Over the past month, the mobile advertising and programmatic industry got together in Vegas for back-to-back events that were not to be missed:

AdExchanger’s Programmatic I/O from May 15 to 17, and MAU (Mobile Apps Unlocked) from May 23 to 25, held at MGM Grand Convention Center.

Every year, these two summits are marked on the conference calendar of mobile advertising and programmatic adtech specialists from all over the world.

This year was no different. In between the networking, mingling and partying, there were loads of discussions focusing on the upcoming trends, technologies, challenges and solutions in the industry. 

The Start.io team was in attendance, of course, soaking up the key takeaways to share with you.

Here’s what we overheard:

  • CTV is very hot right now, and around 40% of the sessions covered the topic in some way. It appears that CTV is becoming a significant revenue stream for some of the main SSPs/DSPs, and it’s here to stay. 
  • Monetization efficiency: There was a lot of talk about reducing carbon footprint, from the publisher side and SSPs. Salon Group, a large US entertainment publisher, described how they cut out all the ‘middlemen’, including SSPs, and began selling media through direct bidding. It turned out that sending less ad requests for higher pricing was a smart move, and while it took some time, the revenue began climbing.
  • Not to be missed podcast: Check out The Big Story, a professional and insightful industry podcast you should be following.
  • Audio ads: This is another hot trend that everyone was talking about, and it’s already got actual revenue flowing. It’s a growing domain, and not exhausted yet, so there is good potential there.
  • In-house DSPs: Some brands are establishing their own  DSPs, and conducting most of their digital buying and marketing ‘at home’ – an interesting trend to watch.

Want to discuss your mobile marketing strategy with the insiders at Start.io? Contact us and tap into our mobile audience data insights.