Month: December 2021

Categories
Programmatic

An Introduction The Best Various Programmatic Ad Formats That Generate Sales

Programmatic_Ad_Formats_Sales

An Introduction To Various Programmatic Ad Formats That Generate Sales

Are you a media buyer working for an agency? Perhaps you’re a client-side digital marketer? This article is for anyone looking to get a deeper understanding of online programmatic ad formats. Don’t forget to check out bonus content at the end of this article.

As a programmatic agency, we have first-hand expert experience using all of the ad formats listed in this article. We wanted to share the love about the numerous ad placements available for purchase across various ad exchanges.

We’ll talk about the differences between native, sponsored content, display, remarketing ads and other major advertising formats that you can use in your programmatic ad campaigns.

Before we get started, remember that you should think about these formats in the context of online media planning and channel strategy and the importance of using a mixture of channels to deliver a performance-driven programmatic advertising campaign. There is no ‘right’ format; you’ll need to use a mixture of formats to deliver the most effective campaign. So think carefully about crafting a media plan that leverages each format for the benefits you require specific to your use case.

Suppose you are looking to run a multi-market (as opposed to national) programmatic campaign. In that case, it’s important to understand the various digital advertising formats available, as you’ll need greater flexibility to reach your audiences through the ad space eco-system, which varies by market.

Programmatic Advertising Formats Guide

At the London-based programmatic agency Advant Technology Ltd, we use a combination of the formats listed here to reach the ideal customer at the right point in the buyer journey and ultimately deliver the best possible ROI.

So let’s begin by looking at some of the differences between the various ad formats to run an effective programmatic campaign, whether that be display, native or video, which can all be bought through multiple platforms, using automated bidding across programmatic DSPs.

Programmatic Advertising Formats include:

  1. Native Ads
  2. Display Ads
  3. Interstitial Ads
  4. Audio Ads
  5. Video Ads
  6. Connected TV Ads
  7. Digital Out of Home Ads
Programmatic Ad Formats Guide 2025

Programmatic advertising examples

Programmatic Native

Defined as “ads that live within a publication but have been formatted to match the look and feel of the site on which they reside.” Programmatic technology has enabled this technology to scale over the past ten years and is now the prevailing format in online advertising.

Generally, for programmatic native ads you need an image, a headline, a logo and a short description

Programmatic Native Ads Guide

Programmatic Display Advertising

Defined as “any marketing message that is displayed to users whether in an online publication, email, or mobile app. Display ads appear in many forms including images and rich media.” They typically are not sold on a pay-per-click instead they are sold on a cost-per-impression model (CPM) available through demand-side platforms (DSP).

Example Banner Ads Programmatic Case Study

Interstitial Ads

Interstitial ads are defined as “ads that appear on a website page and block the content for a few seconds before allowing it to be read.” Interstitial ads, also known as full-screen takeover advertisements, work within a user’s window of attention by temporarily blocking out all other content displayed on their device. Interstitial ads work well for advertisers who want to maximize the screen real estate available when a user browses the internet, and they can come in many forms such as video or banner.

Interstitial ads are known for having a higher click-through rate (CTR) than other types of advertisements because they take up such a large portion of the screen, although some argue that many of the clicks are accidental.

In the early 2010s, a significant portion of websites implemented interstitial ads on their sites to make revenue.

While interstitial ads are still used to this day, the desktop advertising space has shifted away from this format due to its intrusive nature. Apple and Google have made efforts to phase them out there possible.

Example Interstitial Full Screen Ad
Example Interstitial Full Screen Mobile Ad

Audio Ads

Audio ads are defined as “ads that play before or during audio content.” Audio ads work by playing within the user’s window of attention. It’s a format that is newer in the programmatic ad buying industry, and more and more agencies are adopting it as part of their marketing strategy.

There are many ways for advertisers and agencies to effectively use audio ads to target ideal customers, including podcast sponsorships and pre-roll advertisements. The key difference between audio ads and other types of ads is that because they take up the user’s sense of hearing rather than sight, they are slightly more passive than other types of advertisements.

This is why they are often used in conjunction with other media types. Audio ads are particularly effective when you do not have a landing page or generating traffic is of low priority.

Try to make audio ad creative attention-grabbing to keep users focusing on the ad through our the duration resulting in great success.

Programmatic Audio Advertising
Programmatic Audio Advant Technology

Video Formats

Video formats/video ads are clips that play before, during, or after the user’s desired content. Video formats vary significantly in length and style, but they typically range from ten seconds to two minutes.

The key to effective video advertising is capturing the viewer’s attention within the first few seconds of play.

Video Advertising

Search Ads

Search ads work by allowing advertisers to bid on specific keywords related to their product or service. The ads then appear in various placements depending on which platform. For example, if you use Google Ads, they will appear at the top of SERPs in Googles search engine. They can be highly effective for advertisers who want to drive sales to their website because there is intent behind a users search.

Email Ad Formats

Email ads are defined as “ads that appear within email inboxes.” These ads work by popping up within an inbox, and they are highly effective because marketers can use email data to determine which campaign should be targeted at which person.

So there you have it, a quick guide to various programmatic ad formats.

As a bonus, let’s also take a look at some of the targeting methodologies you can apply across these formats to reach your audience efficiently, reducing advertising costs and increasing your ROI.

Advanced Targeting Methodologies

Programmatic Remarketing

Remarketing ads are defined as “ads that show up when a user browses the web after having visited a brand’s website.”

The key difference between remarketing ads and other types of ads is that remarketing ads are designed specifically to target people who have already visited a site or product before.

This makes remarketing great for eCommerce sites, as they can show follow up ads with personalized offers and discount codes to people who have browsed but not yet completed a purchase.

Remarketing works by analyzing the browser history on a site and then displaying related ads based on the information it finds.

Programmatic experts will generally plan a spend allocation of 10-20% of the total campaign to this targeting strategy.

Contextual Programmatic

Contextual ads are defined as “ads relevant to the context of the website in which they are placed”.

The content on the webpage determines the context of the website. This targeting strategy can be used across display, native, text and video advertising formats.

Contextual advertising has become popular for its efficiency and ability to generate accurate results for advertisers. Contextual advertising is also GDPR compliant because it is a form of online marketing that does not require any personal data to be transferred.

Since the context of the webpage only triggers the ad, no personal data is transmitted to either party, which means that it does not fall under GDPR.

Contextual advertising has become increasingly popular because it provides users with ads relevant to their interests and needs. Contextual advertising is expected to grow in popularity because of its efficiency compared with other online programmatic formats.

IP-Targeting

IP-targeted ads are defined as “ads targeted to a specific location based on IP address.” IP-targeting works by collecting data from the user’s computer or device IP.

IP targeting is widespread in B2B marketing, where you want to target a specific company list. They are an efficient way to reach target account lists (TALs) great for driving cost-efficient lead generation.

Geo-Targeted Ads

Geo-targeting allows advertisers to choose the region of the world in which their ads will be shown.

The advantage of using geo-targeted ads is that advertisers are able to show the ad only to the people in their location. For example, if an advertisement for a restaurant is displayed on google.com/maps to someone based in New York City, it cannot be seen by anyone else in the world.

 

Programmatic Advertising FAQs

Programmatic ads definition

Let’s begin with a quick definition of programmatic, which is defined as “ads purchased programmatically through software automation it can be purchased via real-time bidding (RTB) or programmatic direct”.

Programmatic ads use technology to decide where, when and even how much they should be shown to the viewer based on the advertiser’s criteria set by the agency that manages the campaign.

Did you know that programmatic advertisements became popular with publishers because they allowed for increased revenue and better optimization of display advertising space?

Benefits and features of programmatic advertising

Programmatic advertising is good for both buyers and sellers because it helps them know what they are doing. Marketers no longer have to use guesses since using data to make decisions is good. Advertisers can also reach people who are on their mobile phones more quickly than advertisers can on computers.

Let’s dive into some quick tips which apply no matter the advertising format.

Set your objective

For example, are you launching a new product or service which you want to raise awareness for? Or do you have an existing product/service that needs to re-engage with its consumers because it is being outsold by the competition?

Set your ad spend budget

When planning where you will spend your advertising dollars, you need to make sure you are spending a sufficient amount per channel so you can test the channel/platform or programmatic ad format properly.

A programmatic agency will help you plan a reasonable budget per platform.

It’s important to balance your budget and make sure that the media/channel you are using can deliver on the ROI required for your campaign – this is where researching before starting an advertising campaign will help.

Programmatic DSPs Demand Side Platforms

There are many DSPs to choose from; some DSPs only offer display, whilst others will provide a full range of formats from programmatic audio ads to good old banner ads. Note, enterprise-level DSPs usually have a monthly fee of about $10,000 USD, which equates to $100,000 in ad spend, although this varies from DSP to DSP.

Know the target audience

Knowing whom you are targeting, what’s important to them and where they are spending their time online is key if you want your advertising campaign to be ROI-driven. Think about what channels are popular with the people who fit your target audience.

Think about the creative

Think about the context of the product you are selling. Do people need to see it visually, or perhaps they only need to hear about it? A programmatic audio ad on the likes of Spotify could be more efficient.

Maybe a combination of the two will create the most significant impact, the highest brand awareness and the most sales.

Programmatic advertising costs

Bigger impact formats like desktop skins and pre-roll video are obviously more expensive than display ads, which are less likely to garner a user’s attention, so think about this trade-off when considering what formats will deliver the biggest bang for your buck!

