New Delhi: India’s digital advertising industry has yet to fully capitalize on the rapid growth of the open internet. Consumers dedicate half their time to the open internet (OI), yet ad spending on this platform accounts for just 15%, compared with a whopping 85% on walled gardens. This translates to a 5.5 times higher ad spend on platforms outside the OI.
Media buying platform The Trade Desk says that in India, the open internet has 600 million users in the country, 10% more than walled garden, a closed internet environment that restricts the user’s access to certain websites and services. “Users are spending more than half their time on the open internet, and over one trillion ad impressions a day are being created on this around the world. Brands are now trying to figure out how they can move out of walled garden and also move away from cookies to have less wastage while advertising, since cookies are fading away,” said Tejinder Gill, general manager of The Trade Desk in India. The American company specializes in real-time programmatic marketing automation technologies.
Connected TVs or smart TVs, OTT platforms, audio apps are not dependent on cookies or third-party data. The open internet is a principle that ensures all internet users have equal access to information and services, regardless of their income, location, or background. It means that internet service providers (ISPs) cannot discriminate against certain types of content or applications, and they must treat all traffic equally.
According to Gill, premium content will be the driving force behind OI’s success. However, India’s digital advertising has not capitalized on the rapid growth of the open internet. About 45% of Indian consumers prefer professionally-produced content. With these platforms emerging as front runners in offering credible and high-quality content, there will be less wastage in advertisements.
“In the last two years, over a 100 brands in the country have started to use this type of advertising on these platforms. A majority of these companies are large consumer packaged goods brands. They are also focused on applying not just third but first-party data which is helping them measure their sales following the ads,” he added.
The impact of premium content on the OI extends to advertising effectiveness, he said. Brands that are choosing to advertise on these platforms are perceived as more premium compared to those on YouTube, for instance. Similarly, consumers are more likely to purchase products advertised on news and websites, and more likely to find ads on such platforms less intrusive compared to that on social media. India’s digital landscape is witnessing the rise of OI, surpassing the reach of walled gardens like social media platforms by as much as 125 million.
“OI has become an inseparable part of daily life, especially during crucial times of the day. Every ad opportunity has multiple variables or data and when a publisher collects and provides more data about their customer, the less wastage of ads there is for the advertiser. The right price for the ad can also be arrived at, especially when there is more targeted information,” he added.
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Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
