THE IAB RISING STARS:GAINS, CHALLENGES, AND CROSS-SCREENO P P O R T U N I T I E S

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MEET THE RISING STARS:

standout brand experiences 3

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In early 2013, Undertone released the findings of a study on

the IAB Desktop Rising Stars which examined the experiences

that advertisers, agencies, and publishers were having with

these formats. While there was significant optimism regarding

their potential, we found that usage was being limited by large

awareness gaps and concerns around cost, production, and

distribution.

So what’s changed over the past year? How do advertisers,

agencies, and publishers view the Desktop Rising Stars

now—and what about the Mobile Rising Stars? To find out, we

conducted a new survey in Spring 2014.

GAINS, CHALLENGES, & CROSS-SCREEN OPPORTUNITIES

THE IABR I S I N G S T A R S :

2013 WAS A WATERSHED YEAR FOR

THE DESKTOP RISING STARS.

• Last year’s key challenges (low awareness

and availability) have largely been overcome

• Budgets are flowing towards these formats

• Clear winners, Billboard and Pushdown, have

emerged

THE NEXT CHALLENGE IS MOBILE.

• The Mobile Rising Stars face low awareness,

format confusion, and limited inventory

• As a result, adoption and intent are limited

But the encouraging news is that these

formats are still new. If the pattern

established by the Desktop units holds,

by next year we’ll likely see a significant

increase in awareness. The emergence

of leading mobile formats will follow

naturally as the capabilities of these

units are better understood.

The cross-screen opportunity is huge.

Adoption of the Mobile Rising Stars is

so low currently that advertisers can

own great mobile and cross-screen

experiences by starting to use these

units. Breakthrough mobile creative is

still so rare that consumers don’t expect

to see it; early-adopter brands have the

chance to make a major impact.

UNDERTONE VIEWPOINT: THE CROSS-SCREEN OPPORTUNITY

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A year after the initial study, awareness of the desktop units continues to be higher on the agency side—but the

gap between agencies and advertisers is closing, with advertiser awareness doubling year-over-year.

There’s less of an awareness gap between advertisers and agencies for the Mobile Rising Stars, but that’s a

function of low awareness across the board.

AWARENESS GAPS FOR DESKTOP RISING STARS ARE CLOSING, BUT MOBILE LAGS BEHIND

AWARENESS OF THE DESKTOP RISING STARS HAS INCREASED:

AWARENESS OF THE MOBILE RISING STARS IS LOW:

31% 69%

OF ADVERTISERS OF AGENCIES60% 84%

OF ADVERTISERS OF AGENCIESVS

FAVORITES HAVE EMERGED:

PUSHDOWN AND BILLBOARD HAVE THE HIGHEST NAME RECOGNITION AMONG AGENCIES92%

PUSHDOWN:

88%

BILLBOARD:

40%L E S S T H A N

OF AGENCIES ARE AWARE OF PULL, ADHESION, & FULL PAGE FLEX

2 0 1 3

2 0 1 4

Nearly three-quarters of agencies reported using the Desktop Rising Stars in 2013, with Billboard and Pushdown

the clear favorites. The bright outlook for Desktop Rising Stars continues for 2014: more than three-quarters

of agency respondents are very or somewhat likely to consider deploying Desktop Rising Stars this year.

When it comes to mobile, adoption is low, and even those who deployed Mobile Rising Stars in 2013 are confused:

15% of the agencies who used these units weren’t sure which specific units they had bought.

DESKTOP ADOPTION CONTINUES TO RISE; CONFUSION REIGNS FOR MOBILE

72%

38%

OF AGENCIES USED DESKTOP RISING STARS IN 2013

OF AGENCIES USEDMOBILE RISING STARS IN 2013

PUSHDOWN AND BILLBOARD ARE THE CLEAR FAVORITES FOR AGENCIES:

MOBILE ADOPTION IS LAGGING:

55%

OF ADVERTISERS62%

OF AGENCIES

DID NOT USE ANY MOBILE RISING STARS IN 2013

P U S H D OW N :

1#MOST USED

B I L L B OA R D :

GROWTH YOY46%

ADOPTION VARIES WIDELY BETWEEN DESKTOP AND MOBILE:

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MOBILE ADOPTION IS LAGGING:

INTENT CONTINUES TO RISE ON DESKTOP; MOBILE JUST BEGINNING TO ENTER CONSIDERATIONThe positive intentions of agencies from last year resulted in increased selection of Rising Stars for media plans,

and the outlook continues to grow positively in 2014, with new buyers continuing to enter the market.

Among the limited pool of agencies aware of Mobile Rising Stars, only the Adhesion Banner unit is on the radar.

DESKTOP RISING STARS: MAJORITY ARE VERY OR SOMEWHAT LIKELY TO USE IN 2014.

PUSHDOWN

BILLBOARD

PUSHDOWN AND BILLBOARD REMAIN THE FAVORITES:

OF AGENCIES ARE LIKELY TO USE IN 2014

MOBILE: INTENT IS LOWER.