Unlike search and many social platforms, most programmatic display ads are not sold on a pay-per-click instead, they are sold on a cost-per-impression model (CPM).

You need to consider the effective CPM, the total media cost, any additional DMP fees, and ad tech fees when buying ad space.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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Categories
B2B

Programmatic Ads – The Secret To B2B Lead Gen in 2024

Programmatic Ads

Programmatic Ads - The Secret To B2B Lead Gen in 2023

If you are a B2B marketer, you probably use email marketing, various lead gen partners and perhaps pepper in some Google Ads PPC, not to mention a few LinkedIn Ads, right?

Have you considered programmatic advertising to generate high-quality B2B leads? Let 2022 be the year to discover the secret weapon that can generate hundreds of quality leads for you.

With the proper targeting techniques and killer B2B lead generation strategies proven by our agency, you can also run highly targeted B2B programmatic lead generation campaigns.

You just need to work with the right data partners and a solid technology stack that can help facilitate such a campaign.

In this handy post, we’re going to share a few targeting methodologies that will help you get more qualified leads.

Let’s start with a few basics:

What is programmatic advertising?

Programmatic advertising uses automated platforms to buy ad inventory, often via real-time bidding. It allows marketers to streamline tasks by automating buying ad space.

You’ll have seen it because programmatic is the technology behind the millions of ads you see online every day, and programmatic is one of the highest-performing digital channels for driving B2B leads.

Its ability to provide highly targeted campaigns at scale appeals to the fundamental nature of today’s marketers. It allows them to save money and time by reducing wasted ad spend on irrelevant traffic while delivering qualified B2B leads at a scale.

How programmatic advertising works
How a Programmatic Ad is Served to Your Audience

What is a lead generation campaign?

Lead Generation is the process of attracting websites visitors to your site with the intent of exchanging contact information. Generally speaking, leads are usually looking to learn more about you or your services and may or may not be ready to make a purchase.

For a prospect to share their contact information, you need to offer a high-quality lead magnet. Examples of a lead magnet include eBooks or whitepapers, webinar signups, online courses or infographics. Once you have collected their information, your sales team can begin nurturing the lead.

So let’s look at some of the targeting methods that will help you deliver an effective display, video or native programmatic campaign that is laser-focused and will return you a ton of leads from your target audience.

Turn up your retargeting

Retargeting has also gained some use by B2B buyers and marketers. We generally allocate 10%-20% or so of every budget to retargeting. Prospects who are less ready to buy are probably more inclined to buy if their brand is constantly visible in their market. This will increase the chances that your audience will choose your company over your competitors and stay top of mind, making all of your lead generation campaigns deliver.

Retargeting user flow
Retargeting_User_Flow
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Account-Based Marketing (ABM) lets you target specific accounts and carefully tailor your message to them. Usually B2B clients have already identified a list of target accounts. We, the agency, are then supplied with this list, and we can create an audience segment, specifically targeting the TAL target account list. You can use a TAL in different ways:
  • Hot accounts that are near to closing but need a further push across the decision-making group
  • Colder target accounts that sales have not yet nurtured
  • Old clients that you want to win back
  • Existing clients where you are looking to upsell
  • Customers who are coming to renew
You can manually enter the URLs of businesses you wish to advertise to for the technology platform to generate comparable firms as seed data for your target account list. For smaller B2B enterprises that may not have a detailed list of target accounts segmented in their CRM system, you may manually input the addresses of organisations you want to advertise to. After you’ve distributed the custom account segments to your preferred media buying platforms, it’s critical to customise your ad creative based on where your target accounts are in the marketing funnel. A partner such as Bombora would help overlay a target account list.
Defination of B2B Audience in Programmatic Advertising
Define Your B2B Audience

Firmographic Targeting

Firmographic targeting is the process of qualifying potential customers based on their company-level data – like total revenue, employee count, industry, location (region/territory), and more.

Some firms rely on third-party research firms, while others use manual demographic data entry processes to capture this critical business intelligence, but these efforts are expensive in many cases. We just need the parameters and this can then be applied to any international programmatic lead generation campaign.

The primary objective of firmographic data is to assist companies separate relevant B2B prospects into distinct categories, allowing them to close the gap between observation and action. They don’t need to spend time and effort separating this data before making decisions if marketers, salespeople, and C-suites have access to segmented information that classifies potential clients by size, location, revenue, or growth trajectory. Instead, potential purchasing partners are pre-sorted into relevant categories.

Job Title Targeting

A good starting point is using a TAL, but within those TALs, you want to make sure you reach the decision-makers. Job title targeting allows you to reach out to high-value company decision-makers based on their job title, function, and seniority level.

It aids in concentrating ad spending on business experts who can influence or make the ultimate purchase decision. It also helps you save money by limiting your media spending to professionals who match your job targeting criteria.

We use proprietary techniques to ensure we capture all the relevant job titles when you work with us. Let’s say you want to reach an IT engineer, but in reality, IT engineers may have many different job titles and all of these need to be included to maximise the potential leads or else your marketing campaign would be limited.

How does this work in practice?

We’d look to include the likes of VP IT Engineer, Deputy IT Engineer, IT Engineer Director, etc. As you can see, this will give you the widest exposure and more leads! Little details like this may mean the difference between success or failure in your lead generation strategy.

Technographic Data

Relevant to IT and SAS companies, technographic data, or technographics, refers to the technology and software systems companies use to run their organisation. B2B marketers can use technographic data to build a full technological profile of a company that they wish to target through paid media.

When leveraged correctly, B2B marketers can identify companies using, or have previously used, competitive technology as a conquesting tactic.

Third-Party Data Sets

We’ve discussed using various segmentation techniques to reach your audience, and comprehensive industry research is always required, but with the above methods, you may still be leaving quality leads on the table.

Our last method discussed using third party segments from the likes of Ziff Davis, Loatme and others. Using the IT engineer example, here are all the relevant segments we can apply, all available in DV360, over 40 segments.

Here is a snapshot of relevant segments

Contextual B2B Targeting

One of the core benefits of programmatic advertising is the ability to place contextual advertisements. Contextual advertisements are ads that are based on the context of the webpage. Let’s say you are reading a post on cyber security. By researching, then selecting and applying keywords related to cyber security, you are able to deliver contextually targeted ads that are relevant to the audience.

This will help increase your CTR from relevant audiences, which should help generate leads more effectively. One of the most critical aspects of Programmatic B2B lead generation is selecting the right keywords.

Wrapping It Up: Programmatic B2B Lead Generation Tactics

In short, there are multiple ways to generate leads through Programmatic Advertising tactics. In addition to contextual targeting and data segmentation, real-time bidding is a must for any B2B lead generation strategy or campaign. Let’s take a look at some FAQs.

What creatives do I need for such a lead generation strategy?

Native or display ads will work best. Native ads which consist of an image, headline and text are easy and cost-effective to produce. Display ads such as image and html5 will require a bit more thought but aren’t always more effective at generating leads.

Why should I use programmatic lead generation when I already use LinkedIn?

There is no doubt LinkedIn is a great tool to generate quality leads; after all, LinkedIn has access to fantastic ad formats and unique data, even with their lead generation pre-populated forms, it can still be expensive, so it’s worth testing different lead gen tactics to see which is best. Programmatic data partners such as Bombora also offer completely unique data to LinkedIn, enabling advertisers to benefit from increased reach, so you end up with more valuable leads.

Will programmatic help brand awareness?

Yes. As part of the nurture journey, you must also focus on your brand. Not every campaign you run should be purely focused on lead gen campaigns. Invest in your brand, and every lead generation channel you run across the customer journey will become more effective.

What DSP should I use?

We recommend using Google DV360 since it gives you access to the broadest number of integrations from data partners and supply-side inventory?

How much do I need to invest in programmatic B2B advertising?

There is no correct answer here, but there is a trade-off between the time it takes your team and a B2B programmatic agency such as Advant Technology to set up and manage such a campaign. In general, we recommend budgets of at least $5k per month in media spend.

What’s the difference between Programmatic B2B Lead Generation and traditional lead generation?

The key benefit of programmatic B2B lead generation is that it allows marketers to automate tedious processes. There are various tactics available, but overall a successful campaign will integrate a mixture of all the techniques mentioned above for a targeted campaign with a high potential for success.

How do I know which KPIs to use?

While many metrics are available, overall, marketers should measure conversions and ROI. How much has this campaign made compared to the investment spent? That said, it is good practice to monitor all relevant KPI’s throughout the campaign lifecycle.

What kind of technology is available to support Programmatic B2B Lead Generation?

The marketing industry has become digital-first. This means that any marketing team should have access to all the tools needed. Today, marketers have a wide array of software and APIs available to ensure they can measure, manage and automate their campaigns.

Do I need an ad exchange or a private marketplace?

Once you have identified your segmented targets, gaining access to these users through various exchanges is vital. This ensures that you reach your target audience at scale through programmatic advertising. DV360 supports direct integration with DSPs (digital supply-side platforms) and ad exchanges. If a particular publisher is relevant to your campaign, consider reaching out to them and establishing a private marketplace deal whereby you get preferential access to that publisher. IDG is an example for the tech sector.

How can I prove the success of my campaign?

There are many ways to measure the success of a B2B programmatic advertising campaign. Setting up attribution models is crucial, especially if you have multiple campaigns running or are using various channels. While every company has different objectives and KPIs, it’s good practice to track conversions and measure ROI.

