Index Quarterly Report Shows Growing US Programmatic Spending, 100 Percent Growth in Local Brand Investments and a Surge in Spending Within Financial Services, Retail and Travel

NEW YORK, NEW YORK--(Marketwired - May 21, 2014) - Index, a division of ad technology leader Casale Media, today released the findings of its Quarterly Report covering Q4 2013 and Q1 2014 (download the full report here).

The report reveals an impressive year-over-year doubling of the market share held by local brands, indicating broadening use by the small business category. Programmatic spend originating from trading seats owned directly by the brand marketer jumped from 3 percent in Q4 2012 to 11 percent in Q4 2013, pointing to a growing number of brands taking an in-house, self-service approach to programmatic.

Seasonality continues to be an ongoing theme for programmatic spending, with the Financial sector surging on the back of investments by H&R Block during the first quarter tax season, posting more growth than any other sector during the period. Travel CPMs led the market through both Q4 2013 and Q1 2014, driven by the winter holiday season. Spending by CPG brands during the second half of 2013 and into the first quarter of 2014 reached a historical high, as many brands ranked higher than ever in overall spending including Nestle, Mars, Mondelez and Johnson & Johnson. Unilever made its debut as one of the top 10 CPG spenders in Q4 2013 as well. For the entire year however, Retail ended 2013 in the top spot, maintaining more than double the market share of the second largest sector throughout all four quarters of 2013.

"Programmatic continues to show signs of growth and maturity, reinforced by the incredible rate with which local brands are coming online," said Andrew Casale, VP of strategy for Casale Media. "Seasonal demand for programmatic speaks volumes about marketplace ebbs and flows-indicating tremendous surges in spending at regular intervals. What's also really exciting is the vote of confidence brand marketers are giving programmatic, as they continue to take more direct control over their buys."

Other key findings of the report include:

• The top ten spending brands in the US claimed 18.2% of the entire market in Q1, led by AT&T
• The top five spending brands in Q1 by market share, in order, included AT&T, Target, Verizon, Ford and Toyota
• Three sectors (Retail, Financial and Telecom) accounted for more than half of all spending in Q1 2014
• Bid density was down 12% overall in Q1 2014 compared with the Q4 annual peak, but up significantly (30%) relative to Q1 the previous year signaling healthy growth in marketer adoption over the course of 2013
• CPMs dipped only slightly (10%) in Q1 2014 compared to the Q4 2013 peak
• 65% of all platform impressions were tied to cookies, down 18% from Q1 2013
• The financial brands with the largest programmatic ad spend during Q1 2014 included: H&R Block, Geico, Kaiser Permanente, Progressive Group and Allstate Brands
• Over the first quarter of 2014, the top three demand side platforms (DSPs) accounted for nearly half (47.5%) of the market compared with just over 50% of share held by the top three the year before

The full Index Quarterly Report (which can be downloaded here), discloses hard facts that are emerging from data collected from Q4 2013 and Q1 of 2014, across marketplaces powered by Index. Data is based on marketplace activity in the United States only, and can also be accessed in real-time at http://indexexchange.com/trends.

About Index

Index provides a neutral, transparent exchange layer that enables leading publishers and suppliers to sell their ad impressions in real time. A division of online media technology veteran, Casale Media, Index equips enterprise level sellers with custom architected solutions, fully transparent sell side management technology, and access to programmatic demand that is organized and certified by humans into an ever evolving taxonomy.