What does 2022 hold for mobile advertising?

2021 has been tough for mobile advertisers, with a series of measures introduced that have made it harder for them to reach their audience. But these metrics also present new opportunities for marketers in 2022. Levi Matkins, CEO of LifeStreet, shares his perspective on what the year ahead will look like for the mobile advertising industry.

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Innovation continues in 2022

This year has shown Apple’s reluctance to fingerprint app users. This is a clear gap that we expect to see closed over the next 12 months, which would trigger large-scale reactions in the industry. DSPs currently rely heavily on print-to-convert models, and removing all end-user data from the equation can fundamentally break that kind of modeling capability. In the worst case, we may see a complete regression of click-through rate models and intent-based metrics behind clicks.

The stakes, both technological and financial, are too great for advertisers not to react. Adtech is known for its ability to bounce back from changes adopted by platform manufacturers, so if Apple cracks down on fingerprinting in 2022, we expect independent adtech companies to take some really strong and innovative action with the flexibility to introduce updates to their purchasing models and strategies.

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Game studios are the new “hot property”

The next big trend to hit the ad tech industry in 2022 comes in the form of a series of M&A moves, which also took place in the past year. Across the ecosystem, we’ll see a continuation of the patterns that have emerged in 2021: large game studios and ad tech players are acquiring smaller game studios in order to hold a larger share of IDs for Suppliers (IDFV). Despite the limited data they have, this data acquisition strategy will allow studios to extract insights from more contextual cues, which will help them create better user profiles in a consistent manner. the user privacy protection measures introduced by Apple. in 2021.

Companies making such acquisitions are creating their own mini-ecosystems, and in doing so, preparing for when Apple will start enforcing its own fingerprint rules.

Increased transparency will drive better performance – for DSPs and marketers

As advertisers get smarter, their demands on technology and what it can deliver have increased. In 2022, with a growing percentage of untrackable inventory, performance marketers will want more control over their advertising spend, as well as greater transparency and visibility into where their money is going. As always, when advertising with the most dominant platforms, there is a tradeoff between their effectiveness and the amount of data or visibility advertisers receive in return. With the massive decline in the ability of these platforms to accurately target users, it looks like there will be a migration of spend to DSPs who want to provide marketers with greater transparency.

If Facebook, Amazon and Google are unable to generate strong ROAS for advertisers, I think we’ll see advertisers trying to set up their own ad inventory buying strategies: a decision that probably won’t end well in because of the time and resources required to develop and maintain the long learning curve of DSP and programmatic buying.

The most successful advertisers will be those willing to work with trusted experts to create collaborative campaigns. These campaigns, designed with input from both parties, will prevent advertisers from wasting their time and resources, and help them gain a level of expertise in the technical side of the marketing game.

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Brands will adopt gaming apps to advertise mass appeal products

As marketers react to user privacy and tracking changes made by Apple in 2021, we expect campaigns with specific goals, but large audiences, to be the most resilient to changes in marketing tactics. targeting. The likely outcome is that there will be a significant increase in non-gaming campaigns on mobile gaming apps in 2022. Gaming apps provide a stable and reliable environment for advertisers, with guaranteed levels of engagement. Since these apps are now on almost every phone, it means advertisers have access to a diverse audience with huge reach.

Advertisers who are able to capitalize on widespread appeal are already experiencing – and will continue to experience – enormous success in in-app advertising. In a world where targeting tools are less precise, it’s highly likely that this year we’ll see more brands tweak their performance campaigns and in-app ad spend.

Looking forward

As an industry, ad tech will continue to thrive, with GroupM forecasting 9.7% growth in the ad industry in 2022. There will be continued innovation driven by regulatory reforms and changing user expectations . We’ll see a more user-centric approach to how marketers advertise, develop new ad formats, and collaborate with their partners. Last but not least, the buzz around the metaverse will only intensify as advertisers eagerly access new ad placements and the next generation of consumers. 2021 has been eventful, and if we build on the lessons learned, we will be well prepared for the predictable and unpredictable year ahead.