When should I measure results?

Every marketer has a different approach to the KPIs they want to measure. Generally speaking, it is a good idea to track results from day one and continue throughout the life cycle of your campaign. in B2B marketing, you will find that the lifecycle of a buyer is much longer than B2C, so make sure you measure across at least the sales lifecycle.

As a marketer, what do I need in place before starting a programmatic advertising campaign?

Ensure you have access to all required data points when running a B2B programmatic campaign. This includes access to email databases, CRM systems and customer data from various sources.

What publishers do you recommend?

As a programmatic agency company with over eight years of experience in the technology industry, we’ve built up an extensive list of relevant websites that can be leveraged within your programmatic campaign. An excellent place to start is identifying the websites your audience spends their time on. We can help find relevant sites for you as part of our planning and buying service.

What is an excellent programmatic B2B account structure?

Depending on your business requirements and marketing objectives, you can easily segment campaigns by vertical, product or buyer persona. Some of the most common segmentation include:

  • Industry verticals such as finance, healthcare, telecom or retail
  • Products including hardware, software, cloud services etc.
  • Business units within the company

What is programmatic B2B account planning?

Programmatic buying can be highly complex, involving thousands of different advertising channels.

The key to success is to develop a systemised approach where all data points are considered on an ongoing basis.

It’s advisable to set clear goals and determine how you will measure success from the outset.

To succeed with programmatic, marketers need a scalable solution that can meet the demands of an ever-changing digital landscape. Technology should be implemented to automate as much of the campaign as possible, not only on the ad buying side but also for nurturing and remarketing.

What are the best selling points to use when pitching programmatic?

Programmatic advertising is often thought of as just another form of digital marketing, but it is more than that. Programmatic can lead to high-cost savings, simplified campaign management and improved campaign ROI. You just need to ensure you have access to all the relevant technology and tools available.

What are some common programmatic pitfalls?

  • Poor research into audiences
  • Insufficient campaign planning
  • Bad data quality
  • Poor creative execution
  • Incorrect bidding strategy
  • Loose targeting

Conclusion: B2B Lead Gen

Whatever method you use, a structured approach and solid foundation for creating A/B testing are critical to an effective lead generation process.

A well-optimised landing page and strong lead magnets are essential and creative to drive effective CTRs.

Always implement pixels properly to track and attribute which channels are delivering the best ROI. We recommend using Google tag manager to lay down your pixels, so the dev team doesn’t need to be disturbed.

Remember, programmatic advertising gives you the power to target your audience. You can filter based on occupation, seniority, technology stack etc.

Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking that this is an easy option or a silver bullet by applying it without due research and planning.

Programmatic is not only fantastic from a technological standpoint, but it also gives B2B companies new and innovative methods to scale their digital marketing and content distribution efforts beyond LinkedIn, PPC, and email marketing by continuously connecting them with the appropriate prospects at the right time using the proper methods we have discussed.

If you are not sure where to start with any part of the lead generation process, please do not hesitate to contact us for a no-obligation chat. We can ensure you put the right strategies in place and see your lead generation efforts increase dramatically.

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We are a world-class programmatic marketing agency that can generate more sales and leads for you. Leave your email address, we will contact you for your free paid media review.

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Categories
Programmatic

11 Benefits of Programmatic Audio Advertising

benefits of programmatic audio advertising

Benefits of Programmatic Audio Advertising

With programmatic audio advertising, you can reach valuable and highly engaged audiences with advertisements while they are listening to their favourite online audio content. It allows brands to use yet another digital touchpoint throughout the buyers’ journey to deliver highly tailored messaging at scale.

Digital audio is booming in popularity. According to eMarketer, 2020 was the year digital audio surpassed terrestrial audio. This has opened a massive opportunity for SSPs, supply-side platforms and ad exchanges to take advantage of this listenership and monetise audiences at huge scale.

What drives the growth of digital audio ads?

That growth comes from the increase of music streaming services and podcast listeners. Most of the digital audio content is streamed on mobile devices across apps such as those listed here.

Programmatic_Audio_Sources
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Google Podcasts
  • Audible
  • Stitcher
  • TuneIn Radio
  • Spotify
  • Amazon. Prime Music
  • Deezer
  • YouTube. Music
  • SoundCloud
Programmatic Audio Advertising
Programmatic Audio Advant Technology

11 Reasons Why You Should Do Programmatic Audio Ads

Our programmatic media agency can help develop a marketing strategy that leverages programmatic audio buying at scale globally. Send us a note with your campaign budget, and we’ll be happy to look at a digital radio ad campaign for you so you, too, can reap the benefits of this valuable audience.

If you’re still not convinced programmatic audio ads are the right choice for you, we’ve compiled a list of 11 reasons why you should include it in your next advertising budget.

11 Reasons Why You Should Do Programmatic Audio Ads

1. Reach New Audiences

With all of the available digital channels at businesses’ disposal today, it can be difficult for advertisers to maximize their marketing budgets. A well-rounded media plan should reach audiences at scale and efficiently. Programmatic audio does exactly that.

2. Highly Engaged Listeners

What makes programmatic audio advertising uniquely effective is its ability to connect with listeners.

Listeners are not distracted or interrupted by digital audio the same way they are when watching television programs or online videos; therefore, they are less likely to switch to an alternate activity. Programmatic audio ads provide greater freedom for listeners since the ads are played in the background or while they are engaged in another activity.

3. Low CPM Costs

On the surface, programmatic audio advertising offers low cost-per-thousand (CPM) rates comparable to other digital media channels.

4. Advanced Analytics

Advertisers are able to track the effectiveness of their campaigns in real-time by leveraging advanced analytics capabilities within platform dashboards. These metrics allow brands to measure campaign performance, such as the number of impressions and exposure times, in addition to monitoring ad engagement levels-including the percentage of users who listened through a complete audio ad and those who heard part of an entire audio ad.

5. Improved Sales and ROI

As always, the ultimate goal in any advertising campaign should be to improve sales and ROI. Fortunately, programmatic audio advertising enables brands to target their ads to likely customers by leveraging specific data points, such as geographic location or website interests. This valuable insight can give advertisers a valuable edge in reaching key people who are more likely to purchase.

6. Audio Ad Creative Flexibility

The more customisation and personalisation applied to audio ad content, the more effective it will be in reaching interested listeners. You can now use tools that allow you to deliver dynamic ads based on who the audience is, so you can deliver hundreds of ad variations that are highly targeted.

7. Low Creative Costs

Programmatic audio ads can be created quickly and at a low-cost thanks to standardised formats. As audio requires no visuals, it has the potential of being a lot cheaper. An opportunity for companies to get in front of new audiences without committing a lot of time or money-and with potentially high returns.

8. Greater Brand Awareness

Programmatic audio ads are designed to make brands more familiar with listeners who do not have time to read long-form content or watch longer video ads when they want to hear an informative message about a certain brand, product or service. With shorter forms of media becoming the preferred means of communication, it’s no surprise that brands are increasingly turning to programmatic audio ads as a way to reach millions of listeners.

9. Real-Time Measurement

As with all digital advertising, one of the best advantages is the ability to easily measure campaign performance and ROI. Because marketers can track ad exposure and engagement levels in real-time, they can make adjustments and improvements as needed.

10. Brand Safety and Trustworthiness

Through the use of brand safety and fraud tools you can monitor and any fraudulent impressions and switch off traffic sources that are not meeting standards.

11. Flexibility with Media

Ads can be targeted to music apps or podcast audiences across allowing brands to engage better with their audience depending on the context of their message.

The benefits of digital audio ads are clear, targeting consumers in new ways as they consume content across the web.

Programmatic Audio Advertising Word Cloud

FAQs

Let’s take a look at some common questions about programmatic audio ads.

Which music streaming services are available to target?

Major audio platforms include Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Tidal, SoundCloud, Pandora, Slacker Radio, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and others.

What are the specifications for audio ads?

The specifications you need to consider will ultimately depend on which DSP you use but try checking out the following from Google DV360 as a guideline.

What are the typical CPM costs for audio ads?

CPMs generally vary between about $5-$40 CPM depending on the target audience, availability of inventory, competitiveness of other advertisers targeting the same user and the app/environment. Many factors contribute to the final CPM.

What marketing budget do I need?

As a programmatic agency, we recommend not less than around $5,000-$10,000 per campaign,which typically lasts 2-6 weeks. However, the final budget depends on your campaign goals.

Can people click on my audio ad?

Yes, sometimes.

It depends on where the ad has been served, which app you target, and whether they accept companion banners. In our experience, only around 0.25% of audio ads are served with a companion banner. So, if you’re running an audio ad campaign looking to generate traffic, we suggest you look at another channel.

Conclusion

As a programmatic advertising agency, we have found that audio ads are an effective way to built brand awareness and boost engagement.

Digital audio ads are a bit different and whilst you won’t generate huge traffic there, they can be a great way to garner interest and increase brand awareness.

They are a great way to target a specific demographic and can be highly effective when partnered with a strong marketing strategy.

The increased use of technology and consumers appetite for adopting these trends has led to a rise in digital audio consumption, naturally, where users go online, ads will follow.

By broadening the channels you use to include digital audio advertising, you may reach people on a level that fits their listening habits in an environment that does not have huge ad frequency thus combating banner blindness. Perhaps one day, the new norm will be audio ad deafness?

