MMA Germany Roundup: Programmatic ad spend, ad fraud, Facebook data, Smaato insights, the role of mobile data in audience planning & more

Programmatic ad spend in Germany continues to climb and mobile takes the lead

Germany may have been a bit late to the party, but new data from research firm eMarketer shows the country is well on its way to becoming a fast-follower. Spending is “rising sharply” and on track to total €1.44 billion ($1.59 billion) in 2018, up 29.7% over last year. In 2019, programmatic investment is expected to reach €1.66 billion ($1.83 billion). Outlays on mobile programmatic ads are climbing much faster than expected. As a result, mobile programmatic will account for 59.1% of total mobile display ad spending in 2018, or €849.6 million ($939.9 million). These insights are drawn from eMarketer’s latest report “Programmatic Advertising in Germany: Greater Confidence and Spending Herald a Mature Marketplace.” The report includes eMarketer’s updated estimates for programmatic digital display ad spending in Germany, including breakouts by transaction type.
EMARKETER

Countdown to OMR18 and announcing our invite-only side event Mobile Marketing Rockstars

Mark your calendars and get ready to make the trek with the 40,000 attendees expected to descend on Hamburg for the Online Marketing Rockstars (March 22 & 23) to be inspired by 300+ speakers and exhibitors, 120+ Masterclasses, a lineup of Guided Tours and 2 parties over 2 days. The Conference — the absolute Festival highlight — will feature marketing prof and Youtube personality Scott Galloway, Instagram fitness queen and businesswoman Kayla Itsines, Girlboss Sophia Amoruso, data clairvoyant Nate Silver, Waitbutwhy content star Tim Urban, rockstar Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. From brand building to strategies for success, their keynotes are not to be missed.

The MMA Germany is also excited to announce our own official OMR side event (March 21), aptly titled Mobile Marketing Rockstars, to provide a select roster of brands and marketers the opportunity to shine a light on the ideas and innovations shaping the industry. The mobile-first happening will kick off with an invite-only brand dinner, giving our exclusive roster of guests the opportunity to meet and network with mobile marketing professionals in a remarkable venue where they can also enjoy an eagle-eye view of the beautiful city of Hamburg. But the real highlight is a lineup of engaging panel discussions about media planning in a mobile-first world, giving attendees the chance to debate and discuss timely topics ranging from attribution models and innovative creatives, to the impact of GDPR and the demand for new approaches involving mobile data.

What YOU need to know about the causes of mobile ad fraud and how to combat it

With ad spend on mobile eclipsing all other channels, it’s a no wonder mobile is also the biggest attraction for marketers and fraudsters alike. A new and must-read study from Forrester Research, commissioned by mobile app tracking and attribution analytics platform provider Appsflyer, reveals 43% of marketers report the amount of fraud they are subject to has increased over the last 12 months. The study also highlights the chief factors that enable fraud to thrive (lack of visibility, poor data, and lack of internal team knowledge — to name a few), and offers actionable advice on the best strategies you can use to combat mobile fraud.
APPSFLYER

Henkel harnesses connected devices to drive personalization and innovation

From near-infrared hair diagnostics and augmented reality color consultation, to creating on-demand hair care products, Henkel Beauty Care is propelling hair salons into the digital age with its new Schwarzkopf Professional SalonLab. Billed as a “digital ecosystem for quantifying and customizing the hair care experience,” the SalonLab swept the innovation awards at CES in Las Vegas. “With SalonLab, we are reinventing hair care with a hyper-personalized solution empowered by a holistic application of connected devices,” Marie-Eve Schroeder, Chief Marketing Officer at Henkel Beauty Care, said in a press release.
CULT HUB

Smaato report shows mobile video ad spending growth outpaces all other mobile ad formats

Smaato, which offers a real-time advertising platform for mobile publishers and app developers, released new data that showcases the increasing dominance of in-app advertising over mobile web in overall worldwide mobile ad spending. Its Q3 2017 Global Trends in Mobile Advertising Report, which analyzes 1.5+ trillion ad impressions delivered on the Smaato platform in Q3 2017, also delves into the explosive growth of mobile video. Among the findings: Video continues to outpace all other mobile ad formats with a 90% jump in spending in Q3 2017 from the prior quarter. The effective cost per thousand impressions (eCPM) for mobile video was 4.1x higher on average than for static ad formats.
SMAATO PRESS RELEASE

You’re marketing in a mobile-first world, so it’s high time to forget the ‘cookie.’

