Casale Media says real-time is gaining serious momentum in Canada
While real-time bidding (RTB) is a relatively new space in Canada, data released by Casale Media found that Canadian activity in the space mimicked that of the U.S. in the period leading up to and following Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Both countries saw RTB demand for online display impressions steadily increase during the week of Nov. 19, peaking on Black Friday and maintaining above-average levels through Cyber Monday.
While there were some slight discrepancies, Casale’s vice-president of strategy Andrew Casale said the similarities between the two markets suggest that RTB – as well as the whole Black Friday/Cyber Monday phenomenon – is gaining significant momentum in Canada.
“To us it was striking,” said Casale. “We were expecting to see a much less pronounced bump. Things have matured a lot faster than I think many would have assumed. It’s clearly as real in Canada as it is in the U.S.”
The Casale data shows bids per impression, or bid density, steadily increasing in Canada through the week of Nov. 19, finally peaking on Black Friday at slightly more than 120% higher than the previous week (the peak in the U.S. was about 70% higher).
Bid density fell on Saturday and Sunday – though remained significantly higher than the prior week – but rallied again as Cyber Monday activity kicked into high gear.
The clearing price for bids also rose steadily during the week, peaking at 60% above the previous week on Black Friday. Clearing prices in the U.S. averaged about 30% greater, said Casale.
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One notable difference between the two markets was what Casale called a “massive spike” in retail activity in Canada. Retail has lagged behind other advertising categories like automotive and telecom in the RTB space, but soared high above other categories during the week of Black Friday.
Future Shop, Sears and Lowe’s were the most active Canadian marketers in the space as they tried to entice shoppers to their e-commerce sites. “They were trying to get people to buy online during that period of time,” said Casale.
