Embrace the Unpredictable for a Successful Holiday Season

2020 continues to be unpredictable as we head into the holiday season. We wanted to share a few key points with our supply partners to help prepare you for a less than normal Q4. Between the constant headlines of COVID-19, economic uncertainty, and the election, it’s almost impossible to predict what will happen in the upcoming months.

So don’t fight it, embrace it. Over the course of 6 months, we have seen a lot of positive momentum from our supply partners. Many publishers have used this time to take deeper dives into their demand stack, implement new header bidding/server-to-server solutions, onboard new demand integrations, and embrace incremental revenue opportunities.

We are also seeing a lot of positive news regarding programmatic media and we hope more silver linings continue for the remainder of 2020.

According to eMarketer, US programmatic media spending continues to grow despite a recession.

    • Digiday reported a rise in CPMs since the onset of the pandemic as advertisers reignite media budgets

1. Reach your full potential with Impact
If you haven’t implemented 33Across’ High Impact Ad formats, this is the time to include them in your monetization strategy. 33Across’ suite of impact formats generates incremental revenue without sacrificing user experience and requires no additional development resources.

During Q4, our direct Deal ID demand for viewable impact ads dramatically increases. Our Chief Revenue Officer Paul Bell weighed in on the importance of high impact ads during the holiday season, “Typically, we see our demand partners ramp up their viewable impact inventory appetite during the holiday season to reach their campaign goals since this inventory is efficient and performs well. Between the election, a pandemic, and typical holiday noise, capturing consumer attention with high impact formats at scale will be key.”

Aside from an increase in demand, our suite of high impact ads earns a substantially higher eCPM than standard IAB formats.

Pro Tip: Learn how publishers are using Impact Ads here.

 

2. Increase buyer confidence
A growing amount of buyers are passing on inventory that might even hint at fraud. There are a few things that you can do to avoid lost revenue. First, make sure your ads.txt file is enabled and current. Then move on to see if your sellers.json file is up to date. Finally, to make sure you do not lose header bidding revenue, ensure that you have the most recent Pre-bid adaptor (v. 4.9.0 at the time of publication). Your bottom line will thank you for getting these small housekeeping items in order.

3. Analyze audience behaviors
We’ve all changed since the beginning of the pandemic, how we consume media, our interests, and overall lifestyle changes. Your audience may look and behave differently than they did during this time last year. Review your audience behaviors and ad format performance in the past 6 months to see how they could translate into a better monetization strategy. It may be time to employ different formats or ad sizes for a better user experience.

Another area of opportunity for publishers is to align their editorial with changes in consumer behavior. With limited in-store shopping, consumers will rely on publishers for Information since many impulse gift ideas are generated within a store. Create holiday guides, product reviews, that are perfect for this socially distant holiday season.

When you adapt to change and not just endure the unpredictable, it will put you in a better position for a successful holiday season. We wish our partners a healthy and prosperous holiday shopping season.

Need additional help with your holiday programmatic monetization strategy? Reach out to pubsolutions[at]33across.com or new partners can reach out to us here.

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