ExchangeWire rounds up some of the biggest stories in the European digital advertising space. In this week’s edition: Connected TV Advertising in Europe Will Grow; BVDW: Coalition for Better Ads Solution Ignores Needs of the European Market; New mobile ad formats for Sublime Skinz; Fifty Percent Block Rate for Bid Requests; and Vewd Partners with SpotX for Programmatic Video.

Connected TV Advertising in Europe Will Grow

Thanks to the growing demand for content served via smart TVs, consoles, streaming sticks, and pay-TV solutions, connected TV advertising is set for rapid growth in Europe. According to an info graphic by SpotX, the value of the European connected TV advertising market could reach €825m by 2020. For comparison: the connected TV advertising market was worth €225m in 2016.

SpotX says the growth is a reflection of new advertising-funded Video-on-Demand technology, as well as the increased demand by brands and agencies to advertise alongside premium programmes. Within this context, the UK has the biggest share in connected TV advertising, forecast to be worth €250m in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 19%. France follows with an expected value of €240m; Germany is at number three with €125m.

The strongest growth is expected in in Italy, with participants in the research predicting an 80% CAGR between 2016 and 2020. By 2020, the value of the Italian connected TV advertising market could be worth €105m, growing from €10m in 2016.

“The data shows the dramatic rise of adoption of connected TV advertising across Europe, reflecting the growth we have experienced already in the U.S.”, says Mike Shehan, co-founder and CEO, SpotX. “The UK, France, and Germany are leading the adoption of connected TV advertising in Europe, followed by emerging markets with high potential including Spain and Italy.”

BVDW: Coalition for Better Ads Solution Ignores Needs of the European Market

Four months after the open letter by the Coalition for Better Ads, the BVDW is still not satisfied with the Better Ads programme suggested by the international industry association. Underlining their demand for local participation in the industry initiative, the BVDW is calling out the Coalition for better Ads on the lack of inclusion.

When it comes to the implementation of the certification in Germany, or other markets, it is imperative to have regional organisations in place that are supported and legitimised by the regional industry associations, says Björn Kaspring, chairman of the Focus Group Digital Marketing Quality at the BVDW. “It is questionable whether participation in a programme where frame conditions are not clearly defined makes sense at this point in time. From our point of view, this is currently not the case.”

Sascha Jansen, representing the online media agencies at the BVDW, says: "Like so many things in the increasingly globalised world, the media business also mixes local and international aspects to a ‘glocal’ mixture. Global approaches, as is the CfBA amongst others, are not only necessary, but also welcome on a local level. However, they must take into account legal peculiarities when it comes to defining processes as well as for local adaptation."

Both BVDW and the Focus Group Digital Marketing Quality, as well as AGOF are looking after quality standards in the German market. The associations are keen to contribute to the development of standards. "As the second-largest digital market in Europe, we will remain at the wheel when it comes to the control of market decisions. The decision regarding standards, and their implementation, must remain the responsibility of the respective national market committees”, emphasises Kaspring.

New Mobile Ad Formats for Sublime Skinz

Sublime Skinz expands their mobile offering with two new ad formats, dubbed 'The Capsule' and 'The Video'. Available for direct and programmatic buys, the new formats are intended to drive user engagement and create opportunities for more effective branding. The formats are both framed by banners at the top and bottom of the webpage, while a side panel with content can be swiped open by the user.

Andrew Buckman, managing director EMEA, Sublime Skinz, comments: “These new formats further demonstrate Sublime Skinz’s commitment to providing non-invasive but powerful solutions to advertisers and agencies. With 73% of people in the UK using their smartphones to access the internet on a daily basis, it’s more important than ever to remember that the user is king.”

According to Sublime Skinz, both new formats have generated engagement rates of 4-5% in tests. The Capsule’s responsive panel has been developed with HTML5 and, thus, able to implement interactive elements, such as slideshows, video, configurators, 360° product views, and store locators. The Video is an enhanced video format.

Fifty Percent Block Rate for Bid Requests

According to ad tech provider RhythmOne’s Programmatic Insights Report – Spotlight on Quality, half of their received bid requests were blocked due to traffic-quality concerns. RhythmOne processed over 31 trillion raw ad opportunities in 2017, of which 45%-55% of those raw ad opportunities were blocked due to underperformance, based on traffic quality scans.

RhythmOne’s global average blocking rate for video advertising slightly edged out banner advertising (49% vs 45%), the company found. Comparing U.S. and global blocking incidents for the same three-month period, the blocking rates for the UK turned out to be generally higher: on mobile devices, 49% of requests were blocked, versus 36% in North America. Globally, inventory on desktop devices (56% of overall ad opportunities) was blocked at a higher rate than mobile devices (38%). The blocking rates by respective advertisement size remained consistent for both banners and video.

“Quality traffic and brand safety are top-of-mind for advertisers”, comments James Murphy, VP programmatic, RhythmOne. Based on the report, RhythmOne recommends that advertisers not only should proactively investigate the ad supply of their partners, but also adjust their expectations regarding measurement of mobile and desktop campaigns, exploring non-standard ad sizes, enabling contextual blocking tactics to ensure brand safety, and to consider deals via PMPs.

Vewd Partners with SpotX for Programmatic Video

Streaming expert Vewd is monetising their OTT efforts with video ad serving platform SpotX, leveraging SpotX’s video SSP and ad serving. Vewd offers an alternative to platform fragmentation in smart TVs, giving content owners access to monetisation solutions, while making content available to Vewd-enabled devices, independent of manufacturer or operating system. The integration with SpotX’s video ad platform opens new opportunities for media companies to monetise their inventory.

“For many years, we’ve helped content owners monetise video; and with the recent introduction of Vewd OS, we’re expanding their ability to drive revenue. Central to that is our partnership with SpotX, as they allow us to bring greater value to our relationships with content owners and centralise all monetisation efforts within a single platform, giving us the ability to target fragmented TV audiences across all Vewd-enabled TV devices. Together with SpotX, we can, for the first time, tap into programmatic video ad budgets, where smart TV inventory is in especially high demand”, explains Aneesh Rajaram, CEO at Vewd.