The majority of sellers are feeling the pressure of declining ad rates a new report from the IAB in collaboration with PwC shows.

The IAB’s Coronavirus Impact on Ad Pricing Q1 2020 report finds that the situation has placed significant pricing pressure on advertising CPMs, with as many of two-thirds experiencing a decrease.

In digital, the impact has been particularly pronounced with CPMs down 16% versus the norm. Publishers, meanwhile, are shouldering the burden with 60% reporting a decrease in CPMs. The IAB pegs the impact on publishers at 14% greater than programmatic specialists.

“The decrease of CPMs is not a major surprise,” said David Cohen, President, IAB, “But, with so much uncertainty in the market we need to rely on facts and hard data – even when it simply confirms our instincts – rather than assumptions.”

Display advertising is most impacted, with both mobile and desktop experiencing over 30% decrease in ad rates.

At a device-level, connected devices – streaming sticks, games consoles, or smart TVs – are expected to resist pressure with a decrease of just 6%, compared to more intense effects in more widely used formats:

  • Desktop -27%
  • Smartphones -28%
  • Tablets -29%

Additionally, the IAB reported its snapshot of Q1 2020 advertising activity. Generally, it reflects a generally positive period ahead of the lockdown measures that have caused the kinds of decline in ad spend forecast by WARC.

“2019 performed largely as expected, with modest increases in digital ad spend,” said Randall Rothenberg, CEO, IAB. “What no one could expect is a pandemic that has impacted our global economy.”

Sourced from the IAB, WARC