Mobile Insights with InMobi: Q&A With Utkarsh Sinha on In-App SPO

In this latest edition of our podcast series Mobile Insights with InMobi, we discuss in-app supply path optimization (SPO) with Utkarsh Sinha, who leads demand-side product marketing for InMobi Exchange. In this 26-minute podcast, which was recorded on December 7, Utkarsh and I discuss how the entire in-app programmatic supply chain is approaching SPO today and why in-app SPO is so unique. Be sure to tune in today! 

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Top Quotes from Utkarsh 

• “Buyers are starting to realize that there are a lot of intermediaries in trying to access one kind of pub, any sort of publishers, and SPO or supply path optimization is the buyer's attempt to eliminate these intermediaries, which they think are redundant and simplify their lives, improve the media buying outcomes and everything that's associated with it.” 
• “Even from a DSP perspective, it results in a lot of savings on infrastructure that they don't have to handle a lot of duplicate auctions.” 
• “There comes a point where having more paths does not necessarily yield a greater chance of buying that inventory, but in fact ends up driving your pricing because you ended up bidding against yourself on so many of the other parts that you will have open.” 
• “I don't think there's a blueprint of success yet, but generally you will see that with buyers moving more of their spend to a particular SSP, both of the parties become more important for each other.” 
• “I remember when SPO started out as a DSP conversation, very much limited to trying to reduce infrastructure overhead. I think there was a lot of concern from the supply side as to what this will entail, but as time has progressed, two things have happened. One, the SPO conversations have moved upstream. So you see a lot of marketers and brands and agencies who are running these conversations, who are starting to think about what SSPs to partner with, and two, I think even the supply side has sort of come down to the fact to acknowledge that there's a genuine need for buyers to run this SPO and the value it creates for the buyers. Ultimately it's a marketplace and you want to do what's right for your customers. And the sell side has also started to introduce, I think, with the support of the ecosystem, a lot of transparency measures that help buyers execute their vision of SPO.” 
• “I think when buyers come from a lot of experience on the website side, I think what they have to acknowledge is that there is a very good difference in the way the tech stacks are laid out for the in-app side versus the web.” 
• “One misconception that really stands out again over everything else is the concept of reselling.” 
• “A lot of the buy side today equates SPO with reselling, but I think when you start exploring the nuances, there are layers to reselling and if you equate reselling as any intermediary, you will realize that not all intermediaries are the same.” 
• “Buyers realize that there is going to be a point where more partners does not equal more access, but in fact makes their life more complex.” 
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Interested in learning more about in-app SPO? Be sure to download a complimentary copy of our new guide on in-app SPO.  

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More Episodes Of Mobile Insights With InMobi     

Interested in listening to more interviews just like this one? Click the links below to tune in.     

• Rajat Wanchoo On The Needs of CMOs During COVID-19    
• Kunal Nagpal On InMobi Exchange And In-App Programmatic Trends    
• Bismit Bikash Boruah On Ad Buying Trends On InMobi Exchange During COVID-19    

About the Author/Interviewer       

Matthew Kaplan has over a decade of digital marketing experience, working to support the content goals of the world’s biggest B2B and B2C brands. He is a passionate app user and evangelist, working to support diverse marketing campaigns across devices.