BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Jul 17, 2013) -  Nexage, the leading premium mobile advertising exchange, today announced that it has crossed a major milestone, as more than 50 percent of spend on the Nexage Exchange is now through real-time bidding (RTB). RTB share of spend has grown from 13 to 50 percent in just 18 months, with a 3x increase in RTB spend during the first half of 2013. Mobile advertising is increasingly turning to programmatic markets as a core method to buy and sell audience; the dramatic growth in RTB on the Nexage Exchange affirms this trend and provides insights as to why programmatic markets will continue to grow rapidly. 

Growth of RTB spend on the Nexage Exchange is driven by broad market dynamics and buyers' growing preferences to spend with Nexage due to its differentiated premium audience and superior technology. At the market level, the number and vitality of DSPs are both increasing. These buyers are benefitting from organic growth in mobile spend and a marked increase in agency budgets designated for programmatic buying:

• Mobile native DSPs are flourishing as advertisers and agencies move more dollars to mobile.
• Online DSPs are expanding their mobile business and products to support growing mobile demand.
• Mobile ad networks are extending their business by developing real-time bidding technologies, taking advantage of the technology and data leverage delivered by RTB.
• Trading desks are increasing traction in mobile to better support their agency customers.

Nexage's 100 RTB buyers grew spend 3x in the first half of 2013, in response to the differentiated, data-rich premium audience and the superior technology of the Nexage Exchange. To continue to enhance Nexage's premium audience, Nexage Connect gives buyers a rich portfolio of targeting data, while reducing the cost and complexity of individual implementations. 

By building the Nexage Exchange to scale well in advance of the market, Nexage is using technology performance to help its buyers accelerate their business. As buyers grew their capacity (measured as queries per second or QPS) by four-fold in the last year, Nexage was able to fully support demand and continue to scale beyond demand. This point matters: for programmatic markets to maintain their extraordinary growth rate, the underlying technology must be reliable and scalable.

Momentum, however, is not simply fueled by the buy-side; premium publishers are aggressively selling via RTB on the Nexage Exchange. They are driving mobile revenue growth while benefitting from the transparency, brand safety, and controls offered by RTB through the Nexage Exchange. This trend is accelerating for several reasons, as premium publishers:

• Build an indirect channel that is a strategic complement to direct sales.
• Stand up more private exchanges, including programmatic guaranteed markets, to drive upside with select buyers.
• Benefit from third-party data that is appended to their impressions through Nexage Connect.

Although RTB spend exceeded 50 percent, the value drivers that are fueling this growth -- such as programmatic-specific budgets, data enrichment through Nexage Connect, the growing number of rich media and video ad units, and private exchanges -- are strong and getting stronger. Crossing the 50% barrier is as much of a singular achievement as it is a stepping-stone to a more significant role for programmatic markets in driving business for buyers and publishers alike.

"We all know about the increased role of programmatic markets across mobile advertising, and the tailwinds that it is creating for RTB," said Ernie Cormier, CEO and president of Nexage. "Getting to the 50% threshold follows a string of firsts for Nexage, as we were first to launch mobile RTB and mobile private exchange. This achievement is a strong validation of our technology and our people -- and driven by the successes of our customers who see the direct link between our superior technology and their results." 

About Nexage
Nexage is the leading premium mobile advertising exchange, connecting over 300 publishers and developers with over 220 demand sources to create the most efficient, liquid, and vibrant programmatic market in mobile advertising today. The Nexage Exchange is the most advanced technology platform in mobile advertising, giving our customers the most intelligent and flexible exchange in the market to allow them to seize on the extraordinary value of programmatic. Nexage Connect leverages that technology, integrating and delivering first- and third-party data to provide rich and precise targeting for buyers, and to enhance the value of our publishers' audience. Nexage serves customers on a worldwide basis with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Come visit us at www.nexage.com or follow us on Twitter @Nexage.