This is the view of Vincent Tessier, VP Demand EMEA at adsquare, who dives deep into the data to show how and why cookies are no longer a relevant identifier. “The smart way …is to do what some media buyers are already doing — following a mobile-first approach when working on their audience planning,” he writes. This is achieved by qualifying your audience starting from the data that is directly attached to the MAIDs (Mobile Advertising IDs), instead of the cookie. Vincent also outlines the many benefits to this approach, revealing the many ways marketers can enrich their audience data (with household data, geolocation, and app usage, for example) to reach the right person, or understand how a digital campaign influences the point-of-sale traffic. The future is mobile data — and this post shows how you can prepare now by “putting mobile at the center of your media strategy, not only in terms of communication channel but also as a multimedia planning audience.”
MASTER CLASSING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Viewing time is not attention: Facebook data shows it’s high time to rethink how we measure the value of ads

Viewability is everything. Or is it? Facebook data, based on a study of German consumers and their viewing habits, highlights the fallacy of equating viewing time (viewability) with attention time. As Torsten Müller-Klockmann, Marketing Science Lead DACH, Facebook, points out: mobile feeds command consumer interest and attention, which results in greater impact and effectiveness compared with other ad formats, such as website ads, that appear separate from the content and the experience it enhances. “If ads are placed on an area separated from content, like on many websites for desktop browsers, users don’t have to look at them and, in many cases, don’t,” he writes. “So, even if an ad is on screen for a long time, achieving high viewability according to common metrics, it doesn’t necessarily mean people are actually looking at an ad.” His must-read post (in German) connects the dots in the data to show how consumers in Germany are second-screening, using their mobile devices during TV commercial breaks. More users are looking at their smartphones more often — and their attention spans on mobile are generally longer than they are on TV. Torsten’s takeaway: “When mobile devices are used, they are at the center of attention and hold attention spans much longer than TV, regardless of whether the general TV program or ads are running.”
FACEBOOK STUDY: PARALLEL SCREENING BEHAVIOR ON TV AND SMARTPHONE

Stand up and be counted in the MMA/WARC Survey: State of the Industry: Mobile Marketing in EMEA 2018

After two successful years and your positive feedback, the MMA is joining with renowned research and news organization WARC to conduct a survey of mobile marketers across Europe into the hot topics and hard data shaping the industry. The aim is to identify the trends and developments you need to watch as you plan ad spend and strategies to engage your customers — which is why we need YOUR expertise and input. Please participate and grant us 10 minutes of your time to take the survey.

The deadline for completion is Thursday, 8 March.

As a special thank-you for your time and insights your name will be entered into a draw to win a complimentary pass to an MMA Forum of your choice within the EMEA region — Dubai (April 16th), London (May 14th), Madrid (June 12th), or Istanbul (Oct 24th). You will also receive an executive summary copy of the final report complete with comparisons to 2017 data. (If you would like a copy of the 2017 State of the Industry: Mobile Marketing in EMEA, please click here. Reports that break down 2017 data for the U.K., Germany, Turkey, MENA and South Africa can also be found here.)

Please Invest a few minutes of your time and reward yourself — and your colleagues — with valuable insights that help us all understand and shape the future of mobile marketing in Europe and globally.

