{"id":301146,"date":"2020-12-23T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integralads.com\/insider\/a-contextual-revolution-for-publishers\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T08:43:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:43:18","slug":"a-contextual-revolution-for-publishers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integralads.com\/uk\/insider\/a-contextual-revolution-for-publishers\/","title":{"rendered":"A contextual revolution for publishers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This article was written by Paul Nasse, Managing Director, Northern Europe, IAS. It was originally published in What’s New in Publishing<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a year like no other.\u201d I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve likely heard that statement every week this year since March. The statement also applies to the advertising industry. Specifically, publishers have been impacted as many brands have spent part of the year reducing ad spend to weather a global pandemic.<\/p>\n

However, alongside its challenges, there are strong reasons for growth. The rise in digital content consumption, growth in Connected TV (CTV) usage, further innovation for programmatic advertising and a shift towards brand suitability, are all welcome and positive signs for the digital advertising industry.<\/p>\n

Why context<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In light of this, there has been much discussion about context, brand suitability and the overzealous blocking of ads by advertisers looking to protect their brand reputation online by avoiding content they deem inappropriate.<\/p>\n

The context in which an ad shows up, that is, the relevance of an ad in relation to the content of a page in which it is advertised, has most recently hit the advertising scene due to its power in effective audience targeting. Targeting a user based on the type of content they are consuming on the page can prove effective. Not to mention, it provides a viable alternative for cookieless audience targeting.<\/p>\n

Context matters for publishers, too<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But why should publishers care? In the end, a publisher\u2019s role is to monetize their content and maximize their yield by selling inventory. Right? Yes, but it\u2019s also in their interest to sell the best inventory. In an age of programmatic buys and advertisers seeking to maximize ROI, premium inventory \u2013 or cleverly packaged inventory that means an advertiser can reach their target audience \u2013 can attract the highest-bidding advertisers.<\/p>\n

What do consumers say about context?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In November,\u00a0Integral Ad Science<\/a>\u00a0(IAS) published research that highlighted the importance of context and sentiment in digital ads.\u00a0The Power of Context<\/a>\u00a0research discovered that:<\/p>\n