Data is the new mobile currency: Smaato

The mobile advertising platform recently released its Q4 2015 Global Trends in Mobile Advertising Report, which revealed the extent to which data brings in higher eCPMs for publishers.

The study found that ads with GPS coordinate data increase eCPMs by 162 per cent, and on average publishers who leveraged Age and Gender data saw eCPMs triple during Q4 2015.

Publishers who are able to identify male users saw eCPMs increase by 115 percent, and those identifying female users saw an uptick of 177 percent.

While eCPMs for ad impressions without data still rose throughout 2015 (by 42 percent), ad impressions that passed data saw eCPMs rise by a staggering 120 percent.

The company noted that advertisers pay significantly more money to publishers that provide accurate data. But in addition to being more valuable in the absolute, passing data is also becoming more valuable over time.

“Data truly is the new mobile currency,” said Ragnar Kruse, CEO and co-founder of Smaato. “It’s a win-win-win. Making use of this data maximizes revenue for publishers, it allows advertisers to reach their target audience effectively, and the end user gets a better, more relevant ad experience. Now more than ever, it pays to know who your users are.”

The report also found that Android’s eCPM growth rate was much stronger than that of iOS during Q4 2015.

iOS users are no longer 1.55 times more valuable than Android users, and Smaato’s data shows that Android eCPMs are projected to pull even with those of iOS as early as Q4 2016.

China’s upward trajectory

China saw mobile ad impressions more than triple year-over-year in 2015 but is not the only APAC country posting impressive growth.

The company reported that the broader APAC region also showed marked growth in mobile ad impressions, accounting for 8 of the top 10 highest growth countries.

In Q4 2015, China experienced mobile ad spend growth of 1,246 percent, by far the largest uplift observed on the Smaato platform.

Based on quarterly ad spend and growth rates on the Smaato platform, the company predicts that China will pull even with the US as the world’s biggest advertising market (on its platform) in 2018.

This prediction is intended as a wake-up call for advertisers and publishers unfamiliar with China’s unique mobile market. For example, four of the top five smartphone vendors in China are home-grown, and Huawei leads the pack with 15.2 percent market share.

The mobile landscape in China is changing fast too; with both Oppo and Huawei exceeding 50 percent year-over-year growth in Q4 2015.