In conclusion, there is no denying that digital audio advertising can be an effective channel for brands looking to target their online audiences in new ways. To discuss the possibilities of your campaign, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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Your Guide To The Debate: Native Ads vs. Display Ads

Native_vs_Display_Ads

Your Guide To The Debate: Native Ads vs. Display Ads

Native and display ads are two of the most popular forms of digital advertising. Both ad formats aim to communicate information about a product or service in the online space.

Although both types of advertising share similarities, they have their respective differences. This article will explain the similarities and differences between native ads and display ads to help you decide which option could work best for your brand.

What is Native Advertising?

Native advertising embeds adverts and promotions within the main content of a web page. Instead of having a different look and feel, native ads tend to match the website’s structure that they appear on. And they are not as intrusive as other kinds of digital advertising.

Native ads appear in the form of listings on search engine result pages (SERP), as news feeds on social media or in the feed of news publishers.

Today, we will focus just on digital native ads that appear in-feed on web publishers vs digital display banner ads.

What is an in-feed native ad?

The difference between an in-feed native ad and other kinds of native advertising is that it’s situated within the feed of free, editorial content rather than presented as a banner above.

Native_Advertising_Example
Native Advertising Example (see blue world map with text, in the centre of the image)

Benefits of Native Advertising

Higher Engagement
Native ads tend to have a higher click-through rate (CTR) than display ads and efficiently drive traffic to your website.

According to a survey, 53% of consumers view native ads more frequently than display ads. Our agency experience found that native ads can deliver a higher brand uplift and consideration than display ads. In a recent campaign we conducted with a leading tourism board, we saw a notable uplift in consideration.

Ad Blocking
Native ads are less likely to be blocked by ad blockers because they are less intrusive.

Banner Blindness
Banner blindness is a phenomenon where users visiting a website quickly scroll past any graphic ad banners without noticing it. This is because humans are often in “Skim Mode” when they visit web pages and have learned to ignore banners, but as native ads feel more like the content on the page, users may be less inclined to ignore native ads.

The human brain takes in visual information very quickly, but this information is processed with different parts of the brain at different speeds. The eyes tend to take in the entire picture on a page first – but it’s not until our minds process what’s actually happening that we notice anything.

Time to Market & Cost

Native ads are simpler to produce, generally consisting of an image and some text, therefore they are significantly cheaper. This means you can be in-market faster, allowing your team to produce more messages that could also be more tailored, allowing you to do more a/b testing of different themes and potentially see higher engagement rates and ultimately get higher performance, sales and a stronger ROI.

Display Ad Example
Programmatic Display Ad Example from Advant Technology client VISA

What are Display Ads?

Display ads are a visual-centric form of online advertising that delivers and superimposes a commercial message through images, animations, videos, logos, or other graphics.

Display ads help promote brands and businesses whenever users browse the internet, check their emails, watch videos on YouTube, or use mobile apps.

Initially, display ads were called “banner ads,” They used to be hyperlinked and image-based ads shaped as strips and usually placed at the top of a web page.

Banner ads later evolved into display ads, which now appear in different sizes and shapes, and have different interactive elements such as pop-ups, videos, and more.

Benefits of Display Advertising

Although display ads have lower click-through rates than native ads, they still have some benefits that can’t be overlooked.

If you’re considering running an advert online, but you’re not yet convinced to use display advertising, here are some benefits of using display advertising:

Display Ads are Visually Pleasing
Humans can be enticed by the things they see, and it’s hard to ignore a well-designed display that is appealing to the eye.

Interactive Display Ads
Display advertising can include interactive elements and videos to make the experience more entertaining and eye-catching.

One of the goals of these formats is to increase engagement or to present a more complex message. Advant Technology has run many campaigns on behalf of its advertisers, creating rich, interactive and immersive banners that allow the users to interact with the brand and not simply be a passive consumer in the digital environment.

Smart marketers will leverage the advantages of both native and display advertising to create an effective content strategy.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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Increase Your ROI with Programmatic Contextual Targeting

Programmatic_Contextual_Targeting

Increase Your ROI with Programmatic Contextual Targeting

If you want to increase your ROI on programmatic advertising, contextual targeting is a great place to start.

In online advertising, contextual targeting allows marketers to deliver highly targeted programmatic ads across a wide range of platforms. This can greatly improve campaign performance because it lets you deliver these highly targeted, relevant ads across a wide range of platforms without creating multiple ad copies.

Programmatic Ad Buying in 2021
Programmatic Ad Buying in 2021

Programmatic Background

Programmatic ad buying is growing, with $155 billion spent globally in 2021. So it’s not surprising that more marketers are starting to experiment with programmatic campaigns.

One of the easiest ways to get started with programmatic advertising is through contextual targeting – using keywords that describe your product or service.

Contextual targeting is one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to engage new customers at scale. Contextual targeting is powerful for display ad campaigns, including video and native ads. It’s long been used in search ads, but it is perhaps underutilised in programmatic advertising until recently.

So let’s dive in on how to use contextual targeting in your programmatic campaigns.

Contextual advertising explained

Contextual ads deliver specific messages to customers when they are most likely to take action. Contextual advertising is powered by keyword targeting.

Programmatic campaigns aim to turn the question “who?” into “when” and “where?”. Contextual keyword targeting does precisely this. It asks which keywords best describe your product or service or your audiences’ interests and then places ads where those keywords appear: on websites, within social media feeds and in a mobile app.

Contextual Advertising Explained Word Cloud
Contextual Advertising Explained Word Cloud

Why use keywords for contextual targeting?

With keywords, you can easily identify specific groups of prospects who have an interest in certain topics related to your brand. For example, when someone searches for “waterproof-breathable rain jackets,” they may be in the market for a new jacket and could make a purchase soon after clicking through an ad about waterproof fabrics.

Why has contextual targeting grown in popularity – 3rd Party Cookies?

Consumers are becoming savvier about their data, and many are opting out. GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation and other initiatives such as the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act).

Initiatives like these have made it more difficult for ad tech platforms to collect data on consumers for use in digital campaigns. As a result, marketers are turning to new forms of advertising that are less reliant on data collection and cookies.

Contextual targeting, AI and relevant advertising

AI technology will help to create more precise advertiser campaigns. Advertisers are now able to focus on contextual targeting, which will enhance their programmatic campaigns. AI will provide advertisers with the personalisation and optimisation necessary to properly target their campaigns and increase revenue. AI technology can take your keyword targeting and broaden this based on many factors, thus widening your reach whilst still keeping campaigns accurate.

Written language can be interpreted in many different ways if it is not properly analysed, so using AI technology will help the advertisers to get a better interpretation of the data which will help them to target their campaigns better.

How to use contextual to increase brand safety

Contextual targeting is an important tool for ensuring brand safety. By excluding ads from appearing on unsafe websites and pages, contextual targeting can help to keep your brand safe from negative associations online.

Technology tools that are more sophisticated than basic keyword matching aid marketers in taking a more nuanced approach. Thus, allowing them to pick and choose the environments they want.

A reliable tool will keep you away from non-brand safe categories such as:

  1. Suggestive
  2. Sensitive social issues
  3. Profanity
  4. Tragedy
  5. Derogatory
  6. Downloads & sharing
  7. Weapons
  8. Violence
  9. Alcohol
  10. Drugs
  11. Tobacco
  12. Religion
  13. Transportation accidents
  14. Sexual
  15. Gambling

An excellent use case of how contextual data can protect your brand.

How can marketers use contextual targeting in their campaigns?

First, determine some keywords for your campaign. These could be subject matter keywords or keywords about your target audience’s interest. Once you have your keywords, create ads relevant to those keywords and place them where they will be seen by people interested in what you have to offer.

You can do this with DSPs like DV360. If you don’t have access to such a platform, work with one of the best programmatic agencies that will be able to develop a digital advertising strategy.

Prominent op contextual ad tech platforms

Grapeshot

Grapeshot is a great technology that Oracle bought. Having used Grapeshot in the past, we can verify that the technology works and the self-service tool are great at helping you build relevant keywords. All you need is a few seed keywords, and then Grapeshot suggests others it thinks are relevant.

Grapeshot works by using machine learning to understand the context of keywords. For example, suppose you were advertising for a new SLR camera. In that case, Grapeshot might find that it has also been advertised for in other contexts like “best travel camera” or “best family holiday camera”. The solution then suggests all these other relevant keywords to your original seed word. This is great news because it’s easy to scale ad performance with contextual targeting!

Peer 39

Another US ad tech firm, Peer39, uses patent-pending machine learning algorithms, which it claims can analyse a publisher site’s entire page content and assign each article with a score for its contextual relevance.
For example, suppose a user is reading about Paris. In that case, the algorithm may determine that “the Eiffel Tower” or “Parisians” are contextually relevant keywords that would make them more likely to show interest in travel.

Using this technology, advertisers can target their audiences with highly-targeted display ads across multiple publishers by specific keywords within the page content. This allows brands to expand their reach and keyword targeting beyond what they could do through typical search engine marketing (SEM) and down to the individual web page level (contextual targeting).

This near-endless combination of potential brand keywords makes contextual targeting the logical platform choice for advertisers looking to maximise their return on investment, especially in the programmatic world.

DSPs That Offer Contextual Targeting
DSPs That Offer Contextual Targeting

What DSPs offer contextual targeting?

