Global Ad Spend on Real-Time Bidding (RTB) will Rise to $6.5 Billion by 2015

Research Unveiled at PubMatic’s Ad Revenue 4 Conference Today From IDC Forecasts Inevitable Transition of Premium Inventory to be Sold via RTB

Ad Revenue 4 Conference 2011

NEW YORK--()--PubMatic (www.PubMatic.com), a media technology company that provides a holistic inventory, data and advertising revenue optimization platform for digital publishers, today released a study conducted with research firm IDC showing that Real-Time Bidding (RTB) will amount to $6.47 billion in ad spend by 2015 in the U.S. and major markets in Western Europe. The IDC findings, led by Karsten Weide, Program Vice President, Digital Media and Entertainment, have been published in PubMatic’s Ad Revenue Report, which published in conjunction with the Ad Revenue 4 conference taking place today in New York City.

PubMatic’s Ad Revenue Report is available here: www.pubmatic.com/adrevenuereport

The IDC research analyzes the state of RTB across the United States and in Western European nations France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The report estimates the current and past spending on RTB-based display ad sales and forecasts yearly growth until 2015. Highlights from the research include:

  • RTB-Based Spending: By 2015, RTB-based spending will stand for 27% in the United States (up from 10% in 2011), 25% in the UK (up from 6%), 21% in France (up from 4%) and 20% in Germany (up from 4%). Total spending on RTB in the US will reach $5.1 billion; $680 MM for the UK; $219 MM for France; and $495 MM for Germany.
  • Expected Growth: Display advertising sales based on RTB will experience strong growth until 2015 in the US (71% from 2010-2015), the UK (114%), France (103%) and Germany (99%).
  • Direct vs. Indirect Sales Related to RTB: By 2015, the majority of indirect ad revenue volume will be traded using RTB in the US and the most developed European markets. By 2015, RTB-based direct sales will contribute to 15% of total RTB sales in the US, 7% in the UK, 14% in Germany, and 13% in France.

“Real-Time Bidding is rapidly penetrating the display ad market, with spending nearly doubling in 2011. Furthermore, we expect it to double again in 2012. The value it brings to both publishers and marketers is undeniable,” said Karsten Weide, Program Vice President, Digital Media and Entertainment, IDC.

“Spending on RTB will grow not just for indirectly sold inventory - premium inventory will also be sold via RTB on a much greater scale in the near future,” said Rajeev Goel, Co-Founder and CEO of PubMatic. “The benefits of automation are clear for all parties in the display ecosystem.”

Catalysts for RTB

RTB has been growing due to its promise of improving return on investment for publishers, agencies and advertisers. Through RTB, publishers stand to improve yield, automate sales processes, and reduce costs. Agencies and advertisers benefit because RTB trading improves campaign efficiency and return on ad spend.

The Future: Automating Direct Sales

The mounting pressure to improve profitability will compel more and more publishers to transition into RTB-based trading of directly sold inventory. As advertisers become more comfortable with the process for indirect ad sales, they will demand more ways of incorporating it with ad buys, which will include media bought directly from publishers.

Methodology

Information for the Ad Revenue Report was gathered by IDC through multiple sources including in depth interviews with senior online advertising industry executives in the US, UK, France and Germany as well as IDC’s own proprietary research. IDC uses a predictive model to forecast RTB data.

The full IDC report is available here: www.pubmatic.com/idc

About PubMatic

PubMatic’s (http://www.PubMatic.com) ad management and monetization technology combines an impression-level ad auction, the most comprehensive brand protection tools, and enterprise ad operations support to give the Web’s top publishers the most control over their revenue and brand. Some of the world’s most respected online publishers have chosen to work with PubMatic, including The Huffington Post, eBay, United Online, TV Guide, and the majority of the comScore Top 10.

PubMatic is privately held, backed by funding from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Nexus Venture Partners, and Helion Ventures, and has seven offices around the world in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Contacts

for PubMatic:
Brynn Moynihan, 646-202-9753
brynn.moynihan@horngroup.com

Contacts

for PubMatic:
Brynn Moynihan, 646-202-9753
brynn.moynihan@horngroup.com