Cross-Platform Display Is Going From Niche to Mainstream In 2012 Says Google's Mohan

2012 Predictions The 2012 version of the AdExchanger.com “predictions” piece comes with a twist as a selection of industry execs offer their thoughts on the following question:

“What’s going to happen next year in advertising that hasn’t happened before? And why?”

Neal Mohan, VP, Display Advertising, Google, offers his views.

I’m excited about a ton of things, but if there is one thing I’d be banking on – it’s that cross-platform display is going from niche to mainstream. We got a taste in 2011, but it’s nothing like what 2012 has in store.

In 2011, collectively, we took a business model and buying and selling infrastructure that had developed around ads viewed on a desktop computer, and expanded it to include mobile and video formats. In 2012, this more holistic way of looking at display will not just be a promising technology, but an essential platform for publishers, advertisers and agencies, all of whom want the ability to seamlessly buy and sell display ads across multiple screens: PCs, smartphones, tablets and video players. And I think we’ll start to see other devices and screens joining the mix.

For publishers, this will mean the ability to manage their entire yield from a single place — no more relying on disparate, siloed information and not being able to see the full revenue picture. I’m confident that publishers want this because we’ve already seen it – we rolled out video support in DFP earlier this year and have seen 50% quarter-over-quarter growth in video ad volume.

We also know that advertisers and agencies ideally don’t want a separate buying platform for each type of media — they want a way to buy across all formats, and in 2012 I think they’ll get it. Real-time bidding (and by extension audience buying) has proven to be a transformative technology for buying desktop display — on our exchange, it currently accounts for 60 percent of all transactions. In 2012, we’ll start getting into that ballpark for mobile and video as well.

I’d describe the landscape for buyers and sellers today as “cobbled-together”, particularly when it comes to non-desktop formats. By the end of 2012, we’ll be much closer to having a completely customizable platform across all devices and formats.

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