Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

Omnichannel Ad Buyers Still Need Education on In-App Opportunities

Eight in 10 US adults’ mobile time is spent within apps

Native advertising has dominated the digital display market, and it can be the main (or even exclusive) way of reaching consumers with display ads. Native ads have a particularly strong foothold in mobile apps, which account for a significant share of how internet users spend their time.

We estimate that the average US adult will spend about 3 hours, 43 minutes per day with mobile devices this year (excluding voice), and almost 80% of that time will be spent with apps. In-app advertising will account for an even higher share of US mobile ad spending this year, at 82.6% of the total. That amounts to $77.03 billion this year, and it’s safe to say a majority of that spending is on native formats.

eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin spoke with Meagan Ralston, manager and partner of the solutions team at MoPub, a Twitter company, about how advertisers are continuing their educational journey and taking up more opportunities to advertise in apps like mobile games.

eMarketer: How has advertiser interest in native formats changed?

Meagan Ralston: The biggest shift over the past year in the mobile in-app ecosystem is the emergence, or convergence, of large, omnichannel demand-side platforms [DSPs]. The way in which they buy hasn’t always been in-app focused, so there’s some friction with how they think about buying in-app.

eMarketer: What should they do differently or understand about the mobile in-app ecosystem?

Ralston: There are so many different microworlds that a user can engage with, for example, in the gaming community. It’s synonymous with apps because that’s what users download continually. Users have their top 20 apps that they use. But users are downloading new gaming apps. There’s a constant rejuvenation of these apps, from casual to hardcore games.

What doesn’t translate normally to these big omnichannel buyers is the value in gaming specifically and the app experience generally. It differs from desktop and what buyers know about interacting with users and their cookies and how to attribute it. The biggest shift this year is toward more education and awareness within these brand and DSP models. They’re more open with how they think about buying in-app and what native means.

eMarketer: Are there advertisers that understand the value of native ads in these environments?

Ralston: Definitely. Scale is the big differentiator for native. The number of users and uniques that you can reach by accessing this format is incredible—and there are apps that will only run native, so you can access those users. And, it’s not expensive.

Combining scale with price gives you a really good way to engage with performance advertisers that are trying to understand who their audience is and who will have a down-funnel experience to drive revenue or performance for that advertiser. Many buyers and advertisers understand the value of that.