Why Identity and Contextual Targeting Remain a Top Priority for Publishers

In a fast-changing world with greater emphasis on data privacy, publishers are looking for new features to help them monetize their inventory more effectively. InMobi conducted a “Publisher Insights Study” in Q4 2022 to understand the changing priorities of our publishers in this evolving landscape. We reached out to 57 of our top publishers and asked them to rate our key supply-side product initiatives based on their priorities for 2023.  

Key Trends 

The Study showed that the primary focus for publishers is on identity resolution and contextual targeting, with more than 65% of respondents rating identity and targeting as their top focus areas for 2023.  

With Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) policy and Google's plan to deprecate third-party cookies in the near future, the need for a “single view” of the customer is paramount for publishers and advertisers alike. Identity resolution functionalities merge and standardize customer data across various sources to create targetable profiles that publishers can monetize. The shift from behavioral to contextual targeting is also prompted by the publisher’s need to offer advertisers relevant audiences without relying on an identifier.  

The Study also showed that audience insights and data enrichment were key focus areas for publishers, with more than 75% of the respondents rating it as their highest priority. Publishers now have greater control over first-party data, and there is a need to analyze this data and derive valuable insights from it that they can leverage to monetize their audiences. Enriching their first-party data with the scale of third-party data to create a larger audience pool will allow publishers to unlock new audience segments.  

Publishers also plan to prioritize initiatives for user acquisition, cross-app promotions, and new and unique formats in 2023, with more than 50% of respondents rating it as their top focus area. Unique ad formats include native ads and app-open ads (launched by Google).  

_{^ Research methodology: We asked the respondents to rate each of the initiatives on a scale of 1-5 based on their priorities and expectations from InMobi for the coming year, with 5 being the highest.}  

_{^^% of respondents that ranked the initiatives >=4 (on a scale of 1-5)} 

Adam Sadur, Head of Programmatic at SmartNews, told InMobi that contextual targeting is a strategy they are currently leaning into because it is endemic to SmartNews and news consumption. Their app already tailors specific content categories in the form of channels to their users, so providing the ability to target specific content verticals within an article met a clear need from the demand side.  

“Today SmartNews can target our highly engaged users based on contextual relevance within a mobile app environment, which really represents a unique form of targeting when compared to other app specific solutions,” Sadur said. “We've also found that given all the privacy-related changes occurring in the app space that the previous norms around targeting and measurement have shifted, and to evolve, SmartNews sought to provide targeting options that aren't reliant on an identifier to help marketers meet their goals.”  

“Publishers are facing new challenges and are looking to supply-side platforms to help them navigate the changing ad-tech environment beyond ad monetization,” said Todd Rose, Senior Vice President of Business Development at InMobi. “This Publisher Insights Study highlights that publishers are looking for features that help them understand and unlock the potential of their user data in a privacy-first universe.”  

Conclusion  

In an ever-evolving landscape, publishers are focusing on not just keeping up with the changes in privacy regulations but also identifying new opportunities to use their first-party data and to create targetable customer profiles they can monetize.