78%

OF ADVERTISERS76%

OF AGENCIES

(10% INCREASE FROM 2013) (FLAT FROM LAST YEAR)Almost all will at least test - only

2% “very unlikely” to use

39%

OF AGENCIES WHO WERE AWARE OF MOBILE RISING STARS PLAN TO DEPLOY THIS UNIT

ADHESION BANNER: H I G H E ST I N T E N T

PERCENTAGE OF OVERALL ONLINE MEDIA BUDGET EXPECTED TO BE ALLOCATED TO RISING STARS IN 2014: (FOR AGENCIES WHO SAID THEY ARE VERY/SOMEWHAT LIKELY TO CONSIDER USING THESE UNITS)

28%DESKTOP RISING STARS

19%

MOBILERISINGSTARS

71%

66%

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When agencies were asked to highlight the issues that were holding them back from deploying Rising Stars in

2013, the biggest factors were cost, creative production difficulties, and limited distribution. Distribution was

no longer identified as such a large challenge for 2014. However, cost and production challenges still exist.

This year’s survey also tied Rising Stars to marketing objectives, and found that perceived misalignment with

marketing objectives and inability to convince key decision makers to use these units limit deployment.

While respondents associate Rising Stars with brand-building formats, there’s also an expectation they will satisfy

engagement-based and click-based campaign success metrics. Anecdotally, this also holds true at Undertone,

where 70% of Rising Stars campaigns had CTR as their primary goal in 2013—and 76% in the first four months

of 2014.

INVENTORY ISSUES HAVE DISSOLVED, BUT KEY BARRIERS REMAIN

AGENCIES’ KEY REASONS FOR NOT DEPLOYING ANY RISING STARS:

PRODUCTIONDIFFICULTY

UNABLE TOCONVINCE KEY

DECISION MAKERS

31%

COST

37% 33%33%

DO NOT ALIGNWITH MARKETING

OBJECTIVES

40% 37% 27%27%

DESKTOP

MOBILE

GOALS & METRICS:

BRANDING:

DIRECTRESPONSE:

BOTH:

ENGAGEMENT:

CLICK-BASED:

BRAND LIFT:

DELIVERY TOTARGET AUDIENCE:

62% 74%

9% 62%

29% 45%

29%

PRIMARY GOAL WHEN USING RISING STARS: METRICS USED TO MEASURE RISING STAR CAMPAIGN SUCCESS:

*The percentage citing Distribution as a key challenge fell from 35% to 9% for the Desktop units YOY

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PUBLISHER’S OPINIONS AND BEHAVIORS LARGELY MATCH THOSE OF THE BUY SIDEPublishers are overwhelmingly aware of the Desktop

Rising Stars, and their point of view largely matches that

of advertisers and agencies. More than three-quarters

of publishers who are aware of the Rising Stars expect

increased demand for these formats compared to 2013,

a rate that is largely unchanged from last year’s survey.

Publishers are less optimistic about demand for the

Mobile Rising Stars. Approximately one-quarter of

publisher respondents who anticipate demand said that

they expect greatest interest in Slider and Filmstrip.

More than one-third of publisher respondents are not

sure which formats will be in higher demand.

(10% INCREASE FROM 2013)

OF PUBLISHERS ARE AWARE OF THE DESKTOP RISING STARS

PUBLISHER BARRIERS TO SUCCESS HIT CLOSE TO HOMEPublishers identified their own websites as a major

barrier: more than half reported that site design was

limiting their available Rising Stars inventory, and the

issue appears to be growing increasingly challenging

(a 50% increase year-over-year). Other barriers were

reported in similar numbers to the previous year: limited

ad space, technical limitations, and low demand from

advertisers. 21% of publishers also cited cost as a key

issue, indicating a desire for higher budgets for this type

of inventory.

87%

PREDICTED TO BE THE MOST IN-DEMAND FORMATS:

78% OF THOSE AWARE OF THE DESKTOP RISING STARS EXPECT INCREASED DEMAND IN 2014

PUSHDOWN

BILLBOARD

65% EXPECT INCREASED REVENUE FROM RISING STARS

PUBLISHERS EXPECT LOWER DEMAND FOR MOBILE RISING STARS:

ARE AWARE OF MOBILE RISING STARS FORMATS34%

SLIDER FILMSTRIP

PREDICTED TO BE THE MOST IN-DEMAND FORMATS:

34%WHO EXPECT AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR MOBILE RISING STARS WERE UNSURE WHAT FORMATS WILL BE IN HIGHER DEMAND

THE PUBLISHER VIEW:

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info@undertone.com | 212.685.8000 | undertone.com | @AccessUndertone

The study was fielded online from March 28 – April 11, 2014. The sample

included advertisers, agency members, and publishers representing the

leading U.S. advertisers and media properties from a diverse array of

industries. Respondent incentives included gift cards, charitable donations,

and a first look at the results. Overall sample sizes included 100 advertiser,

731 agency, and 94 publisher contacts.

METHODOLOGY