WH I T E PA PE R

The Future is Omnichannel:

Discovering Emergent
Channels in Digital
Advertising
Modern marketers are faced with a fantastic opportunity. As more devices become
‘digital,’ and as screens continue to proliferate, advertisers have the chance to ad-
dress audiences in a range of exciting, emergent environments.
At Adform, we believe strongly that success for modern marketers will be contingent
on using platforms that are able to bring together all digital media channels under
one seamless platform. As an omnichannel platform connected to all major supply
sources, we are in a great position to meet the accelerated growth expected in key
areas such as CTV, Audio, Digital-Out-of-Home, Gaming, and Native.
What is Happening in the Market?

Consumer patterns across various digital channels are shifting rapidly. Even before binge-watching kept us entertained over
lockdown, TV streaming services had experienced a revolution and we now take for granted the ability to watch our favorite
shows on any device at any time. In fact, according to a study from Allied Market Research, the global video streaming market
is projected to reach $149.34 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18.3% from 2019 to 2026. Parallel to this growth, we have
also seen the rise of “dual screening,” where viewers split their attention simultaneously between televisions and browsing the
internet on smartphones and other devices. Nielsen data revealed that 88% of Americans admit to using a second screen while
watching TV, presenting a clear opportunity for cross-media campaigns.

The world of Audio advertising also presents richer targeting opportunities as users’ audio listening preferences switch to
digital devices. This growth is driven not only by popular streaming services, but also by the rise of digital audio broadcasting
(DAB) and our broader in-car habits, with an estimated 70% of all vehicles believed to be fitted with digital smart dashboards
by 2023.

As for Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising, this growth will be driven by the clear economic incentive offered to outdoor
vendors who can now sell the same space up to twenty times a day rather than once every two weeks. Advertisers are also
incentivized to use this channel due to the enhanced ability to optimize for various times of the day and based on rich data sig-
nals. eMarketer predicts that 15% of Digital Out-of-Home Advertising will be traded programmatically in the US next year. Given
that outdoor advertising is a 10 billion market globally, that percentage signals huge growth for digital marketers.

The Future is Omnichannel: Discovering Emergent Channels in Digital Advertising 3

Expectations in the industry around which areas will experience investment reveal a clear understanding that ‘non-traditional’
digital channels, beyond desktop and mobile will be key growth areas in the future. In a survey conducted by the IAB with Adver-
tisers, Agencies, and Publishers, respondents were asked which channels they expected to see projected growth. CTV and Audio
topped the results, signifying the future importance of these channels.

For traditional banner ads, Programmatic Advertising has enabled the console-based buying of digital media across different
screens and devices. This has been extremely successful and is a formula that can be applied to the wealth of emerging digital
channels.

Marketers are endeavoring to bring together their different campaigns to make them manageable under one single platform. By
consolidating their campaigns and media plans, and by bringing together audio-visual, digital, and outdoor channels, marketers
can aim for maximum efficiency and significantly more engaging creative experiences for consumers.

Effective measurement also becomes more viable, as combined performance metrics can give marketers a holistic overview of
their entire marketing activity. Finding a common measurement standard across broadcast and connected TV has been a fun-
damental challenge for the industry. The research giant, Nielsen, have rearchitected their solution to better incorporate digital tv
into their measurement methodology. In the UK, Project Dovetail is a dedicated initiative aimed at achieving unity between off
and online worlds, by merging research-driven, demographic panel data with the highly addressable world of digital advertising.

The Future is Omnichannel: Discovering Emergent Channels in Digital Advertising 4

What is Adform Doing?
Adform has launched our new cross-media marketplace. While we have always been a platform that has enabled accessibility to
a full range of channels, the key is discoverability and easy execution.

Marketers can discover their preferred media outlets through a seamless process. For example, if you want to see what CTV in-
ventory is available in your market, you can execute an easy search and build a media plan that estimates reach and an overview
of the bid landscape. With different media channels under one platform, Adform’s FLOW’s in-built augmented intelligence can
provide automated recommendations on the best-performing media.

Our fundamental belief is in the concept of ‘effortless modern marketing,’ whereby the buying and selling of media, a process
that is historically convoluted, should be simple and painless. Adform FLOW has condensed the value chain already, by bringing
together creative building and measurement with planning and buying, along with data management and activation. Now, we
are simplifying the process of activating your campaigns across different channels too.

