Programmatic bidding in 2015 remains a consistently competitive arena across verticals within EMEA, but recent adoption from the Americas and APAC could form a more rounded global marketplace.

According to Turn’s ‘Advertising Intelligence Report’, spend on new channels has shot up as a result of a maturing programmatic landscape, with significant worldwide growth in last 12 months owed to broader adoption among advertisers and networks.

Mobile and video spend by marketers saw year-on-year rises of 132% and 62% respectively across all regions, while the tried and tested display sector still climbs with a steady 17% increase.

Social spend, under the same conditions, drops off by 8%.

Regional rivalry

Sectors according to their programmatic spend, including travel, entertainment, financial and automotive, are witnessing various levels of competition across regions.

The Americas are going head-to-head with EMEA for the title of most competitive auto industry advertisers, while APAC firms are beginning to take note of the opportunity following slow adoption.

Entertainment industry trends point at a more stable and competitive market in the Americas since July 2014, but EMEA trumps its transatlantic rivals as competition increases in APAC, indicating the region isn’t far behind across all channels.

Meanwhile, the travel industry shows itself to be the most fierce yet predictable market, with the Americas claiming the most consistent, stable level of competition. Further to this, a softening in EMEA competitiveness from December to January may present an opportunity to savvy marketers.

EMEA strength

Overall, the evidence points to EMEA pulling ahead with the most competitive financial services, telecom and health and beauty industries, in terms of programmatic adoption.

Spend and competition are increasing in the maturing European market, leading to a more “intelligent data-driven budget allocation this year”, Turn managing director EMEA, Pierre Naggar, comments.

“Brands and agencies are using sophisticated audience-first strategies to plan for more creative and engaging programmatic advertising,” he states.

“Europe is breeding an exciting group of marketers who are using data science and insights to gain an advantage against the competition.”