AdTheorent Unveils Results from Joint Research with Advertiser Perceptions on the State of the Open-Web Programmatic Advertising Industry

Rhea-AI Summary

AdTheorent Holding Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTH) Announces Research Highlights on Privacy-Forward Targeting, CTV, and AI/ML Technologies

Insights

Data Analyst

The study conducted by AdTheorent Holding Company in collaboration with Advertiser Perceptions provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of programmatic advertising. The focus on privacy-forward strategies, the adoption of Connected Television (CTV) and the reliance on AI/ML technologies are noteworthy trends.

From a data perspective, the reported increase in investment intentions, with 54% of US and 72% of Canadian advertisers planning to spend more on programmatic advertising, signals a robust growth trajectory for the sector. The high effectiveness ratings for CTV indicate a shift towards this medium, which could impact digital advertising budgets and strategies. The reported interest in privacy-forward and ML-based audience targeting approaches suggests a pivot away from traditional data-heavy methods, potentially reshaping the digital advertising ecosystem.

For stakeholders, the implications are multifaceted. Advertisers may need to adapt to new technologies and privacy regulations, which could incur costs for technology adoption and compliance. However, the anticipated improvements in ROI/ROAS and the ability to reach target audiences more effectively present long-term benefits. Media companies and ad tech providers could see increased demand for their programmatic and CTV offerings, leading to potential revenue growth.

It is essential to monitor these trends as they develop, considering the dynamic nature of digital advertising and the potential for regulatory changes that could further influence the industry.

Financial Analyst

The financial implications of the reported trends in programmatic advertising are significant. AdTheorent's focus on privacy-forward solutions and AI/ML technologies aligns with the industry's response to increasing privacy regulations and the phasing out of traditional tracking mechanisms like cookies. This strategic positioning could offer a competitive advantage and drive market share gains, particularly as 87% of US and 93% of Canada advertisers express interest in ML-based audience identification.

The strong investment sentiment in programmatic advertising and the effectiveness of CTV as an advertising channel suggest potential revenue growth for companies like AdTheorent. The shift in advertiser priorities towards full-funnel campaign activation and the high interest in privacy-compliant targeting methods could lead to increased demand for AdTheorent's services. This could positively affect the company's stock performance, contingent on its ability to capitalize on these trends and effectively compete with other industry players.

Investors should consider these industry shifts when evaluating companies within the ad tech space, as those that are early adopters of emerging technologies and compliant with privacy regulations are likely to outperform their peers in the long run.

AI/ML Technology Expert

The reported embrace of AI/ML technologies by advertisers reflects a broader industry trend towards data-driven decision-making and efficiency. The use of AI/ML can enhance targeting precision, optimize ad spend and improve overall campaign performance. AdTheorent's study emphasizes the critical role of these technologies in the current and future state of programmatic advertising.

For businesses, the integration of AI/ML in advertising strategies can lead to more effective audience segmentation and predictive analytics, potentially increasing the ROI of ad campaigns. However, the reliance on these technologies also raises questions about transparency, algorithmic bias and the need for skilled personnel to manage and interpret AI/ML outputs.

The industry's pivot towards non-ID based targeting methods, such as contextual and ML-based audience identification, is in line with the growing demand for privacy-compliant advertising solutions. This shift could drive innovation and investment in AI/ML, as companies seek to maintain audience reach without compromising on privacy.

Overall, the adoption of AI/ML in programmatic advertising is likely to continue, with significant implications for the industry's structure, competitive dynamics and the skill sets required by its workforce.

Research highlights affinity for privacy-forward targeting approaches, CTV and AI/ML-based technologies

NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AdTheorent Holding Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTH), a machine-learning pioneer and industry leader using privacy-forward solutions to deliver measurable value for programmatic advertisers, today announced the results from a study with Advertiser Perceptions, the leading provider of research-based strategic market intelligence to the media, advertising, and ad tech industries.  The research examines the state of the open-web programmatic advertising industry with the goal of understanding how brand and agency advertisers in the US and Canada are evolving their programmatic strategies and leveraging new channels.

