Mobile advertisers are having to change tactics to reach consumers, due to the implementation of changes to Apple’s Indentifier for Advertisers (IDFA) and the demise of third-party cookies, as well as changes in privacy regulations. Personalization and one-on-one targeting are out, contextual ads are now in. 

In addition, changes to online consumer behavior as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are leading advertisers to go where the greatest growth has occurred – gaming, kids' programming and entertainment.

According to a survey administered by Advertiser Perceptions, a business intelligence firm, 70% of mobile advertisers say that ad context has become more important. Their survey obtained responses from 252 advertisers in December 2020.

More findings from the survey included:

• Over half of advertisers will increase spending on gaming and kids’ programming. Prior to the survey, only 36% of advertisers spent on gaming and 15% on kids’ programming.
• Advertisers plan to increase spending on lifestyle and entertainment content.
• Due to lockdowns in 2020, 37% of survey respondents said they had decreased or completely stopped using location-based data, while over half (57%) were satisfied with approximate location data.
• Advertisers plan to increase spending in booming areas such as podcasts (57%), e-commerce (50%) and video (49%).