The data available on the European non-premium display market is sorely lacking. The chart below is based on data from ThinkEquity’s projected growth in non-premium display globally and previous IAB Europe audits on the European online advertising market. The chart gives an indication of the opportunity for those companies operating in this market, and the challenges facing publishers looking to monetise this growing area of their online display.

Let’s assume that this entire non-premium inventory share is flowing through ad networks, ad exchanges, yield optimisers and private exchanges. There are some caveats that could bump up these numbers.

The first of these is the “secondary display market”. This market is essentially under-monetised inventory that publishers sell though a premium exchange or partner. Does it have a value? Unfortunately, no data is currently available on the "secondary display market".

Then there’s the real possibility of agencies deciding to shift chunks of their display spend (thanks mainly to the DSPs) onto the exchanges. Publishers will then be forced, by economic necessity, to trade more inventory through these platforms. These all could alter the landscape drastically, and figures for online display sold through automated platforms would have to be revised up.

Projected Growth Of The European Non-Premium Display Market (Chart Based On ThinkEquity & IAB Europe Data)