MediaMath & Improve Digital present: Battle of the Machines

Robots! Diagrams! Swelling music! Almost ten full minutes of automation animation RTB bliss.

Privacy is a Red Button Issue, But Most Users in the UK Don't Know What a Cookie Is -- IAB & ValueClick Report

The vast majority of UK consumers want some aspect of control or more information about how companies use consumer information to serve online advertising. However, the exact same number of people (81%) also agreed the internet is powerful because it provides unrestricted access to information.

The findings come from a report being published by the IAB UK and ValueClick, based on 2,000 interviews carried out by Kantar Media - 650 face-to-face and 1,350 online.

Privacy online
The report reveals that although six in 10 UK consumers (62%) are concerned about online privacy, two-thirds (67%) are confident they know how to protect their privacy online. For example, half said they had deleted cookies from their computers in the last six months while one in five deletes cookies every week. Men (57%) are more likely to delete cookies than women (43%). One in five (19%) consumers don’t take any steps to manage their privacy online.

However, the report reveals confusion amongst consumers about cookies; of the 64% of people who claimed to know what a cookie is, only 57% actually chose the correct definition when given a range of options. In effect, this means that four in 10 (39%) people who deleted cookies in the last six months did so without correctly knowing what cookies are and what they’re used for.

Advertising control and benefits
Nearly half (45%) of UK consumers would like to control the type of advertising they see online and 40% want easy access to the information being shared about them. Just over one third (36%) wanted information about who was showing them a particular ad.

However, the majority of UK consumers do recognise the benefits advertising brings; 61% expect a large portion of the internet would “disappear” without advertising, while 52% are happy to see online advertising because it supports online services and content at little or no cost. Only one in 10 people would be willing to pay for websites and online services they currently use for free if those services removed advertising.

The majority of people are in favour of personalised or more relevant advertising online - 55% said they would rather see online advertising relevant to their interests. Six in 10 (59%) would rather see a lower number of relevant ads online than a higher number of less relevant ones.

Importance of the internet in modern society
The report also reveals how important consumers believe the internet is in modern society. For example, 61% said they can live more cheaply because of the internet and a staggering 42% would feel like a second class citizen without internet access. Half of consumers feel people have more political power because of it and 46% thought access to the internet should be a fundamental human right. People clearly value the unrestricted access to information the internet offers, with 81% agreeing this was what made the web powerful.

Nick Stringer, Director of Regulatory Affairs at the IAB UK, comments: “This research shows the balance that the industry needs to strike: providing clear and transparent information and control to empower consumers and help them safeguard their privacy, whilst enabling relevant advertising to help fund the quality content and services that they demand. Businesses across Europe are rolling out a new icon in online ads to enable this. Backed by a campaign to explain how online advertising works and what the icon means, this study will help inform our communication.”

Carl White, CEO ValueClick Europe, adds: “Businesses and brands must begin to engage consumers in an open and transparent dialogue about how and why they see advertising online. This study shows that people are more receptive and open-minded about online advertising than is often reported, but they are also wary and understandably confused about the mechanics of digital marketing and privacy. It is up to us as an industry to communicate how online advertising works and the benefits it delivers more effectively.”

Summary points
- Over half (52%) of UK consumers are happy to see online advertising because it supports online services and content at little or no cost
- 55% said they would rather see online advertising relevant to their interests; 59% would rather see a lower number of relevant ads online than a higher number of less relevant ones
- Nearly half (45%) would like to control the type of advertising they see online
- Half of UK consumers have deleted cookies from their computers in the last six months while one in five deletes cookies every week
- Six in 10 people said they can live more cheaply because of the internet

Collective Scores WWE Sales Agreement

WWE® and ad-technology company, Collective, have announced a new two-year online advertising sales agreement. Under this agreement, Collective will handle all WWE.com display and video pre-roll inventory advertising for the UK market.

This is the largest international online advertising sales agreement for WWE and it ties in with the recent re-launch of WWE.com, highlighting the significant investment currently being put into digital by WWE.

WWE.com currently generates around 69 million display ads and 1.5 million video impressions per month and Collective, who work with other entertainment brands including BBC, Sony Music and E! Entertainment, will push the display and pre-roll advertising for the UK and potential third-parties.

James McEvoy, Director of Media Distribution at WWE, comments: "WWE’s digital strategy is multifaceted, with the aim to make the the most engaging digital experience possible, across all platforms. Now our role, with Collective on board, is to grow our digital business and to keep providing our fans with compelling and engaging content.”

Steve Filler, MD, Collective, adds: “WWE.com is a great addition to the Collective exclusive distribution platform. WWE delivers some of the highest engagement rates across display and video due to its premium content and loyal user base. This, along with proprietary data and Collective’s high impact personalized advertising experiences, drives some of the highest advertiser engagement rates in the business.”
Yahoo!’s Right Media Exchange Goes Fully RTB

Yahoo! announced last week that they are going fully RTB on their Right Media Exchange, with supply now 100% enabled and ready for RTB demand globally. The feature also enables tech providers (Demand Side Players) to process multiple bids within a single data stream.

With up to 11 billion daily impressions traded on the Right Media Exchange globally every day, and over 30% of activity in EMEA, RTB-based spending in some European countries is still expected to grow at a CAGR rate of more than 100% annually (Source: IDC, 2011). Large media agencies in Europe are predicted to move significant budgets to the real-time bidding platform.

Sue Hunt, Director of Right Media Exchange at Yahoo! EMEA, comments: “Real-time bidding offers both buyers and sellers of display advertising more data and inventory to enhance the performance of their advertising campaigns. We’re seeing more and more publishers and advertisers taking advantage of the scalability of the Right Media Exchange, showing the improved campaign performance and yield that real-time bidding brings to the industry. We’re excited to see the impact of this technology in digital media.”

German Mobile Boom

The German mobile advertising market achieved a total of 1,973 campaigns for the 2011 reporting year - a new record. Compared to the previous year, this represents a growth of over 62%. The number of advertisers has grown by about 45%, to a total of 359 companies that have enabled their advertising campaigns for mobile devices. This information has emerged from a recent survey done by the mobile advertising unit of the Mobile Division of the Association of Digital Economy (BVDW).

Oliver von Wersch, (G + J Electronic Media Sales), Head of Unit Mobile Advertising to the trade group Mobile BVDW, comments: "With these impressive growth numbers, it’s clear mobile will remain the fastest growing media category. Year-on-year the growth rate has accelerated and we expect the trend to continue this year. This positive growth in mobile advertising will be reflected in future advertising spend.”

The analysis, done by the Mobile Advertising Unit of the BVDW, is based on data for mobile advertising campaigns from the participating mobile marketers: Axel Springer Media Impact, Contnet AG, German Telekom AG, G + J Electronic Media Sales GmbH, Interactive Media CCSP GmbH, RTL / IP GmbH Germany, Telefónica O2 Germany GmbH & Co. OHG, TOMORROW FOCUS Media GmbH United Internet Media AG, Yahoo! Germany GmbH, YOC Mobile Advertising GmbH.