We've received word that "significant" price hikes are expected to be folded into the world's digital ad framework over the next few months. Those hikes follow the 2022 trend on many types of goods and services the world has seen skyrocket lately. Most of you probably aren't too surprised to hear that inflation is about to hit our business. However, the industry is hiding a couple pretty darn important facts.

Fact 1: Brand Deliver works in the Real-Time Bid (RTB) market--an auction system set up to receive and accept bids on each impression we place. In fact, there is no "price" for any ad we place; the amount the ad costs us is based on how much higher we're willing to bid than others. Reportely, 94 percent of all internet ads are placed through this massive system. And any prediction that this competitive marketplace is going to raise the threshold prices publishers demand just isn't correct. When an open ad space if available on their pubished pages, no one is going to demand higher bids before it's placed for one main reason: the amount of content suitable for ads has skyrocketed. New sites are introduced to the digital ad market daily, and we're in a supply and demand business. The more space available, the more intense the competition is to receive ads.

Fact 2: Unlike most other digital ad houses, Brand Deliver is an ACTIVE trader. Many other firms actually hand off their communications to ad reps who decide how and where to place display ads...and that's fine for some. However, we've learned that constantly monitoring ad placement and being willing to move quickly when opportnities arise is the key to effective AND economical campaigns.

Fact 3: The only price definitely going up is the "suggested bidding guidelines" the exchanges try to foist on us. For each locale we're advertising in, we receive "suggested bid amounts," the dollar amount the exchanges urge you to be willing to pay. Those suggestions are often the target of scorn and ridicule by buyers like Brand Deliver -- we would be committing professional malpractice to blindly spend the money as fast as the exchanges would like. Our job is to get our customers the most repeated views we can from the best audience we can find. Doing that is a partly art and partly science. But budget allocation is an equally vital part of the process. And at Brand Deliver, our clients rely on us to be a smart buyer.

So when you hear about ad prices going up...relax. We have your back.