The State of the Programmatic Advertising Industry Report takes a deep dive into four key areas:

1.  Programmatic Goals, Priorities and Investments: 

• • Advertisers view open-web programmatic (i.e., outside the walled gardens of social media and search) as a critical driver of growth, expecting to drive brand lift, sales and advanced digital actions; the top three programmatic goals for advertisers are:
    • US: audience delivery (59%), brand lift (53%) and sales lift (52%)
    • Canada: sales lift (55%), brand lift (52%) and viewability rate (51%)
  • Advertisers are turning to programmatic to activate the full funnel for their campaigns; 49% of US and 50% of Canadian advertisers utilize programmatic for all campaign types (top, mid and lower funnel).
  • Investment in programmatic remains strong, with 54% of US advertisers and 72% of Canadian advertisers planning to spend more in the next 12 months.

2.  Connected Television (CTV):

• • Nearly 89% of US and 95% of Canadian advertisers rate CTV effective at driving intended objectives, specifically, they are seeing success with buying CTV programmatically for:
    • US: Ability to reach target audiences (47%); Better ROI/ROAS (42%); Easier campaign targeting and optimization (42%).
    • Canada: Ability to reach target audiences (53%); Easier to achieve scale/reach (50%); Ability to activate one video campaign across multiple properties (45%).
  • The vast majority of advertisers in the US (71%) and Canada (90%) are interested in utilizing CTV to drive superior performance when used as part of a full-funnel approach vs. utilizing the channel as solely an upper-funnel tactic.  Additionally, advertisers are tracking campaign attribution in a variety of ways reflective of this full-funnel approach:
    • US: Video completes (65%); Business outcomes: (63%); ROAS (55%)
    • Canada: Business outcomes (68%); ROAS (60%); Video completes (52%)

3.  Privacy and Identity:

• • Advertisers are faced with the difficult task of succeeding in an environment of increasing privacy restrictions; from a cookie-less future to the demise of mobile ad identifiers (MAIDS), to stricter limitations on what data can be collected from consumers.  Three steps that advertisers in the US and Canada have taken to prepare are:
    • Developing or partnering with providers not dependent on personal data for targeting (US: 59%; Canada: 65%)
    • Developing or partnering for contextual targeting solutions to complement behavioral targeting (US: 51%; Canada: 53%)
    • Developing or partnering for first-party solutions such as sign-ins and email newsletters (US: 47%; Canada: 50%)
  • Advertisers will continue to evolve how they identify their target audiences. A majority in each market expressed interest across various techniques to identify audiences, with the highest level of interest being the use of ML-based audiences that are not reliant on IDs or personally identifiable information (PII) (87% US; 93% Canada).

4.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML):

• • Significant majorities of advertisers are using or plan to use AI/ML in their programmatic advertising strategies. More specifically, in the US about 9 in 10 programmatic advertisers are using or will use AI/ML for contextual targeting, to drive performance and personalization. In Canada, about 9 in 10 are using or will use AI/ML for custom ad creation, and again to drive performance and personalization. These uses of AI/ML bode well for programmatic audience engagement and the ability to drive the full-funnel metrics cited earlier.
  • Notably, 99% of US advertisers and 100% of Canadian advertisers plan to maintain or increase their levels of investment in AI/ML over the next 12 months. The better news is that significant shares are expecting to increase their AI/ML spend (50% in the US and 69% in Canada). This reflects the optimism advertisers have for their widespread adoption of AI/ML technologies going into 2024.

"We are excited to share the powerful results of AdTheorent's 'State of the Programmatic Advertising Industry Report,' conducted with Advertiser Perceptions.  The results reflect the enormous opportunity across open-web programmatic advertising, specifically its success driving business outcomes across the full funnel of available digital tactics, including CTV," said Jim Lawson, CEO of AdTheorent. "It's promising to see advertisers embrace and have success with privacy-forward methods, including advancing their audience targeting strategies to utilize ML-based audiences that are not reliant on IDs, which we believe is the future of the industry."

