventory performance.
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19Q4.2014
One of the greatest benefits seamless offers is its TargetSense™ technology. This technology allows advertisers to reach appropriate audiences through sensor driven targeting. Targeting options available on the seamless platform include: battery, storage, application, location, operation system, device, carrier, connection type, and contextual targeting.
Mobile targeting is a new marketing trend that enables advertisers to be directly connected with target customer groups. The opportunity to pinpoint a specific target audience via personal devices (such as smartphones) is a unique feature of TargetSense™ technology, evidencing that seamless is one step ahead of other marketing trends. The targeting options of seamless can be divided into two main categories: behavioral and sensor-driven targeting. Behavioral targeting may be considered as the golden standard of all mobile targeting options as it functions to capture the “big data”.
By maintaining historical records of targeted users, seamless can monitor personal preferences and decision making trends. This information enables seamless to offer ads based on prior usage, ensuring that all ad proposals are the most relevant to the customer. The most effective method of monitoring customer preferences is application targeting. Application targeting, as the name suggests, records observations of applications accessed by mobile users, thus providing critical information regarding the events, tastes, and activities enjoyed by the respective individuals. As the relevance of ads increases so too does engagement and conversion rates. Application re-engagement is another advantage of behavioral targeting. By displaying discounts and other favorable promotional offers to the user, re-engagement with application based technology is maximized. All of these features guarantee the success of seamless as a solid marketing tool in the mobile marketing industry.
mobilike group companies have won several prestigious awards in relation to the seamless platform. These include the Effie, IAB Mixx, and MMA Smarties. The unique TargetSense™ technology of seamless leverages all smartphone sensors allowing advertisers to hone in on the most appropriate audience. Specifically, TargetSense™ technology works by segmenting mobile components such as battery performance, application usage, and location history. Prior to its official release, seamless was utilized for award winning campaigns by brands such as Ford, Turkcell, and Duracell. September 2014 marks the official release of seamless, which is now available to all advertisers and publishers. As of December 2014 the technology will also become available in Greece. seamless may be easily adopted by publishers through an integration of the simple Android and iOS SDK (downloadable at goseamless.com). Users will have access to enjoy all of the seamless features immediately upon purchase.
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seamless platform v.1.3.0 releasedseamless, a proprietary mobile advertising platform, is updating its software development kit (SDK) periodically to enable publishers and advertisers to benefit from the latest trends of digital marketing.
What’s inside the basket?
The most current seamless SDK is available on github.com/goseamless. New native engagement features on interstitials are accessible to all advertisers on the seamless v.1.3.0 SDK.
New on seamless SDK:
Android & iOS
Integration with Facebook Audience Network (FAN)Facebook ads published on seamless integrated mobile sites or applications
A new targeting featureDevice Manufacturer
New engagement features for interstitials, including sensors such as:
- Vibration: turning vibration on & off, setting vibration duration
- Device Name: using mobile devices’ registered names on rich media ads
- Torchlight: turning torchlight on & off
- Brightness: adjusting the brightness level of the screen
- Social Platform Engagements: native share functionality for Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, WhatsApp & SMS with text through ads
- Minor bug fixes & performance improvements
- Improved interstitial performance
- New solutions for portrait and landscape ad placement
21Q4.2014
seamless is now integrated with ATV & Sabah
The seamless platform is expanding its network day-by-day. Turkey’s largest publishers have already demonstrated consistent adoption of seamless technology.* At last, ATV and Sabah have joined our the seamless proprietary mobile advertising platform.
After the integration of seamless, ATV has generated a month-
ly traffic volume of 122,872,290 impressions and has reached 934,848 unique users.
Sabah, also increased its traffic volume up to 31,893,427 impres-sions and shot up to 495,611 monthly unique users.
Thanks to seamless, all TargetSense™ and Facebook targeting options are available on ATV and Sabah right now.
* seamless platform is also integrated with Acunn.com, Cep Altın, Cep Döviz, SporX, FOX, Kanal D, Vatan, TV8, Milliyet, InternetHaber on iOS and Android devices.
