Learn About Mobile Contextual Advertising |   09 May, 2022

Contextual advertising is a tried and tested marketing strategy that is even more effective when combined with the efficiency and scale of programmatic mobile app advertising. Focus on relevant advertising isn’t new.

Perhaps, it’s one of the oldest strategies in digital advertising. Before we begin to talk about contextual targeting for mobile, let’s just quickly clear out some basics.

What is Contextual Advertising?

Contextual advertising is the practice of displaying advertisements on web pages or online videos based on their content. It is the best approach for brands to target users in a safe and privacy-compliant manner. For example, you might have seen ads for spectacles in a news article featuring information about some books, or ads for earphones in a music video. 

It took the back seat for a few years as behavioral targeting became the prime focus of the advertisers. However, contextual targeting is rising again and re-shaping the digital marketing landscape as all the popular browsers such as Apple’s Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox have announced the ban on third-party cookies.

The advancement of programmatic mobile application advertising means that contextual targeting for mobile can now be used with a greater effect than before. It’s an excellent combination but marketers should be aware of some noteworthy differences between desktop and mobile contextual advertising techniques.

How Does Mobile Contextual Advertising Work?

The same tech that applies to the desktop contextual targeting are also used in the mobile-app world, but with a few additional factors in the role. Just like the concept of desktop contextual advertising, an ad for a banking offer would definitely perform well on a stock tracker app on mobile devices. Mobile contextual factors like battery level, OS version and available device storage provide additional targeting efficiencies. In the programmatic world, these factors are amplified through the continued in-app bidding on mobile.

Combining mobile contextual advertising with programmatic advertising is the great use of the two strategies. While first-party data will constantly enjoy some upper hand over different techniques, it may not be enough to accomplish your user engagement goals. In that scenario, contextual targeting can assist advertisers reach target audiences based on factors like app category and device information. Contextual advertising in programmatic targeting makes that process very convenient, allowing marketers to quickly adjust a campaign in response to its performance.

The Right Mix

Mobile contextual advertising mixed with programmatic advertising allows marketers to increase their ad budget by bidding on high-value impressions — and change what “high-value” means on the fly. The right mix gives you the power to leverage data in real-time to ensure you’re optimizing your spend. 

To learn more about contextual advertising, don’t miss to check out our blog section.