MMA Germany boosts board members and reveals 2018 Top Trends and Opportunities

This year is already shaping up to be a milestone year for the MMA Germany. Watch this space for news around events, partnerships and thought leadership research and activities sure to set the bar. In parallel, we kicked off the month with the exciting news that we have added two leading companies to the board. These are: Verve, a leading location-based mobile marketing platform that connects advertisers with consumers to deliver successful business outcomes, and WallDecaux, outdoor advertising giant and part of the JCDecaux Group, the largest Out-of-home (OOH) advertising corporation in the world. Tapping the expertise of its new and existing board members and member companies, we also take the wraps off an exclusive list of top trends and opportunities. From ad fraud and transparency to dynamic creatives and deterministic data, it’s all here and important to know if you want to move the needle on your marketing in the year ahead.
MEDIUM

…And finally

Kudos to Adidas for a new twist on achieving brand awareness that may also promote the use of public transport in the city of Berlin. WeRSM reports the limited-edition EQT Support 93/Berlin, a new model Adidas designed and created in collaboration with BVG, Berlin’s public transport company, is a sneaker that doubles as your annual pass on public transport. There is nothing particularly complicated or high tech about the sneakers. (The pass is embedded within the tongue of the shoe.) But the sneakers have a high “cool factor” — just what a brand should strive for when the goal is to engage with young consumers. We give it an “A” for awesome :-)

Hot News & Views You Need to Know

• With rapidly-growing smartphone and mobile app usage in Latin America, the region is ripe with in-app advertising opportunities for Smaato demand partners. To ensure just this — and to provide additional demand partners in Latin America access to Smaato’s high-quality mobile inventory — Smaato has announced a partnership with Headway, a data-driven media buying company with a strong presence in the region. More about the move and what it means via the Smaato blog.
• How do marketers need to adapt to changes in customer experience, managing data, AI (with voice strategy a key focus), views on brand purpose and the continued pressure for digital transparency? The WARC Toolkit 2018 report has gleaned insights from over 600 marketers to shine a light on the opportunities, obstacles, and issues facing marketers everywhere on the planet. Sign up here to download your free executive summary. https://www.warc.com/Topics/Toolkit.topic
• Nearly half of Germany’s population (48.7 percent) will watch a video via YouTube’s website or app at least once a month in 2018. Moreover, 39.9 million people in Germany will use YouTube “regularly,” making it the most popular digital video platform in the country. (Telecompaper — registration required)
• Bitkom, Germany’s local professional digital association, reports the German mobile app market hit a record value of €1.5 billion ($1.86 billion) in 2017. This represents an increase of 4% over the previous year, and 79% of the value came from digital content and service purchases within apps. (press release)
• Berlin is buzzing with activity in mobile and mobile payments. This comprehensive post (via MEDICI) lists the top companies and pioneers paving the way in an easy A-Z list. Bookmark this one!

Events Radar

15.02.2018, Berlin, Mobilisten Talk
28.02–01.03.18, Frankfurt, Digital Finance World
06–07.03.2018, Munich, Internet World EXPO
12–14.03.2018, Munich, Internet of Things Conference
12–14.03.2018, München, MobileTech Conference
18–20.03.2018, Berlin, Digital Innovators’ Summit
21.03.2018, Hamburg, Mobile Marketing Rockstars
22–23.03.2018, Hamburg, Online Marketing Rockstars Festival
10–11.04.2018, Hamburg, d3con
21–22.04.2018, Dresden, Mobile Camp
24–25.04.2018, Berlin, Mobile Ad Summit
26.04.2018, Berlin, Deutscher Digital Award
25.05.2018, Berlin, Mobilisten Talk
06. — 07.06.2018, Berlin, NOAH Conference
14.06.2018, Berlin, Adtrader Conference
06.09.2018, Berlin, Mobilisten Talk
11–13.09.2018, Köln, dmexco
15.11.2018, Berlin, Mobilisten Talk
20–22.11.18, Berlin, Smart Country Convention

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This collection of news and insights appeared in the monthly newsletter curated by Peggy Anne Salz — mobile analyst and content strategist at MobileGroove, and Chief Content Officer of the MMA Germany. Sign up for our newsletter to keep up-to-date on marketing news and developments in and around Germany.

If YOU have company news, cool case studies or mobile industry insights you would like us to consider for inclusion in our next edition, then please email Peggy directly at peggy@mobilegroove.com.