This meticulously crafted study offers a comprehensive analysis of the programmatic advertising landscape, delving into data-driven trends and addressing pivotal topics that steer publishers, SSPs, consultants, and ad networks toward informed decisions in a rapidly evolving environment.

What will you find:

• Digital Advertising Market Outlook;
• Evolution of AY Global Ad Revenue, Stock Market Index by Region;
• Revenue Distribution by Revenue Channel;
• Top-Performing SSPs! Explore the leaders driving revenue growth and strategic insights in the ad tech landscape;
• AY Global CPMs Evolution by Device;
• IAB Tech Lab’s Video ReCategorization;
• INP Impact Analysis: New Core Web Vitals;
• Latest  Updates on The Impact of Cookie Deprecation, AI Trends For Publishers, Efficient & Sustainable Programmatic.

Download the complete report: Q1'24 AY Industry Insights Report - Publisher Trends, Global Programmatic & Ad Revenue

Diving into Data: a closer look at Q1'24

Armed with insights from the analysis of a staggering 70 billion impressions per month across diverse geographies and publisher categories, Assertive Yield presents a nuanced understanding of market behavior and performance dynamics.

"We delved into critical industry trends such as cookie deprecation, Privacy Sandbox advancements, the MFA site debates, and updates on Core Web Vitals. Our findings provide a holistic view of the evolving digital landscape.

Additionally, we shed light on the intricacies of header bidding mechanics and the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence, offering invaluable guidance to stakeholders navigating this dynamic ecosystem.", said Nils Lind, Founder/CEO of Assertive Yield. For more insights, download the report.

Highlights from the Q1'24 AY Industry Insights Report - Publisher Trends, Global Programmatic & Ad Revenue.

1. AY Ad Revenue Index vs. the Stock Market

The S&P 500 witnessed an impressive surge of over 10% during the initial quarter, marking its most significant first-quarter growth since 2019 and reaching numerous record highs while experiencing minimal retracements.

This robust performance of the stock market directly translated into a notable increase in revenue for publishers, particularly within the United States market.

As seen above, the graph demonstrates the normalization of the Standard & Poors [S&P 500], Dow Jones [DJIA], and AY North America Ad Revenue Indexes to a common range.

This aids in visualizing and comparing the stock performance of the 500 largest US companies (S&P 500), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.

2. Revenue Distribution Breakdown

In North America, optimized Prebid setups typically dominate revenue generation, constituting approximately 65-75% of total earnings. Revenue from ad exchanges and open bidding, when optimized, typically contributes around 20%.

The dynamics differ in Europe, where Google's demand stands out, comprising about 40% of earnings. Amazon's revenue mirrors North American trends. Ideally, Prebid revenue should constitute about half of the total earnings.

Watch Assertive Yield’s Founder/CEO - Nils Lind analyze in-depth the revenue distribution by various revenue channels in Q1'24, including OpenBidding, AdExchange Prebid, and Amazon.

For more insights play the full video.

3. AI Trends for Publishers

AI is a hot topic in every sector of technology. We can’t cover all of the AI news here, so we’ll focus on what matters for digital publishers. For a more in-depth rundown read the full report.

With Publishers constantly trying to balance revenue growth with user satisfaction and loyalty, will AI finally resolve this conflict, especially with the ongoing dispute involving #OpenAI?

However, publishers have begun employing more AI in content creation, optimizing revenue and User Lifetime Value, as well as in other aspects.

In that regard, Assertive Yield has been developing a Smart Prebid Server, embedded in its Yield Manager solution to offer publishers Al optimization and unbiased demand for unprecedented revenue.

AY Prebid Server offers a solution tailored to publishers seeking an agnostic demand, efficiency, higher PMs, and advanced Al-powered features Assertive Yield stands out as the premier choice for those looking to elevate their programmatic advertising strategies.

Its key features include Traffic Shaping for Pubs, Dynamic Flooring, Add Multi-Partner, Discrepancy Reports, ID Solution Integrations, and more.