A few DSPs utilise their own contextual targeting technologies. These include:

  • Zeta
  • Google DV360
  • Adform
  • TripleLift

The future of contextual targeting

As technology advances, so does the way we target our audiences. Programmatic advertising is already a very powerful tool, but it is becoming even more effective with the rise of contextual targeting. With privacy concerns and personal data being headline news daily, brands need to find new ways of reaching users. Contextual targeting is one way of ensuring ads are relevant to the user, and it is set to become even more important in the years to come.

Contextual Ads Targeting vs Behavioral Ads Targeting
Contextual Ads Targeting vs Behavioral Ads Targeting

Difference between behavioral advertising and contextual advertising

Behavioural targeting is a well-known method of targeting online users that tracks their browsing habits and interests. It uses this data to create user profiles that then serve ads to the user based on this data. This includes their age, gender, location, what they have browsed and searched for. This precise targeting is something many internet users are not happy about, and it’s one of the reasons for the death of third-party cookies.

On the other hand, a contextual ad does not use personal data when serving ads.

Conclusion

Though not quite perfect, contextual targeting is one of the most powerful ways to advertise to consumers at scale.

With a few simple steps, marketers can take advantage of this opportunity and improve their overall digital marketing performance.

If you need help planning your next contextually targeted programmatic ad campaign reach out to us. Our team of planners and buyers can help you identify the keywords to target, the right messaging and deliver ads to the right audience.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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Comparing Cost-Per-Mille (CPM) vs. Cost-Per-View (CPV): Which is Best?

CPM_vs_CPV_Advertising

Comparing Cost-per-Mille (CPM) vs. Cost-per-View (CPV): Which Is Best?

Are you wondering if CPM or CPV is the appropriate pricing model for your video advertising campaign? 

If you’re looking to run a video ad campaign, there are a lot of different factors that come into play.

One of those factors is which pricing model will work best for your needs. We’ll go over what each one means and how they differ from each other so that you can make the most informed decision possible.

There are two main types of pricing models that we cover today. Cost-per-mille (CPM) and cost-per-view (CPV). Understanding the difference between CPV and CPM is essential for evaluating which model aligns with your campaign goals. Each has its benefits, but it’s important to understand how they work before deciding which one is right for your business.

If you plan to run a video campaign and need to run on either pricing model, our team can help.

Whether you go for cost-per-mille (CPM), cost-per-view (CPV), or mix them with the many other models such as CPC cost per click, CPE or cost per engagement or even CPCV cost per completed view, they all have their pros and cons.

Pricing models have changed significantly in the past few years. For example, Facebook ads were traditionally priced on CPM/CPC, but you can now run on a CPV bidding model.

Online advertising is shifting towards cost per engagement (CPE) or cost per action (CPA). So, rather than paying to show your ad 1,000 times, you only pay when your ad is clicked or engaged with, e.g., cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-engagement (CPE).

What is CPM advertising?

CPM ads are priced at a dynamic or flat rate for every thousand impressions. An impression refers to every ad shown on a user’s screen, whether above or below the fold, whether seen or not, whether engaged or not.

It is the most widely adopted pricing model in programmatic advertising.

The reason it’s important is that when you understand this pricing model, you understand that the higher the revenue per thousand impressions, the more money the publisher who is displaying the ad will make.

For publishers, they use the acronym revenue per mill or RPM because, for publishers who are sell-side, it’s revenue, whereas on the other side, the buy-side, for advertisers, it’s a cost hence the RPM and CPM, respectively.

The main drawback of this pricing model is the lack of flexibility, no matter the quality of the ad impression the advertiser pays.
The vast majority of programmatic advertising uses CPM bidding and pricing to value impressions, and the real-time bidding ecosystem, which is prevalent in programmatic, uses this pricing model.

For reach and awareness campaign’s on LinkedIn, Facebook Ads Manager and Pinterest, you will be charged a CPM model.
This model draws advertisers due to its simplicity. They know precisely how much their campaign will cost them and for what length of time they need to pay, e.g., if 1,000 people see your ad, you’ll be charged a set amount per thousand impressions, which means no extra money if someone engages with it.

CPM Advertising

How does cost-per-mille work?

Every time you load a web page, ad servers will check if an advertisement is available for that page.

The advertiser with the highest bid wins, and their advertisement is served into this space. A pricing model whereby the advertiser is charged $0.01 more than the second-highest bid for the ad impression.

What is cost-per-view advertising?

Cost-per-view (CPV) is a performance-based advertising pricing model, this time based on every ad that is successfully displayed and watched, meaning you pay for each view instead of a flat rate such as CPM’s cost per thousand.

Firstly, it’s essential to distinguish between cost-per-view (CPV) and cost-per-completed-view (CPCV), as much of the talk around the two now overlaps.

CPV started as being charged for a simple view, perhaps 3 seconds or more, but the CPCV model takes this even further, charging only when a user has viewed a whole video or until an agreed-upon point, typically 15, 30 or 60 seconds in rare circumstances.

Cost per view
online video ad Example
Example of Client Video Campaign

CPM Vs. CPV: Which model is best for my ad campaigns?

There is no right or wrong and one-size-fits-all style as with all online advertising models. Each ad campaign will have different criteria from budget to goals.
It would be best if you tried to think ahead and work out what the average cost of the KPI you are looking for is going to be.

So if your KPI is 15-second views, how many video impressions will you need to deliver that view threshold of 15 seconds? If you used CPM pricing, what is the total cost divided by the number of 15s views? Is this more or less than the CPV model?

Why choose CPM?

Compared with CPV, pricing is predictable if you are paying a flat CPM. If you are buying on a dynamic CPM there is greater risk.

The main advantage is you could acheive more views than CPV pricing but it’s a risk and you will have to optimise

Why choose CPV?

The most significant benefits of CPV over CPM are the guaranteed view lengths and increased audience impact it can offer.

Still not sure?

Ultimately, there are three factors you need to consider when creating your ad campaign, and these will guide your choices:

FAQS

Is CPV going to limit the scale of my ad campaign?

What are your objectives, and does the chosen pricing method help you scale them up? If you’re looking for increased brand awareness, a CPV model alone won’t be the best approach. Usually, a combination of both methods can deliver a good balance.

CPM vs CPV, which is more efficient?

A CPM buy that delivers a cost per view of $0.03 is likely to be more effective than a CPV campaign that delivers a cost per view of $0.06, which is why testing is so important. If you want to learn more about how we plan and test different channels and buying formats, reach out to our team.

What is the average cost per view, CPV?

The average CPV will vary and depend on your target audience and the advertising channel you are using to reach them. A specific audience will normally mean a higher average cost per view.

If you buy Facebook ads, the average CPM tends to be higher than YouTube. TrueView ads, for example, where CPV can be as low as $0.01, making it very efficient.

A good rule of thumb is to estimate the average between $0.03 and $0.20+ per view as a starting point.

Advant Technology offers advertisers CPVs as low as $0.01 across programmatic advertising.

Can you use CPV pricing for display advertising?

NO. CPV does not work for display banners.

What is a good programmatic CPM?

Programmatic CPMs vary by market, audience, website, ad network, ad exchange and publisher.

$1-$15.00 CPM is a good starting point for programmatic CPMs, but you can find them as low as $0.10 per thousand impressions.

You can also find the cost per click (CPC) or cost per action (CPA). To estimate the average CPC, you need to have some idea of your conversion rates and the value of each conversion. The cheapest CPMs usually are on sites with large traffic/scale.

How do you calculate CPM?

CPM = 1000 * cost / impressions or try this handy calculator.

How do you calculate CPV?

CPV = Cost / views or try this calculator.

How do I lower my CPV?

If you are using Facebook, try improving your quality score. You can improve your Facebook ad quality score by having a clear call to action and avoiding ad fatigue by rotating your ads frequently.

What is a good ad spend budget for a CPV campaign?

That depends on the size of the target market you are trying to reach and the frequency you want to achieve.

Final thoughts

The choice between CPV and CPM depends on the type of campaign you want to run and the audience that you’re trying to reach.

If your target is a niche, CPM will likely be more effective as it is more scalable. If, however, you’re looking for mass-appeal advertising campaigns, then CPV could work a treat.

CPM and CPV are just two pricing models, and they can branch off into more specific online advertising pricing models. Further reading is available on our blog, where you can find information on other pricing models.

If you are interested in increasing brand awareness and driving sales reach out now and we can put an action plan in place.

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The Ultimate Guide To Choosing The Best Programmatic Agency

Best_Programmatic_Agency

The Ultimate Guide To Choosing The Best Programmatic Agency

Are you a digital marketer looking for an expert programmatic advertising partner to develop a marketing strategy tailored to your needs?

Choosing an agency is usually an expensive and time-intensive process, but with the right knowledge, the process can be made easier.

There are many ways you can go about finding your next agency. Typically agencies are chosen through a tender process or previous relationships, however, you decide to find your next programmatic partner make sure you take a read of this blog post by CEO and founder Ben Myers.

As a London-based agency that works with both brands and agencies, we know a thing or two about choosing your next marketing agency.

We have solutions for agencies and brands/clients.

It’s important to find a media agency well suited to your needs. The best programmatic agency isn’t always the biggest, most advanced, most data-led algorithmic all singing, all dancing. It all depends on your requirements as an advertiser and where you are in your journey.

Programmatic background

Programmatic advertising has seen strong growth and in 2021, will be worth 155 billion dollars globally. Some brands have chosen to take programmatic advertising in-house whilst others continue to rely on the expertise of specialist programmatic advertising like Advant Technology. Others take a hybrid approach in-housing the tech and outsourcing the management and ad operations.

