The pandemic has caused reduced advertiser spending overall, leading to lower growth of in-app ad spending despite significantly higher numbers of ad placements. While in-app purchases (IAPs) never stopped growing amid the pandemic, publisher revenues have recently been shifting from in-app advertising to purchases.

eMarketer sales executive Michael Bruckenthal, junior analyst Blake Droesch, forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom and director of corporate accounts Brandon Galindo discuss how esports is changing since the coronavirus pandemic. How successful have the gaming tournaments been, what's happening with gaming engagement and what do advertisers need to know? Then Blake and Eric talk about Instagram 'Co-Watching' and simultaneous streaming, the buying/discovery ratio and Snapchat Stories on other platforms.

Despite the return of some sporting events like NBA exhibition games and the MLB, marketers are delaying their planned ad spend.

"Time is money" has never had more meaning than it does today. The attention economy has become another challenge for advertisers—particularly on mobile devices where users have lower tolerances for attention-grabbing ads. But short attention spans may have met their match in playable ads, which embed games or puzzles into ad units.

The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to mitigate it are wreaking havoc on the economy. How will advertisers respond? We looked back at our coverage of the industry during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 for historical perspective and precedents.

As more games hit the market, it becomes harder for publishers to get noticed, which has made proactive user acquisition strategies more important. That’s true of casual games, which have found a huge following on mobile, and more complex games that have found ways to integrate advertising that doesn’t detract from gameplay.

According to a March 2019 survey from mobile ad and app monetization company Tapjoy, 69% of US consumers said they would rather give up social media apps or TV than lose their favorite mobile games.

As mobile devices become dominant tools for media consumption and advertiser strategy, brands in Canada are assessing which mobile apps deliver the best paid opportunities.

The role of political advertising in social media will be a key discussion topic in 2020—an easy prediction to make. Kantar Media expects that US digital political ad spending will reach $1.2 billion this year, and we believe the social platforms that continue accepting political advertisers will be major beneficiaries of that spending.

Facebook, Google and Amazon are engaged in a game of thrones—an epic battle for digital supremacy. The anointed one will be whichever company stakes its claim to all three coins of the digital realm: media, advertising and commerce.

eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom, vice president of forecasting Monica Peart and principal analyst Nicole Perrin discuss the latest revisions to our US ad spending forecasts. They then talk about Twitter sharing more information with advertisers, social distancing ads showing up in games and Microsoft's digital-only events commitment.

eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and vice president of content studio Paul Verna discuss the best and worst Super Bowl ads and whether they achieved their marketing objectives. They also talk about how many people tuned in to the game, how much advertisers spent and the most popular halftime show ever. They then examine Quibi's launch campaign, solo TV viewing and how much returns are costing retail.

Our weekly review of the most intriguing stories covers Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, Spotify’s plan to target ads based on podcast listening and viewership metrics of the NBA Finals. We also delve into the digital ad industry’s latest steps to promote brand safety, and we bring you the game of the week, useless dinner party data and more! Host Marcus Johnson leads the conversation with eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin and vice president of multimedia Paul Verna.

eMarketer principal analysts Nicole Perrin and Andrew Lipsman join host Marcus Johnson for our review of the most interesting stories this week, including figuring out the value of your data, paying for a premium email service and Instagram’s new Explore ads. We also discuss the cost of an ad-free internet, bring you the game of the week, useless dinner party data and more!

eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin hosts a new “Behind the Numbers” show called “The Ad Platform,” a platform to discuss all things advertising. In the first episode, Perrin sits with vice president of forecasting Monica Peart and forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom to discuss US digital advertisers’ budgets. Consolidation is the name of the game as publishers continue to devote dollars to the duopoly and the new behemoth in town.

Although not strictly social media, game streaming properties such as Amazon’s Twitch and Microsoft’s Mixer are playing an increasing role in the video creator space. They are competing with YouTube—and each other—for top video streamers and the audiences those streamers command. They are also becoming more important places for advertising. For our latest report, “Video Ads in Social Media 2019,” we take a look at monetization offerings from Twitch, Mixer and DLive.

Publishers and streaming platforms have created more opportunities for advertisers during the pandemic, helping advertisers reach the larger gaming vertical. However, most marketers feel that digital video advertising and influencer collaborations offer the most promise in the industry. While the esports audience is somewhat diverse in race, young male gamers still make up the largest segment.

App bidding (think header bidding for mobile apps) is becoming a more popular way for developers to optimize yield from their mobile apps. Andy Berman, head of North America at Facebook Publisher Solutions, joins eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin to discuss increased engagement with mobile games during the pandemic and how a hybrid model of in-app purchases and in-app advertising is working for app publishers.

At least for young kids, smart speakers have yet to become a major player for gaming. In Common Sense’s polling among parents of 2-to-8s, just 6% said their kids use smart speakers to play games. Device aside, kids devote ample time to gaming. The Hotwire survey found 7-to-9s averaging 2.2 hours per week playing video games.