A REWARDING YEAR
The combination of TargetSense™ technology and unique engagement capabilities embedded in the seamless platform has proved to be a successful and desirable innovation. In 2014, mobilike’s seamless technology won 23 awards across 9 different mobile ad campaigns from some of the world’s most prestigious
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23Q4.2014
2014 was a year of innovation, new beginnings, and significant success. mobilike reached new milestones and strengthened its reputation both in Turkey and around the globe. Let’s review the activities of the past year and take a look at the future of mobile operations.
GOODBYE 2014
mobilike is Growing...mobilike opened its doors in 2009, with a team of 3: two co-founders, Şekip Can Gökalp and Volkan Biçer, and a sales specialist. This small team created the foundations for what was soon to be regarded as an extraordinary business model well beyond its years–even in its infancy mobilike developed products and services that revolutionized existing markets. Finding its niche, mobilike grew to become the #1 Mobile Advertising Platform in its region in a very short period of time, and continues to build its global presence on a daily basis. The company’s success saw a skyrocketing in demand for talent to create, design, promote, and sell innovative products. As such, year by year, the company has expanded its workforce. Today, mobilike operates with more than 60 trained experts across several departments. Employees are currently based in a modern office in Levent, Istanbul, with plans to relocate to a larger building in the near future. And this is just the beginning.
...and is now an Ad-Tech Company! In September this year, mobilike launched its own mobile advertising platform: seamless. Those familiar with mobilike’s progress will be well aware of this new and unique platform (see previous articles in this edition). For others who have only recently
jumped in, here’s a quick explanation: seamless is a proprietary technology platform that supports advertisers to capture select audiences through sensor driven and behavioral targeting. The platform enables publishers to monetize their mobile applications without disruption to the user experience.
In transforming itself to operate as an ad-tech company, mobilike has demonstrated alignment and capabilities akin to many other successful mobile companies. Our commitment to ad technology as a second mainstay ensures our long-term market presence as well as continued company growth. And let’s face it, seamless is simply cool, and makes our work easier and more fun. We didn’t wanna miss out.
So, what exactly is an ad-tech company? Companies that once used their technologies in-house to package ad space and resell it at a premium are now increasingly selling their tech on a software-as-a-service basis. Agencies are able to purchase ad space themselves in exchange for a simple technology fee. One thing’s for sure, it’s no longer enough to be a leader in content. Leading content may suffice to please investors, but to achieve competitive advantage, media companies are increasingly positioning themselves as ad-tech firms. And we are going with the trend. Some of the most successful digital-native publishers are now launching their own ad exchanges or demand platforms, which provide tools that help advertisers buy space in a programmatic and cost-efficient manner.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ad Age
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Our Events with seamlessTo achieve a successful launch, may it be the launch of a product or an entire company, attending networking events is vital–this is especially true for a B2B business like mobilike. Networking events present advantages such as: cementing business position and categorization, establishing interest, delivering sales-ready leads, and recycling buyers back into the funnel, to name a few.
We were very active this fall, and attended a number of sponsored events in Istanbul:
Webrazzi Summit September 25, 2014JavaScript Conference September 27/28, 2014Start-Up Istanbul September 30, 2014Dijital Ajanslar Zirvesi November 12/1, 2014Turkcell Teknoloji Zirvesi November 12/13, 2014VNGRS AngularJS Bootcamp November 22/23, 2014Media & Tech Day @ Unilever November 24/25, 2014Bilişim Teknolojileri Zirvesi (BTZ) December 5/6, 2014
mobilike goes GreeceDuring the last decade, rising demand has led to a huge increase in the number of smartphone users around the globe. Consumers continue to purchase smartphones as ‘must-have’ tools of convenience. Smartphones have become an indispensable part of our everyday lives. They transform our behavior, help us navigate the world, and change the way we shop. Moreover, they enable advertisers to connect with consumers in a direct way. This combination of factors sees companies constantly searching for new markets and broader consumer segments. Within the regional boundaries, ‘mobile evolution’ has made its way on to European doorsteps. After Turkey, Greece is one of the main emerging destinations in the sector of mobile operations.
As Turkey’s #1 mobile advertising platform, mobilike is the result of hard work, accumulated know-how, experience, and the drive to make a difference while developing new mobile strategies. After five years of steadily growing success, there has come a time to spread our passion and share our expertise across borders. After making a splash as a local Turkish competitor, Greece is marked as our next stop and our soon-to-be home of new achievements.