Programmatic background
What does a programmatic agency focus on? – Advant Technology

What is a programmatic agency?

Let’s start with the basics. Programmatic agencies focus on making data-driven decisions about digital advertising by using algorithms to conduct personalised A/B testing and leveraging machine learning to increase clients’ ROI.

These companies may also specialise in creating targeted messaging through display ads, video ads and mobile ads.

Using the definitions above, you can determine how these businesses work together to create your marketing budget through different channels.

Why work with a Programmatic Agency?

The best media agency will create a programmatic strategy that works for your business goals, providing you with concepts, creatives and technologies that will keep you at the forefront of changing market conditions.

They’ll find what works well for your brand before implementing the campaign in a DSP, and crucially before spending your budget. This careful media planning phase will help you achieve even greater reach and a better ROI.

Agencies are also adept at leveraging agency partners with publishers, ad exchanges, SSPs, DMPs, Ad servers, ad networks and ad creatives, making the programmatic landscape more accessible to you.

They should provide turnkey solutions, taking care of campaign management. They’ll help make the process seamless by acting as a liaison between your business, ad tech, data and ultimately your audience. They will also advise on the complexities of compliance standards.

Finally, they’ll help with analytics, reporting and measurement based on your goals and objectives. If you choose right, you’ll be selecting a programmatic advertising partner more than just an agency.

Let’s dive into some of the primary considerations when choosing the best programmatic agency.

Make sure the agency is reputable and trustworthy

Always do background research on any agencies you’re thinking about working with and make sure they have a good reputation for timely delivery and great results.

Check to see if they have a good client retention rate and how long their clients have been with them. Your business is spending money, so you need to make sure the agency you choose will be able to deliver on its promises.

Talk about your business goals & media objectives

Before working with an agency, define clear objectives for your programmatic campaigns. Agencies can help you with both short-term (how many clicks do you want?) and long-term (do you plan to generate leads for your sales team or increase brand awareness?) marketing goals.

Understand what the agency offers

Make sure that the agency has a good handle on how programmatic works, from data analysis to targeting users. Ask them how they plan to reach your target audience, what technologies they use and who their publishers are.

Ensure the fit is right

Your agency should have experience working with clients in your industry or vertical or be adept at understanding it. They should create a programmatic campaign that’s customised according to your business goals, not just sell you the same programmatic strategies used for existing clients/past clients they’ve created for other clients.

Make sure you understand your ROI

Understand what is included in your agency’s agreement, e.g., how will their work impact your ad performance? Is there a success fee involved if certain milestones are achieved?

What’s the payment structure and price of future campaigns?

Agree on clear terms with your agency so that both parties have an understanding of how fees will be calculated. For example, some programmatic agencies charge an ad spend retainer or minimum guarantee each month.

Ask them about transparency

Know whether your programmatic partner can provide transparent reporting so that you can measure the effectiveness of campaigns hitting your goals.

As a brand/client, if you opted for a fully transparent pricing model, you should expect to see the granularity of how your programmatic budget is being spent. This information should be available line by line item, impression by impression across all media buys.

If an agency cannot provide this level of transparency, they are likely not operating a fully transparent agency model.

Programmatic media buying technology stack

Is it important that your agency uses all the latest tech? Or is a more streamlined approach with less technology access better for your brand? If you’re not going to be using every piece of the agency’s ad tech stack, does it matter to your brand? In one way or another, you may end up paying for that.

Ask questions about what Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) they use or what DSPs they are experienced in.

Ask them about why they are using the DSP they use. Understand that each DSP is unique, offering different data integrations, algorithms, inventory access, fee structure, reporting and support.

You will also find that some DSPs are better suited to specific industry sectors, for instance, Google DV360 is not very strong in verticals which we classify as grey markets, such as casino gambling, sports betting or CBD marketing.

Programmatic innovation and programmatic strategy

The best programmatic agencies will be up to date with what’s happening in the programmatic world, and inform clients on new ad formats, new tracking standards, new analytic platforms and even new data platforms. They’ll deliver those insights in way that gives you a clear understanding on how it can benefit your business objectives.

Make sure it’s secure

The agency will ensure that your programmatic advertising is compliant with industry standards by verifying that all data is collected via legal channels.
An agency should also be familiar with ad fraud detection systems like IAS and Doubleverify, useful for preventing ad dollars from being wasted.

Services structure

This one really depends on your business and the type of work you are looking to get done for you.

A lot of agencies offer different types of fee categories. Think about what structure works for you, do you want an agency strictly focused on programmatic media buying or do creative services sit within the account too?

Ensure you have a good working relationship

Working with a programmatic agency should be a positive experience for your marketing team, so both parties must be on the same page regarding communication and expectations. Make sure you choose an agency that makes its people available to answer questions and follows through on promises on time.

Quality of work

As agencies grow larger, it can become challenging for them to maintain high levels of quality, ask some questions about how they keep clients happy?

Are they open to critiques and new ideas, or do they believe their way is the only way? If they have a steady stream of returning clients, they’re doing something right. Look at client retention rates as an indicator.

Long term contracts

Short-term partnerships can allow you to test out agencies while rarely committing to large sums of money, eventually, you want to commit to a long-term contract. This is a commitment and fit from both sides and allows you to ensure that traders and account managers stay on your account.

Culture & service

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of culture and teamwork when choosing your agency. If there is no chemistry, it can make for an unsuccessful partnership.

You’ll know when you find an agency passionate about programmatic advertising. Finding an agency that cares and that is passionate isn’t hard. You just need to reach out.

Takeaway List of Considerations

There are no right or wrong answers to the questions and considerations in this guide. Careful consideration will help you define what you need in a programmatic partner.

These takeaway questions are designed to get your thinking juices going so you can get to the roots of what you need and what you want.

Takeaway List of Considerations
The Ultimate Guide To Choosing The Best Programmatic Agency Word Cloud

Questions to ask your programmatic agency

  • Have they worked with media budgets similar to yours?
  • How long have they been established? What is the background of the management team?
  • Do their clients rave about them? Check out their reviews.
  • Is there a good level of transparency on what they do and how they do it?
  • Do they value face-to-face interaction with you as a brand?
  • Do they have a deep understanding of your business and target audience?
  • Where do they source their talent from?
  • Can they provide references?
  • How many other brands do they work with?
  • Are the brands in the same industry vertical as the industry vertical you operate within?
  • What is the technology stack they use?
  • How much automation do they have in place? Reporting automation, for example, to give you real-time results might be important for your company stakeholders.
  • Do you need a dedicated account manager? Are you willing to pay for one? How many do you need and what is the cost vs account managers who might work across several clients?
  • What is their team structure like? This can be very important when you consider things like culture and collaboration.
  • Are they familiar with productivity tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack and Basecamp?
  • Are they up to date on the latest industry trends, including any emerging new technologies?
  • What is their attrition rate like?
  • Do they only work with brands, or do they also work with other agencies?
  • What does their reporting look like, and do they provide proactive insights?
  • Do they provide an open door policy to discuss anything with you?
  • What does their contract look like?
  • Do they have a leadership team that is well respected in the industry?
  • What is their payment structure?
  • How do they ensure RFPs are sent to the right vendors? How much control do you have over which agency partners win the business?
  • Do they have trading agreements?
  • Do they have sector experience?
  • Do they have experience in your geographical region/country?
  • Are they a full-service agency where programmatic is outsourced? What effect is that likely to have on ad space?
  • What targeting capabilities/methods do they use?
  • Do they offer paid search services or partner with another agency that does?
  • How do they plan on using first-party data?
  • How do they plan on using second and third party data?
  • Do they offer innovative formats such as digital home and programmatic audio advertising?
  • Do they use just one platform or multiple programmatic platforms to execute?
  • Will they give you a media plan before launching with clear budget distribution?
  • Are they willing to move media spend around based on performance aka, dynamic ad budgeting?
  • Do they offer both desktop and mobile inventory?
  • Can they run connected TV CTV campaigns?
  • How do they charge for their service?
  • Do they put blacklists on their campaigns?
  • Do they offer fraud tracking?
  • Do they offer brand safety features?
  • Do they A/B test?
  • How do they structure the campaigns?
  • What bidding optimisation will they use?
  • Do they have a robust pixel implementation strategy?
  • Have they worked with Google UTMs?
  • Are they experienced in tag management platforms such as GTM – Google Tag Manager
  • Will they help me choose the best ad format?
  • Will they help me with my messaging framework?
  • Will they help me with my landing pages?
  • Will they work with other agencies?
  • Will they work and suggest the best approach in how programmatic fits in with other organic and paid media channels?

FAQs

Should I in-house or outsource Programmatic Advertising?

Advantages of in-housing marketing:

  • Better control: You’ll have more direct and better control over your own marketing and advertising efforts if you do them in-house. This enables you to be more innovative. Your employees can work on their own creative ideas and push the envelope of new technologies, whether it’s increasing audience data insights or developing new ad formats.

