Mobile Measurement and Targeting: Eight Challenges Advertisers Face - eMarketer
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Mobile Measurement and Targeting: Eight Challenges Advertisers Face

eMarketer Report

By: eMarketer

Published: January 30, 2018

Jump to: Executive Summary | Table of Contents | List of Charts

Executive Summary

Despite rapid growth, mobile advertising has been hampered by fragmented formats and standards, which limit what marketers can do with the newer and richer types of marketing data available in mobile. Full consolidation of standards is still years away, but improved measurement and transparency will help marketers make some progress in 2018.

  • On mobile, apps and websites track identity and measure performance in their own way, making identity resolution and attribution more difficult than in a desktop environment. Consolidation with common standards has begun, but much more needs to occur.
  • Lack of transparency of publisher data is a huge issue for mobile marketers, and it contributes to ad fraud and poor targeting. Media Rating Council (MRC) guidelines and auditing tools have made a difference, but acceptance is still early, with viewability a notable exception.
  • Most of the impact of mobile advertising occurs away from smartphone screens, in the physical world or on other devices. As marketers demand proof of performance, mobile platforms are offering cross-device and online-to-offline (O2O) services.
  • More than three-fifths (62%) of US publishers use geotargeting, but the bigger value of location data may come in building better audience segments and a deeper understanding of consumer journeys.
  • As personalization improves, advertisers need to scale creative in numerous platforms and are turning to dynamic creative, which is still more difficult on mobile than on desktop.

"Despite measurement and targeting obstacles, US mobile ad spending grew 25.0% in 2017 and will grow an additional 20% in 2018. Continued progress in measurement likely will sustain high growth rates."

Table of Contents

Mobile Measurement and Targeting: Eight Challenges

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No. 1: The Thickets of Identity Resolution

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No. 2: Finding that Elusive Common Ground in Measurement

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No. 3: Publishers Are Coy with Data

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No. 4: Ad Fraud

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No. 5: Measuring Off-Device Actions

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No. 6: Improving Targeting via Location Data

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No. 7: Finding the Right Moment

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No. 8: Personalization that Scales

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13 charts are included in the full report:

Mobile Measurement and Targeting: Eight Challenges Advertisers Face

US Mobile Ad Spending, 2016-2021

Mobile Measurement and Targeting: Eight Challenges

Share of Average Time Spent per Day with Select Media by US Adults vs. US Ad Spending Share, 2017-2019 (% of total)

No. 1: The Thickets of Identity Resolution

Challenges of People-Based Measurement According to US Marketers and Advertisers, Sep 2017 (% of respondents)

No. 3: Publishers Are Coy with Data

Most Important Features When Considering a New Data Partner According to US Publishers, Oct 2017 (% of respondents)

Timeframe During Which Brands Worldwide Have Taken Select Actions to Manage Media Viewability, May 2017 (% of respondents)

No. 4: Ad Fraud

Concerns Facing In-App Advertising According to App Marketers in North America, July 2017 (% of respondents)

Primary Type of Ad Fraud Encountered in App Marketing According to App Marketers in North America, July 2017 (% of respondents)

No. 5: Measuring Off-Device Actions

Importance of Select Types of Data/Tools Used to Measure Marketing Performance According to Multichannel Marketers in North America, Spring 2017 (% of respondents)

Usage and Awareness of Select Types of Data/Tools Used to Measure Marketing Performance According to Multichannel Marketers in North America, Spring 2017 (% of respondents)

No. 6: Improving Targeting via Location Data

Frequency with Which US Publishers Use Data for Geotargeting, Oct 2017 (% of respondents)

Challenges of Collecting Location Data According to US C-Level Executives, Sep 2017 (% of respondents)

No. 7: Finding the Right Moment

US Internet Users' Attitudes Towards Relevant Digital Ads, Aug 2017 (% of respondents)

Leading Digital Transformation Initiatives at Their Company According to Digital Transformation Professionals Worldwide*, Aug 2017 (% of respondents)