Post-Pandemic Era: Advertisers' Budgets Not Going Down, But More Concerns Arise About Their Effectiveness

Despite the challenges posed by Covid in 2020, data show that global digital consumer growth has exceeded expectations over the last two years. The number of Internet users worldwide who used mobile phones to access information exceeded 200 million in 2021 alone! This shift brings new opportunities for marketers - but there are still some challenges facing them today that need attention.Changing users’ expectations. As consumer preferences shift, publishers need to spend more time understanding users and their preference for advertising services and which forms of advertising have the least impact on the user experience. A less obvious example of this shift is the growing popularity of subscription models. While video ads, display ads, and in-app purchases remain the top three ways to monetize mobile apps globally, subscription models are climbing the rankings, in part indicating that more users are willing to pay for an ad-free experience.

Privacy regulations and users’ location targeting.

Before 2020, publishers had a relatively easy time being addressable (i.e. targeting users). Advertiser Identifiers (IDFA) provide a fairly stable way to activate, measure, and customize ad services. With more industry giants taking steps to protect user privacy, app developers are subject to new conventions in order to stay in the app store. This limits advertisers' ability for targeting platforms; however, this does not mean that all hope is lost! The Partner will reevaluate whether or not the chosen advertising platform still reaches core audiences/primarily targeted groups, and therefore decide if the choice of the platform and the corresponding budget allocation best suits their needs. Diversified forms of advertising. Diverse ad formats help create a better user experience, minimize distractions, render ads in less time, and align with user preferences. Publishers that experiment with different ad sizes have a better chance of keeping up with advertisers' demands and quantifying which ads pay off the most.