Disadvantages of in-housing marketing:

  • In-house talent can be costly: In addition to the financial investment required for hiring and training your employees, you’ll also need to account for the additional overhead costs like office space (and furnishings), IT infrastructure (including bandwidth), etc. High staff turnover can also dampen your efforts.
  • Lack of innovation: A lack of investment across platforms compared to the pooling of budgets from multiple advertisers. Marketing services companies often have access to a broader pool of resources to draw when building out creative strategies and technologies. This also gives them the benefit of leveraging different perspectives for inspiration on new ideas, tools and techniques.
  • Lack of cross-channel marketing expertise: Without an in-house marketing team, you lose the ability to have an in-depth discussion about multi-layered digital programs that are well integrated with other channels, like TV and social media. It is also less likely that these different programs will be integrated with each other.
  • No scale: If your company doesn’t do paid media marketing on a large enough scale, you might find it difficult to justify the need for an in-house team.
  • Limit costs: You can maintain a lean budget, and that’s especially appealing to smaller businesses. Your marketing and advertising efforts will also be more scalable, so you’ll only pay for what you need – when you need it.
  • Lack of control: You don’t have the same level of direct involvement and control over your marketing and advertising efforts when you outsource to a third-party provider.

What business/pricing model should I choose?

Non-Disclosed Margin

In this model, the agency will use its knowledge of the programmatic landscape to run a campaign. The agency will make money by performing what’s known as media arbitrage. The agency will make money by buying media at one price and selling at another. For illustrative purposes let’s say they buy at $0.85 CPM and sell it for $1.00; their gross profit would be $0.15.

Percentage of Spend

A transparent approach where the agency takes a percentage of your media budget to plan, manage, and optimise your programmatic media budget. Your budget is $10,000.00, 15% of which goes to the agency, 85% towards the DSP.

Combination Pricing

Some agencies use a combination approach, a hybrid approach mixing multiple pricing mechanisms.

Results-Based Pricing

Usually, a combination of % of media spend + a kicker based on programmatic outcomes. For example, 15% of media spend + £10 for every sale tracked.

Day Rate or Hourly Rate

Pay for the hours/days required to plan, manage and optimise campaigns.

Conclusion

Programmatic buying is one of the most effective ways to reach desired audiences. However, marketers need to consider their goals and choose an agency that can help them measurably achieve these objectives.

There are many benefits to working with an agency, but make sure they have the necessary experience and expertise to realise your company’s goals.

There are a ton of marketing agencies out there but few programmatic experts. If you need international media buying executed programmatically, Advant Technology could very well be the right fit.

FAQs

Keep in mind the following definitions to help you understand how programmatic technology and processes around it work:

What are demand-side platforms DSPs?

Technology service providers that allow advertisers to purchase digital advertising space via real-time auctions. They then create automated targeting strategies using data collected based on users’ online behaviour and interests based on these user profiles. This allows marketers to focus their ad spend on audiences that are most likely to be interested in their product or service. With programmatic buying, ads are placed throughout many different websites or apps rather than simply being targeted toward a single website through traditional means of advertising.

What is programmatic paid media?

Advertising where marketers pay a demand-side platform for digital ad spots to increase brand awareness and generate sales.

Programmatic paid media might include display ads, video ads, mobile ads or native ads, among other forms of promotion, including social and search-based advertising.

What are advertising algorithms?

Computer systems designed to automatically match advertisements with the interests of website visitors.

These systems are driven by both statistical analysis and machine learning. This allows advertisers to focus their ad budget on locations that will be most successful in creating customer engagement. Marketers can use these analytics to determine which platforms, topics or formats perform best for specific goals they have set out to achieve.

What is a paid media marketing agency?

Companies help businesses manage their digital advertising campaigns across various adtech programmatic platforms. They may also assist in creating messaging strategies that fit the campaign goals of an organisation through paid advertising, paid social or paid search.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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Blog Programmatic

How to Find and Target Your Audience Online with a DSP

DSP_Targeting_Advant

How to Find and Target Your Audience Online with a DSP

DSP

Are you looking for a new way to target your audience? Or perhaps you’ve recently gotten your hands on a new DSP? Maybe you’re a programmatic trader with many years of buying programmatic ads?

We know it can be challenging to find the right audience for your campaign. That’s why we created this completely free, super detailed guide, so you can learn everything about programmatic campaign audience targeting using a DSP.

Programmatic ad buying is complex. There are many factors to consider, which is why most advertisers use a programmatic media agency.

Whether or not you use an agency, this is still a valuable guide to understand how you can understand the back end of how audience targeting works in a DSP (Demand Side Platforms).

Start-up or market leader, this article applies principles that work across the board.

Our team of experts has put together all of the information that you need in one place, making it easy for you to understand what programmatic targeting is and how it works.

We share media agency planning and buying trade secrets with you to level up your online advertising campaigns. So now, there’s no reason not to start reaching out to more prospective customers using programmatic ads.

Demand Side Platforms - DSP - Programmatic Advertising 101 - Advant Technology -
Demand Side Platforms – DSP – Programmatic Advertising 101 – Advant Technology –

Note: this guide focuses on the options available in Google DV360, but the principles learnt here now apply to most major demand-side platforms:

Demand Side Platforms / Ad Tech DSPs

  • The Trade Desk
  • Mediamath
  • Tabmo by Hawk
  • Adform
  • Xander
  • Emmerse
  • Stackadapt
  • DataXu
  • Adform
  • Adelphic
  • Centro
  • Pocketmath
  • Oath
  • Adelphic by Viant
  • Amazon DSP
  • Adobe Advertising Cloud

Note: This guide to programmatic targeting applies to the main advertising formats that include display, native, instream (pre-roll & mid-roll) video, outstream video, audio advertising and connected TV, although there may be some targeting restrictions for audio and connected TV.

Audience targeting in Programmatic Increases Efficiency

The world of programmatic advertising is extensive and is predicted to be worth a total of $155billion in 2021.
There are trillions of available ad impressions every month through most major DSPs. Hence, as an advertiser, you need to make sure you’re using the right targeting strategy to narrow in on your target.

With so many ad impressions available, you could easily spend millions of dollars a day and still not hit the most likely audience to purchase your product. The programmatic ad industry is simply too big.

If you don’t target your audience effectively, your ad campaign is unlikely to resonate with your audience.

Now, suppose you’re going to invest in display advertising, native, video, programmatic audio or CTV (connected TV) campaigns.

Well, in that case, you need to understand how to reach your exact audience efficiently to maximize your ad spend, increase brand awareness effectively and drive more sales/conversions.

As you’ll see throughout this guide to targeting options in DSPs, the better your data is, the more targeted the bidding set up can be, and as a result, the more accurate you can be with your targeting leading to a better ROI.

Audience targeting is not an art form. It’s a data-driven way to increase the chances that your ad will convert by showing it to the right people.

You can do this by looking at their data and seeing which ad would work best for them.

Let’s look at how you can use audience targeting in your own campaign.

Questions to Ask to Define Your Target Audience - Programmatic Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Questions to Ask to Define Your Target Audience – Programmatic Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Define Your Target Audience

Think of a targeting strategy as a set of levers that you can push and pull to effectively reach the right audience. This audience targeting guide shows you the most important levers to push and pull within a DSP to deliver a well-targeted ad.

It goes without saying that before moving those levers, you need a clear understanding of your audience and their online behaviour.

Understanding your audience needs to go beyond the general demographics of your audience. You should ideally have a deep understanding of your audience behaviour. The following questions will help you to build that deep understanding.

  • What is your audience interested in?
  • What content does my audience read?
  • What websites does my audience visit?
  • What apps might have they installed?
  • What products does my audience buy?
  • What brands does my audience follow?
  • What hobbies does my audience enjoy?

Remember, you can have more than one target audience, especially if you have a company that offers multiple products.

Your primary audience will typically demand most of your budget and attention and yield the highest ROI as they are the most likely to convert.

Your secondary target audience is people with similar interests to your primary audience but slightly different characteristics. Your secondary target audiences are where you will be able to expand and test to scale your campaigns beyond the primary target audience. They may not convert as well or yield the same ROI.

Controlled experiments targeting specific secondary audiences should be conducted to see how they convert.

Efficient and effective digital media planning and buying require that you have a well-defined target audience. It will help you use all the targeting levers efficiently, ultimately resulting in better campaign results and a more substantial ROI.

Targeting Tactics

Before looking at the actual targeting options available in Google DV360 (levers), let’s take a moment to explore the basic types of audiences.

When looking at your audience strategy, we think it’s important to understand the context of the audience data you are applying and ask how accurate and reliable it is and how recent it is.
To answer this, you need to look at how the audience data was gathered. This isn’t always easy. Naturally, if the data is inaccurate, there will be little point in applying it in the DSP as part of your advertising campaign.

Let’s look at the three main types of audience data options:

First-Party Data

Data you own and manage from potential customers or your audience. It can come from your website or app, CRM and purchases. As this is your own data, it makes it the most valuable. The challenge with first-party data is reach, often restricted in both scale and breadth.

First Party Data

Second Party Data

Essentially this is someone else’s first-party data. Second-party data is basically sharing of first-party data.

For example, one of our clients works with another brand to do collaborative b2b campaigns. The other brand could share its data from their Data Management Platform (DMP) to the brands’ DSP.

Another example could be an airline sharing data with a Direct Marketing Organisation/Tourism Board. The DMO then targets that data segment with display ads for people travelling to competitive destinations.

Third-Party Data

Is generally aggregated data. It’s often inferred (implicit) data based on past behaviours.

Through the collection of interests, online browser behaviour, hobbies or preferences, third-party has a vast reach. The flip side is that third party data can often lack quality, reliability and accuracy. Third-party audiences are accessible through data management platforms such as Loatme, Krux and Liveramp.

Your audience strategy needs to take account of the complex factors at play, and you should develop an audience strategy using a mixture of relevant.

