Why Joystick is All-in on AMP Ads

By Dave Rosowsky, Director of Operations at Joystick Interactive

We’ve seen the success of AMP content pages (2 billion pages covering some 900,000 domains), so it is no wonder that the chatter in the ad world around AMP Ads is increasing. Like any new marketing tool, understanding its value comes from proving its results.

With AMP:

• Ads load as fast as the page, providing a smooth user experience and increasing user engagement.
• Load times are up to 5 seconds faster due to the use a tightly controlled JavaScript runtime that is designed for speed and safety.
• Mobile monetization increases due to higher viewability and CTRs.

(Full-disclosure, we’ve been helping build and test AMP Ads for the last 12 months) We don’t tout AMP’s benefits because we’ve seen overwhelmingly positive results. We do it because we believe in a brighter future for online experiences.

AMP (accelerated mobile pages for those on the catchup) and AMP Ads — help provide just that. They streamline our mobile delivery experience — putting the reader/viewer first. Which, at the end of the day, benefits the content providers — publishers — and content producers — agency and production shops — too.

You can see an AMP Ad in action here.

The early success of AMP Ads is leading to better utility as well as greater adoption: Recent improvements to the code base have given us the tools to improve campaign performance without limiting creativity. While platforms such as Celtra, Adobe Animate and Google Web Designer, can now export ads that are AMP compliant.

While there are many technical advantages to using the AMP framework: such as carefully designed JavaScript that is fast and safe, prioritized resource loading, web font optimization, cryptographic signature and core features designed to unburden browsers, the real value is in the expectations they signify for users.

This is the philosophical reason why our industry should embrace improvements like AMP. It’s early-ish days for AMP. We remember a time when it was early-ish days for banner advertising, too. Back then as content platforms were built around banner ads, there was a land grab for readership, and the banner ad made sense at the time. But we never evolved those tools, neither together, nor quickly enough, to help push the industry to adopt better standards for readers.

At Joystick, we believe our online experiences can, and should, be built more thoughtfully. With AMP, we see the future of content consumption being more holistic, putting readers, not monetization needs, first. Incidentally, good user experience can heavily impact content monetization. Which means build the right platform, and it’ll bring all the eyeballs you need.

We know advertising is a key component to a free and open Internet. As advertisers, it is our responsibility to ensure that the user experience is top-notch. With AMP ads, we all have a voice in building the future of those experiences. If we get this next phase right, we’ll all be better off. We’ll build platforms, produce more friendly specs, and drive better results. We see this future as a win-win-win for everyone — publishers, advertisers and audiences.

Feel free to comment (whether you agree or disagree), and if you are interested in discussing how you can roll out AMP Ads, reach out here.