Now you can choose which demand partner you’d like on the client-side or the server-side. Start a PoC for free: https://lp.assertiveyield.com/schedule.

4. SSPs Trends

An emerging trend since 2023 - we investigated in the 2024 Publisher Trends Report -  is the rise of SSPs that solely resell inventory from other SSPs, reflecting consolidation within segments and the emergence of new, smaller companies, resulting in revenue gains.

We bring the Top 5 SSPs by win rate and by comparing their performance in winning auctions and revenue share in a chart that illustrates Prebid demand amongst AY's partners. Get more insights: download the full report.

5. INP: The New Core Web Vital

The report assesses Core Web Vitals health across Assertive Yield’s partners for Desktop and Mobile.

While FID performance remains satisfactory, analysis of INP reveals room for improvement, emphasizing the need for ongoing monitoring and optimization of website performance metrics to enhance user experience.

Now available in Assertive Yield's Analytics tool, publishers have access to these metrics. Within the provided image, we've assessed the Core Web Vitals health of Assertive Yield's partners on Desktop and Mobile platforms.

We've conducted a comparison of our partners' performance, examining those utilizing Assertive Yield's AI Layouts solution and those who aren't.

The findings serve as a compelling demonstration of the impact a robust solution can have on your Core Web Vitals. Deep dive into this data by downloading the complete report.

Assertive Yield has 50+ customizable dashboards, and over 10 real-time alert templates that allow publishers to monitor, analyze, slice & dice, and report their CWV at a granular level. Download the Next-Gen Monetization Playbook to learn more on how to optimize your Core Web Vitals with Assertive Yield’s Holistic dashboards.

6. Cookie Deprecation

There’s no escaping this year’s big story, and the outcome is too risky to call just yet. We’re sure the ins and outs of the impact of cookie depreciation will rumble on throughout 2024.

In Q1 alone, Google depreciates cookies on 1% of global Chrome traffic, the Assertive Yield Google Cookie Depreciation and Topics API Impact Report revealed Chrome traffic running the Topics API was experiencing RPMs at up to 45% below cookie levels.

The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK orders Google not to continue with cookie depreciation until its concerns are resolved as Publishers continued to express their discontent with the performance of their depreciated inventory.

Sure, Q1 was a tough ride for the cookie deprecation, and with #Facebook and #Instagram willing to pay for subscriptions (at least in Europe so far), what does this mean for the ad industry? “Pay or Okay”? Read the complete report to learn more.

7. IAB Tech Lab’s Video Recategorization

As we step into Q2, we're on the verge of fully understanding the effects of the IAB Tech Lab's updates on Outstream video.

These changes were first introduced in 2022 and refined in 2023, and they resulted in big changes for publishers using third-party video player plugins, as they may have seen a drop in CPMs for this type of inventory.

Outstream video is a thing of the past, replaced by three new categories: Accompanying Content, Interstitial, and No Content / Standalone.

Previously, some Outstream content, especially what's now called "Accompanying Content," could fetch high CPMs as Premium Video, despite lower viewability and engagement compared to a 'YouTube-like' experience.

These revisions offer clearer guidelines for buying and selling video content, giving buyers better insight into their investments. For publishers, it's time to rethink video strategies.

Adaptation is key in this evolving landscape, whether creating more premium video environments or adjusting to new revenue streams. To deep-dive into this analysis, download the complete report.

The Conclusion

As we delved deeper into Q1'24, it became evident that optimization and adaptation are key to maximizing revenue potential and enhancing user experiences.

From optimizing revenue distribution channels to embracing AI-driven strategies and addressing emerging challenges, publishers and industry players have the opportunity to leverage insights from our report to make informed decisions and drive growth in a dynamic environment.

As Assertive Yield continues to lead the charge in innovating with optimization solutions, we remain committed to empowering publishers and industry professionals with the tools and insights needed to thrive in the ever-changing advertising industry.

Together, let's unlock new opportunities for success in Q2'24 and beyond, download the complete Q1'24 AY Industry Insights Report - Publisher Trends, Global Programmatic & Ad Revenue.