What Channels Are Available Through Adform’s

Cross-Media Marketplace?

DOOH
Adform are integrated with several premium supply partners such as JC Decaux, Stroer,
Clear Channel, Exterion and many more, giving our clients access to 16 billion impressi-
ons available across more than 70,000 screens.

Our clients have already been able to creatively harness DOOH. When Vodafone Turkey
were launching their 5G service during COVID, there were restrictions for when people
could leave their houses. Using outdoor screens, Vodafone used time targeting within the
DSP to ensure they did not waste budget, and location targeting to ensure they reached the
right areas and increase frequency during rush hour. (Download the full case study)

CTV
Adform is connected to all major CTV and Video providers globally and therefore has access
to premium content across the globe. That includes OTT Services, Broadcaster VOD, Short-
form CTV content and a wide range of access. This has proven to be an immensely popular
channel with our advertisers, with 250% growth in trading volume year on year. Today, we
see up to 65 billion requests per month globally, with the US, UK and Germany being key
markets. As a channel, CPMs can reach up to $50, signifying potential to scale this business
over the coming years.

CTV Programmatic ad spend is expected to be around 8.5 billion this year in the US and
represents some 20% of all programmatic video ad spend. The rise has been meteoric, with
plenty of opportunity for growth. TV advertising is mostly set in world where placements
are paid for up front, despite the changes in our viewing habits. With only 5% of all TV
advertising being addressable, there remains a significant imbalance between consumer
time-spent and ad investment. At Adform, we only see this gap narrowing in the future.

Our client BMW – who used CTV in conjunction with other channels for the launch of a new
car – were able to drive users to convert via smart TV interactions. They saw a spectacular
63% higher conversion rate compared to other channels.

The Future is Omnichannel: Discovering Emergent Channels in Digital Advertising 5

 AUDIO
The next big growth pocket that we see is Audio – where we are connected to premium
suppliers such as Spotify, Soundcloud, Pandora, Bauer and Podcasting services like
Acast. This area has experienced more than 600% growth year over year with Adform.
Through our supply partnerships, we have access to some 20 billion audio requests per
month globally and believe there is significant opportunity to grow this further.

Digital Audio listening has overtaken broadcast radio listening in the past year or so but still
only captures around 20% of audio ad budgets. That’s a big delta to be filled. eMarketer
forecasts 26% growth in Digital Audio spend in the US in 2021, but 46% in programmatic
audio spend. Again, that represents a hyper growth pocket in the market and one that
marketers can tap into.

GAMING
Gaming, and specifically in-game advertising, is another interesting and emergent channel.
The pandemic has led to significant increases in gaming and through targeted partnerships
with the likes of Anzu and Admix – we are now able to place ads dynamically into games
on behalf of our clients.

According to a study from Deloitte, 43% of millennials and 36% of Gen Z tried a new
gaming activity during the pandemic. The study also revealed that 47% of all gaming is on
mobile phones. There is great potential to insert advertising into these environments and
create seamless brand experiences with in-game ads. Imagine billboards within virtual
cityscapes that a player character is exploring, or stadium banners for e-sports games. The
audience is ready and gaming

GE T STA R T E D TODAY

Our belief is that platforms cannot focus on only one channel, siloes are
breaking down in media planning and buying and platforms must be
omnichannel to succeed in the future. It will be critical to enable buyers to
efficiently plan campaigns that run across media channels seamlessly –
with budget allocation based on performance using all the signals and data
across the different activation channels.
We look forward to our customers fully executing the new cross-media
marketplace. For more information, we invite you to reach out to your
local Adform representative to help you get started:
https://site.adform.com/contact-us/

The Future is Omnichannel: Discovering Emergent Channels in Digital Advertising 6

Adform is the only global, independent and fully integrated advertising platform
built for modern marketing. Its unique enterprise technology – Adform FLOW – har-
nesses superior user experience and a scalable, modular and open architecture, to
enable seamless management of the whole campaign life cycle. It provides clients
with enhanced control and transparency across their advertising operations, in-
cluding ownership of all data from their campaigns. Since 2002, Adform has devel-
oped technology to enhance human/machine collaboration and deliver augment-
ed intelligence, thereby amplifying business results for its clients around the world.

For more information, please visit: www.adform.com