As the consumption of digital media content continues to rise in Africa, so also is digital advertising. For instance, statista.com, projects that digital ad spending on the continent will cross the $4m mark this year. While it doesn’t exactly represent a groundbreaking sum, it is still a significant improvement from the $1.6m generated in 2017 (statista.com). The steady year-on-year growth surely speaks to a market that is developing, and definitely on the up.
According to the current market and financial estimates, search advertising is responsible for 40.5% of the total digital advertising revenue. However, by 2027, 77% of digital advertising revenue will come from programmatic advertising (statista.com).
So, what is programmatic advertising and how is it different from search advertising?
Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising is a type of digital advertising that uses data and algorithms to purchase advertising spaces in real-time. This form of advertising is often referred to as “proactive advertising,” as it targets audiences who could be interested in the advertised product or service, but who may not be actively searching for it. The banner ads you see on websites represent a good example of programmatic advertising.
Read Also: Monetizing African Content: The Lucrative World of Display Advertising
Search Advertising
Just as the name implies, search advertising targets people who are already searching for the product or service being advertised. It draws its strength from using keywords to reach its target audience. This form of advertising can be described as “reactive advertising.”
Why is Programmatic Advertising on the Rise in Africa?
One key reason can be attributed to this: Increased internet penetration. According to internetworldstats.com, Africa’s internet penetration rate stands at 42.3% — meaning almost half of the continent’s population have access to the internet. It also means that Africa makes up 11.2% of the global internet users.
The implication of this is that global advertisers are now looking more favourably towards Africa, hence the increase in revenue from digital media advertising.
Impact for You as an African Digital Content Publisher
As an African digital content publisher, it is not enough to simply put out content and hope for advertisers to knock on your door. As it stands, and from our records, African content publishers earn 30-40% less than their global counterparts.
Therefore, it becomes imperative to optimize your content and platform for monetization. And one of the fastest ways to get monetized is via programmatic ads.
At Atunwa, we work with African publishers and help them monetize their digital content and reach an even wider audience.
If you currently struggle with monetization or you believe you’re not being monetized well enough, you can reach us via mac@atunwadigital.com for a quick chat.
