Mobile marketing has evolved drastically over the last few years, as privacy-driven changes including GDPR and Apple’s App Tracking Transparency have put an end to behavioral targeting.
The result? The rise of contextual targeting.
While context-based advertising is one of the oldest concepts for marketers, not everyone knows how it can work in a modern environment like in-app programmatic advertising.
Here is what contextual really means for app advertisers today and what they can expect in the future.
1. Contextual is a privacy-safe heuristic for finding your target audience
At the most basic level, contextual targeting looks for ad placements that target audiences will view. This means marketers will be looking for publisher apps – and specific placements – that will drive optimal performance for their campaigns.
One difference on app vs. desktop/web is that keywords have less influence. App ads don’t tend to be shown within pieces of written content (e.g., news articles), so keywords won’t work for targeting purposes.
Instead, data points describing the app and the ad placement play a central role in contextual targeting. Particularly when looking at games, the app can be thought of as a piece of content that indicates users’ interests and their likelihood to engage with a campaign.
Basic signals about the ad can be combined with a mix of deeper contextual data points. That includes factors like how long users have engaged with a game or how many total ads are typically shown. Individually, these elements would not necessarily contribute much to performance insight. But when fed into machine learning models, they can be very effective.
2. In-app contextual targeting is still in its infancy – but it’s getting better
While many contextual data points are widely available in programmatic advertising, some of the deeper variables – such as those describing the user’s session – are only available on a smaller share of all ad requests. However, this occurs more often as supply-side platforms (SSPs) increasingly recognize the importance of sharing more contextual data.
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And as the availability of good quality contextual data improves, so too will DSPs’ and ad networks’ ability to use this data to drive performance for advertisers.
Looking ahead, advertisers will explore new ways to boost their contextual campaigns with more data on user interests or behaviors. For example, they can experiment with Seller-Defined Audiences, which publishers use to safely share user-segment-level insights with advertisers.
Advertisers may also make more direct deals with their preferred publishers to find more cost-effective volume from inventory that works well for their campaigns.
3. Transparency matters more than ever before
Although device IDs are rarely available on iOS, this doesn’t guarantee that device-level tracking data isn’t being used. Ad networks running CPI or CPA-based campaigns are likely still relying on device data that allows targeting and tracking of individual users across apps without their consent.
While this approach has helped smooth the transition away from device IDs, it is unlikely to be sustainable. Forward-looking advertisers should instead invest their efforts into understanding contextual targeting. Transparency of DSPs and ad networks is key. Advertisers and their partners will need to collaborate to build targeting strategies that deliver results.
To understand this effectively, advertisers will need to know where their ads are being shown and what’s performing best. Black boxes are out, and transparency is in.
4. Contextual isn’t just for iOS (👋 Android Sandbox)
While advertisers’ focus has recently been on the loss of device IDs on iOS, Android will soon follow. Google’s Privacy Sandbox proposal in early 2022 stated that the timeline would take at least two years, meaning we may see advertiser ID deprecation in 2024.
The good news is that marketing teams who are well practiced at working with their demand partners on contextual bidding for iOS will be well placed to apply the same approach to Android. Android may also introduce even more opportunities for advanced contextual targeting via Google’s nascent Topics and FLEDGE, which were built on a contextual framework.
As advertisers brace for a whole new world of privacy-safe engagements with consumers, they have options. Contextual targeting is a critical one to keep in mind.
“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.
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