Medialets Mobile & Tablet Advertising Benchmarks

This report includes analytics derived from more than 300 billion data points that occurred between January 1st and June 30th, 2014 on Medialets’ mobile and tablet ad serving platform.

Consumers use handsets much more than tablets.Consumers use apps more than mobile web.Therefore, more impressions are served to those environments.

Ads on tablets attract 44% higher CTR than those on handsets. Ads on mobile apps perform 2x better than those on mobile web.

As a vertical, Retail utilizes mobile advertising the most, followed by Technology, B&F, and CPG.

Travel & Entertainment ads appeal to consumers so much that their average CTR is 60% higher than ads for other verticals.

6x more Static ads are served to handsets than tablets.50% more Static ads are served to apps than mobile web.

Ads on tablets and on apps attract higher CTR.

The delta in CTR performance of Banner vs. Interstitial ad formats is much larger on tablets than on handsets.

*Static Interstitial represented a smaller subset of campaigns, however the data included was still statistically significant

For Static ads, the 300x250 Banners are the highest performing ad size on both handsets & tablets.

Attribution of view-through is tremendously important for lifting campaign conversion rates.

10x more Rich Media ads are served to handsets than tablets. 30% more Rich Media ads are served to apps than mobile web.

Whether on handsets or tablets, Rich Media ads that take up about half the page yield the highest engagement.

Expandable units are the most popular among all Rich Media ad formats.

Rich Expandable units translate to significant time spent with the brand.

Rich Expandables enjoy a 2.8x higher expand rate on handsets than on tablets.

Embedded video is the most popular Rich Media creative feature, found in over half of all Rich Media campaigns.

Brands should try to get their key messages across in the first 75% of video content.

Publishers & Networks combined represent nearly 80% of all mobile impressions.

DSPs & Exchanges are the fastest growing mobile inventory sources.

Ad Networks & Premium Publishers typically command 2x+ better CTR performance than DSPs or Exchanges.

Invalid traffic from DSPs remains an important consideration with over 2x more bots, spiders, and other non-human traffic detected than on Premium Publishers or Ad Networks.

Significantly more handset ads are served than tablet ads. This is a reflection of higher handset usage by consumers.

Distribution of impressions is relatively similar between app & mobile web properties with a slightly higher slant to apps.

Static ads are highly effective for driving consumers to app downloads and for increasing landing page visits.

Rich Expandable ads are very effective for driving user engagement and time spent interacting with the brand.

Video within Rich Media ads is a popular choice to create brand awareness and to drive brand engagement.

Video campaigns should convey brand messaging during the first 75% of the video content while most users are engaged.

Ad Networks and Publishers have the lowest invalid traffic rates and highest campaign performance (in terms of CTR).

Exchanges and DSPs are the fastest growing inventory source for mobile campaigns, but additional review is recommended as they have higher invalid traffic rates.

Inclusion of view-through attributions significantly increases total conversions.

Summary of Key Takeaways

APPENDIX

ImpressionsNumber of times Medialets counted that a mobile ad was delivered to a valid audience (not to a bot, spider or other non-human traffic source).

Click-Through Rate (CTR)Ratio of total valid clicks to total valid impressions.

EngagementsAny interactions with a Rich Media ad other than expansion or dismiss.

Engagement Rate For expandable ads, engagement rate is the ratio of impressions where one or more engagement occurred to total expands. For rich banners & rich interstitials, engagement rate is the ratio of impressions where one or more engagement occurred to total valid impressions.

Video Completion Rate Number of times that at least 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the video was watched.

Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

View-Through Conversion When a conversion event occurs (as defined by the brand) after a user saw an ad on app or mobile web but did not click-through.

Click-Through Conversion When a conversion event occurs (as defined by the brand) after a user saw an ad on app or mobile web that they then clicked on.

Expansion RateRatio of total expands to impressions. Note that expands are not counted toward engagement rate.

Expansion Duration The average amount of time in seconds when users expanded and interacted with a Rich Expandable ad.

Invalid Traffic Rate Ratio of invalid impressions (bots, spiders, and other non-human traffic) to total impressions (valid + invalid impressions).

Medialets is the most advanced media measurement company in mobile advertising. Servo™, Medialets’ core product, is an ad server developed from the ground up for device-based campaigns, allowing the world’s top marketers to measure complete ROI, tracking all conversions across all user sessions. Servo is also the only buy-side mobile ad server to receive Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for display impressions and clicks. Global agencies like Publicis Groupe, Omnicom Media Group, Interpublic Group and more use Servo to support clients like P&G, American Express, Toyota, HBO, and other global brands.

Founded in 2008 and venture backed by Foundry Group, DFJ Gotham Ventures, and Greenspring Associates, among others, Medialets is headquartered in New York City with offices in London, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

To learn more, visit http://www.medialets.comand follow us on Twitter @medialets