"These research results demonstrate the growing importance of programmatic advertising for brands and agencies across all verticals," said Stuart Schneiderman, EVP, Business Intelligence at Advertiser Perceptions. "What our data shows is that advertisers are prioritizing programmatic, connected TV and AI/ML and that they will be sources of investment and success for many years to come."

TO VIEW THE FULL WHITEPAPER, PLEASE VISIT: https://info.adtheorent.com/state-of-the-advertising-industry

About the Research:
AdTheorent commissioned Advertiser Perceptions to survey 250 US digital advertisers and 100 Canadian digital advertisers from their Ad Pros Community. These advertisers spend a minimum of $250K annually in the US and $340K CAD in Canada on digital advertising and represent programmatic decision makers across agencies, brands, product, and service categories.

About AdTheorent 
AdTheorent (Nasdaq: ADTH) uses advanced machine learning technology and privacy-forward solutions to deliver impactful advertising campaigns for marketers. AdTheorent's machine learning-powered media buying platform powers its predictive targeting, predictive audiences, geo-intelligence, audience extension solutions and in-house creative capability, Studio A\T. Leveraging only non-sensitive data and focused on the predictive value of machine learning models, AdTheorent's product suite and flexible transaction models allow advertisers to identify the most qualified potential consumers coupled with the optimal creative experience to deliver superior results, measured by each advertiser's real-world business goals. 

AdTheorent is consistently recognized with numerous technology, product, growth and workplace awards.  AdTheorent was named "Best Buy-Side Programmatic Platform" in the 2023 Digiday Technology Awards and was honored with an AI Breakthrough Award and "Most Innovative Product" (B.I.G. Innovation Awards) for five consecutive years.  Additionally, AdTheorent is the only seven-time recipient of Frost & Sullivan's "Digital Advertising Leadership Award." AdTheorent is headquartered in New York, with fourteen offices across the United States and Canada.  For more information, visit adtheorent.com.

About Advertiser Perceptions
Advertiser Perceptions provides research-based strategic market intelligence and expert analysis to the media, advertising and ad tech industries. We survey brand marketers, agency executives, media specialists and IT leaders through our curated and proprietary Ad PROS™ community to provide clients with an unbiased view of the market, competing brands, and customer experiences. These actionable insights give clients the confidence to inform both strategic and operational decision-making to improve their products and services, strengthen their brands, and drive higher ad-related revenue. www.advertiserperceptions.com.

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SOURCE AdTheorent, Inc.

FAQ

What does the research highlight about AdTheorent Holding Company, Inc. (ADTH)?

The research highlights the company's affinity for privacy-forward targeting approaches, CTV, and AI/ML-based technologies.

What are the top programmatic goals for advertisers in the US and Canada?

In the US, the top three programmatic goals for advertisers are audience delivery (59%), brand lift (53%), and sales lift (52%). In Canada, the top goals are sales lift (55%), brand lift (52%), and viewability rate (51%).

How effective do advertisers rate CTV at driving intended objectives?

Nearly 89% of US and 95% of Canadian advertisers rate CTV as effective at driving intended objectives, such as reaching target audiences, achieving better ROI/ROAS, and easier campaign targeting and optimization.

What steps are advertisers taking to prepare for increasing privacy restrictions?

Advertisers are developing or partnering with providers not dependent on personal data for targeting, developing or partnering for contextual targeting solutions to complement behavioral targeting, and developing or partnering for first-party solutions such as sign-ins and email newsletters.

How are advertisers using AI/ML in their programmatic advertising strategies?

Significant majorities of advertisers in the US and Canada are using or plan to use AI/ML in their programmatic advertising strategies.