Today we are proud to announce the successful launch of our first international subsidiary in Athens, Greece. With a team of two experienced, dynamic and motivated peopled we are heading towards something great. The team is enthusiastic that mobilike will achieve the same reputation for excellence and value in international markets as it has in Turkey.
Our official kick-off into the Greek market took place in Athens on December 12 at the IMC (Interactive Marketing Conference). At this conference we had the chance to network with some of the countries premium publishers and top brands. This event was a valuable networking opportunity, and the perfect environment to introduce mobilike’s commendable, innovative products to an international market.
Q4.2014
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Our Achievements mobilike launched numerous innovative campaigns in 2014. We collaborated with a range of top brands such as Ford, Duracell, and Acuvue, to create products that were recognized by the industry for their exceptional value–this recognition was gained not only in Turkey, but also in international markets. We are very proud of our achievements and say “Goodbye 2014” with a great sense of satisfaction. We know 2015 will share the same productivity, success, and growth of the previous 12 months and much, much more.
Predictions for Mobile Operations in 20152014 was a great year for both mobilike and the mobile industry as a whole. With 2015 almost upon us, it is time for a sneak preview of the upcoming trends.
The mobile industry is one of accelerated growth and dynamism. As such, we expect 2015 to bring a number of exciting and
innovative developments. From new data-tracking tools to growth in video programming, from improved mobile storytelling to the ultimate mobile shopping experience, consumers have an endless number of reasons to hold great excitement and anticipation for the many mobile advances that await them.
2014 was the age of the “mobile mind shift”–consumers demonstrated a preference for smartphones and tablets over laptops and computers more than ever before. Times are changing and mobile technology is on the rise to supersede all other electronic devices. Data tracking and cross-device usage offers a new dimension of technological interaction, and is just one of the many reasons consumers are turning to mobile applications. We, as marketers, need to stay ahead of the game and adjust our products and services according to this new diverse lifestyle model.
I predict that B2B marketers will see their
audiences cross over to a philosophy of
“mobile first” in 2015, meaning that more
than 50% of consumer marketing content
will be viewed on mobile or tablet devices.
- Russell Glass, Head of B2B Products,
27Q4.2014
Mobile analytics is going to become much
bigger in 2015. No one has done a great
job tackling this field as the world is still
transitioning to a more mobile society.
- Eric Siu, CEO, Single Grain
Cross-device attribution will become
more important in 2015 as mobile traffic
continues to increase dramatically and
competition grows as non-gaming
advertisers keep entering the space.
- Dario Derna, Head of Online Marketing,
ZenPayroll
For mobilike, this heightened focus on mobile devices means a greater number of challenges, but also greater opportunities–opportunities to out-shine other mobile application providers and differentiate ourselves from the competition by continuously demonstrating innovative capacity and a close relationship with our consumers. This is a function mobilike has, and always will, demonstrate.
The New Year commences with a huge project for mobilike: construction of our office in Greece. Goals of this project include: understanding the new market and its users; creating and maintaining a premium network of publishers and top brands by demonstrating the sophistication of our wide range of high-end products and services; staying true to the brand and reputation established in the Turkish market–our original home and birthplace. These goals are vital for the sustainability and success of mobilike.
Furthermore, we are committed to welcoming and designing solutions for the needs and desires presented by 2015 users–this includes needs and desires consumers themselves are not yet aware of. This is our philosophy: always be one step ahead.
We are ready. Are you?
Sources: Forbes
February 11-13, 2015Mobile Trends Conference
Krakow / Poland
March 30, 2015Mobile: IAB Marketplace
NYC / USA
March 2-5, 2015Mobile World Congress
Barcelona / Spain
May 12-13, 2015Apps World North America
San Francisco/ USA
March 19, 2015Marketing Power Conference
Istanbul / Turkey
April 22-23, 2015Apps World Germany
Berlin / Germany
June 29-30 &
July 1-2, 201513th Annual International
Conference on Marketing
Athens / Greece
May 12-13, 2015The Mobile Show Middle
East
Dubai / UAE
July 15-17, 2015 Mobile World Congress Shanghai
Shanghai / China
July 27-30, 201512th Annual International Conference on SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Athens / Greece
December 4, 2015e-volution Awards
Athens / Greece
November 3-4, 2015Advertising and Marketing Expo
Valencia / Spain
Conferences & Events
