ExchangeWire Research’s weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world, with additional insight provided by Rebecca Muir, head of research and analysis, ExchangeWire. In this week’s edition: Grey audiences booking holidays online; iOS not immune to app-install fraud; Budgets allocated beyond pre-roll; Publishers see post-Brexit growth.

Grey audiences booking holidays online

Two-thirds (65%) of audiences aged 55+ are more likely to book a holiday with a company that offers them a deal via email, research from Mailjet suggests. Personalisation is key to this demographic; the large majority (84%) of over 55s will delete anything that looks like a sales email.

Consumers aged 55 and above are prepared to spend £5,000 for off-peak travel abroad. Despite this, travel brands are failing to serve tailored ads on relevant channels to capture this audience. Over a quarter (27%) say the messages they receive are targeted towards younger generations, while 23% say messaging does not focus on customer service.

Email remains the best way to connect with this group. Nine-in-ten respondents say they check their emails every day; while only 40% use Facebook on a daily basis, despite the fact that 62% of Brits over 65 have a Facebook profile.

With this increasing appetite for off-peak holidays, advertisers must make sure they have a strong online presence. Older generations are more tech savvy than ever before; less than a tenth (8%) of over 65s are now checking physical travel brochures as part of their path to purchase.

iOS not immune to app-install fraud

App marketers will lose up to USD$100m (£77m) in 2016 through app-install and engagement fraud, according to ad attribution and analytics company AppsFlyer. Although Android is more susceptible to fraud by 50%, iOS is not immune to fraud. In fact, these devices have been targeted heavily given that, if successful, payouts will be far higher than perpetrating app-install and engagement fraud on Android devices.

The US is the most targeted region. However, when we take into account the size of the mobile population, Germany, Australia, China, Canada, and the UK have higher rates of ad fraud. Though countries like India, Brazil, and Indonesia have high mobile populations, the fraud rates are lower, since the payouts are not as lucrative.

The threat of mobile app-install and engagement fraud is ubiquitous. With marketers spending more and increasing their efforts behind mobile app-install and engagement campaigns to attract loyal users, the opportunity for fraudsters is increasing. The research finds that the mobile ad industry must move towards mobile device-level prevention to fight more sophisticated app-install/engagement fraud techniques.

Budgets allocated beyond pre-roll

Over 40% of video budgets are now allocated to formats beyond pre-roll, a study by Collective finds. While broadcaster VOD still takes the lion’s share of video advertising spend, clients are increasing their investment in display, YouTube, social channels and other more niche providers.

This has led to a drop in the number of bookings valued at over £100,000, down from 21% of total bookings in 2015 to 13% in 2016. Simultaneously, there has been a rise in bookings valued between £25,000 to £50,000, up from 22% last year to 29% this year. This is being driven by buyers spreading their budgets across multiple video platforms and formats.

Given the excitement surrounding programmatic, it is interesting to note that the percentages investing in programmatic video have only grown marginally year-on-year. One-in-seven (70%) of respondents are investing more than 25% of their budget into programmatic video. This is compared to 60% in 2015.

The research finds that key obstacles in the adoption of programmatic video include a lack of premium inventory for pre-roll (21%) and the ability to prove effectiveness (27%). The most important KPI in 2016, according to video buyers, is view-through rate (VTR), which rose from 35% in 2015 to 52% in 2016. While video ad buyers are watching current innovations such as VR and 360° video with interest, there is no standout video solution exciting the industry.

Publishers see post-Brexit growth

Four out of five publishers anticipate positive growth in the next 12 months, finds the Association for Online Publishing (AOP). Despite a decline in optimism among UK business leaders in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, 78% of respondents expect positive growth over the next year. More than half (53%), also report positive revenue growth, compared to Q2 2015.

In Q2 2016, UK publisher revenue stood at £78.4m for the quarter, an increase of 1.8%, compared to the same quarter in 2015. In terms of B2B publishers, strong growth in sponsorship (54%) and subscriptions (41%) in the second quarter has led to a revenue increase of 5.5%, compared to the same period in 2015, and a total annual increase of 4.9% in the 12 months to June 2016. In contrast, B2C revenues rose by 3.8% for the year to June 2016.

Display advertising, down 7% against Q2 2015 results, remains the largest single revenue category for UK publishers. It accounts for the majority of smartphone revenue (86%) and tablet revenue (65%). Online video, which has increased by 117% compared to Q2 2015, is the fastest growing category in Q2 2016.