Pubmatic has released its latest Ad Price Index focusing on “premium publishers.” According to the report, CPM pricing has been moving up. Read the release. And, download the report (PDF).
AdExchanger.com spoke to PubMatic’s CEO Rajeev Goel about the report.
AdExchanger.com: In your estimation, what’s the biggest “a ha!” in the report?
RG: The most surprising finding is the strong rebound in ad pricing in 2009. While many in the online advertising space expected pricing to improve in 2009 relative to the difficult economic environment and underlying trends in 2008, the force with which pricing rebounded was a surprise. As publishers are continuing to adopt ad revenue optimization solutions we are seeing publishers achieve higher and higher pricing points for their non-guaranteed inventory.
AdExchanger.com: I noticed the focus in your report is “premium” publishers. First, what is meant by “premium publisher”? And do you have any insight on non-guaranteed inventory for publishers other than “premium”?
RG: Premium publishers are US-based publishers with over 100 million non-guaranteed ad impressions per month. PubMatic no longer reports on pricing trends for non-premium publishers.
AdExchanger.com: Given current pricing momentum and what you’re seeing from your clients, any thoughts on what’s to come in 2010 in terms of pricing?
RG: We expect to see continued pricing strength in 2010. Advertisers are returning to the market and non-guaranteed advertising via ad networks and exchanges continues to take market share. In addition, some of the key trends identified in the report, such as the usage of audience data, growth in real time bidding (RTB), and rise of demand side platforms (DSPs) will only continue into 2010.
By John Ebbert