One of the reasons we like the Google DV360 platforms is the breadth of high-quality Google audiences. We regularly use Google audiences, and we find they perform very well. They are very accurate.

At Advant Technology, we help advertisers and clients develop a data strategy for targeting. We help them collect first-party data and identify third party data providers from the plethora of aggregators we have existing relationships with.

Relevant Messaging

It’d be remiss of us, an international programmatic agency, to create an article about audience targeting and not talk about relevant messaging, so make sure that your ad uses a message that will resonate! That isn’t covered in this guide but make sure you understand how the two need to work together.

OK, let’s begin with the actual detail.

DSP Targeting Options Explained

Language Targeting

 

DSP_Language_Targeting
DSP Language Targeting

Language targeting works based on targeting the individual bid requests defined by the publisher.

Language targeting can be useful where you might want to reach ex-pat communities, e.g. Greek people living in the UK.

It can also be helpful when you only have creative in one language but target multiple countries.

For example, you are a b2b company running a campaign in Germany. Your creatives are in English only; therefore, you only want to reach customers in Germany who speak English who will understand your creatives. Setting English language targeting to German IP addresses could be an effective strategy.

Geographic targeting (geo targeting)

Also known as location-based targeting or geo-targeting
This is one of the most basic principles when it comes to targeting. 99.9% of campaigns at Advant Technology have some sort of geo applied at least at the country level, given that most advertisers have a specific target country when running programmatic ads. We can refine this further than the county by targeting:

Region targeting

Allows you to target the user based on state, cities, postal codes, airports and universities.

Radius targeting

Allows you to target the user based on longitude and latitude.

Both Region and Radius allow you to bulk upload lat/long codes and allow for an inclusion and exclusion list.

TIP:
You might be wondering why you would need to use exclusion lists? Exclusion lists can be a time-saving setting.

Let’s say you want to target all states bar the state of New York, California and Texas. Rather than selecting the 47 remaining states, you would target the US and exclude New York, California and Texas.

Exclusions can also be helpful if you see impressions slipping through from the wrong geo.

Let’s say, for example, you set the campaign to target only Spain, but on a geo impression report, impressions are coming from Sweden. This could be because the Content Distribution Network where your banner is hosted is in Sweden.

Putting an exclusion on Sweden could make sense, but generally speaking, as the impressions from the country not in the inclusion list are so few, and their cost is so negligible that it’s not really necessary.

This is generally considered a reporting anomaly and should be ignored.

Available Languages You Can Target

  • Arabic
  • Bengali
  • Bulgarian
  • Catalan
  • Chinese (simplified)
  • Chinese (traditional)
  • Croatian
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • English
  • Estonian
  • Filipino
  • Finnish
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Gujarati
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi
  • Hungarian
  • Icelandic
  • Indonesian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Kannada
  • Korean
  • Latvian
  • Lithuanian
  • Malay
  • Malayalam
  • Marathi
  • Norwegian
  • Persian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Punjabi
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Serbian
  • Slovak
  • Slovenian
  • Spanish
  • Swedish
  • Tamil
  • Telugu
  • Thai
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
  • Urdu
  • Vietnamese

Note that Google uses its own proprietary technology to decipher the language based on the user signals and content-based signals if the publisher didn’t declare the language of the content in the bid request.

Demographic Data Targeting

 

Demographic Targeting

Along with geo-targeted ads, demographic targeting is considered one of the most important and most basic targeting settings.

  • Age

  • Male

  • Female

  • Or you can set it to unknown

  • Age

  • 18-65+

  • Or you can set it to unknown

  • Parental Status

  • Parent

  • Not a parent

  • Or you can set it to unknown

  • Household income

  • Top 10% – lower 50%

  • Or you can set it to unknown

TIP
The unknown options help expand your audience, which is often good practice if there is no downside. So, if, for example, your audience is both / female and male, then you should tick the unknown box, this allows you to expand your reach with no downside; the same applies to all of the demographic options.

TIP
Assume a scenario: Your target audience profile is 80% female; you may want to consider creating two line items, each with its own budget allocation. Consider the female market to be your core audience and allocate 80% of the budget and 20% to the male audience, or you could consider 100% of the budget if you have budget limitations.

There is no correct answer, but splitting your line item strategies makes sense if the splits are that extreme.

You can also use other levers to target specific content or publisher titles that lean toward females, such as gossip or a title like people.com, which skews heavily to females. There are many ways to skin a cat.

Keyword Targeting / Contextual Targeting or “KCT”

Allows you to input several keywords related to your product or service or potentially your audience. Your ads can then appear against that content in a contextually relevant environment.

Keyword Contextual Targeting KCT works in different ways depending on the DSP. The DSP may use its own technology or that of a third party. In the case of Google DV360, it uses Google Search Technology, unquestionably the most intelligent search technology in the world.

It works if the keyword is relevant to the content on a specific URL of a publisher (or video metadata). Some DSPs work when the keyword appears on the page instead of being relevant to the page.

TIP
It takes a few days for Google and other contextual search ad technologies to reference content across the web and decipher what keywords are on the page or what the content is about. Therefore keyword contextual targeting does not work well with new content or a URL/ publisher page constantly updated.

TIP
Don’t just think of contextual keyword targeting as having to be contextual.
When we ran a global paid media campaign for Diadora, they wanted to target what they defined as “sneaker addicts”, essentially a youth sub-culture.

They provided us with an audience persona that consisted of interests such as hobbies, musicians, brands they follow etc. Using this info, we created a set of keywords that were not related to the product in a traditional sense (sneakers, trainers, footwear), but rather a set of keywords based on their interests (Hypebeast, Avicci, house music etc.).

Keyword Contextual Targeting

Category Targeting

The following is a list of broad categories you can target using the Google DV360 platform; under each parent category is a subsection or multiple sub-sections.

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Autos & Vehicles
  • Beauty & Fitness
  • Books & Literature
  • Business & Industrial
  • Computers & Electronics
  • Finance
  • Food & Drink
  • Games
  • Health
  • Hobbies & Leisure
  • Home & Garden
  • Internet & Telecom
  • Jobs & Education
  • Law & Government
  • News
  • Online Communities
  • People & Society
  • Pets & Animals
  • Real Estate
  • Reference
  • Science
  • Shopping
  • Sports
  • Travel
  • World Localities

Category targeting is broader than contextual targeting. The above list is similar to the IAB category list, available on other ad tech platforms such as Outbrain.

In our experience, category targeting produces some iffy results with ads appearing on domains that have very little to do with the category; therefore, it is advisable to layer the category with other levers unless you have a vast audience.

Category_Targeting_DSP
Category Targeting DV360 DSP

Environment Targeting

Environment targeting refers to whether or not you want to target web browser inventory or inventory served in mobile apps.

Whichever inventory environment you select, make sure your tracking supports this.

If you just want to target mobile web users, not inventory in apps, you’ll need a combination of targeting levers. You’ll need to ensure you have selected both mobile devices and web environments.

Bear in mind that if you do target just mobile web, this could slow down your ability to scale spending as most inventory on a mobile device is actually app inventory from ad exchanges like Mopub.

Top Tip
There is a myth that browser inventory is better quality than mobile app inventory. This is simply not true and has no foundation.

Environment Targeting Environment
Environment Targeting in DV360 DSP

Position Based Targeting

Position based targeting refers to where the ad is likely to be displayed on the devices’ screen.

This is important because logically, an ad in a more prominent position on the page, for example, above the fold and in-article (as opposed to right rail), is likely to have greater consumer attention.
Attention & time are essential! The longer the user looks or has the ad creative in view, the more likely they are to remember or take action, thus improving the ROI of your campaign.

Display & Native Position on Screen

Options include above the screen fold or below the screen fold.

Display & Native Inventory Position in Content

Options include:

  • In-article position, in-feed position, interstitial position, good old in-banner position or unknown position.
  • Display position options
  • Video position on screen
  • Options include above the screen fold or below the screen fold or unknown position.

Video Instream Position

Options include pre-roll position, mid-roll position and post-roll position.

Video Outstream Position

Options include:

  • In-article position
  • In-feed position
  • Interstitial position
  • In-banner position and unknown positions, in which the position is not declared or detected.

Positions explained

  • In-feed ads appear between paragraphs of content or potentially between images as you scroll down the page of a publisher.
  • In-banner ads often appear at the top, sides or potentially bottom of the page.
  • In-article ads should appear in between a paragraph, i.e. split the paragraph in two with the video creating the break

Bear in mind that if you do target just mobile web, this could slow down your ability to scale spending as most inventory on a mobile device is actually app inventory from ad exchanges like Mopub.

Top Tip
There is a myth that browser inventory is better quality than mobile app inventory. This is simply not true and has no foundation.

Position Based Targeting DSP
Position Based Targeting Demand Side Platform

Viewability Targeting

Options for viewability targeting are pretty straightforward in the Google DV360 DSP. It uses proprietary viewability technology called Active View, the same framework as the MRC viewability standard.

Options include:

  • 90% or greater (most viewable)
  • 80% or greater
  • 70% or greater
  • 60% or greater
  • 50% or greater
  • 40% or greater
  • 30% or greater
  • 20% or greater
  • 10% or greater
  • All impressions

For brand campaigns, we always recommend applying the greatest viewability.

You’ll want to run regular reporting to closely monitor the actual viewability, as Active view is only a predicted.

If you are not getting the reach required due to other campaign settings, you could consider loosening the viewability restrictions day by day until you find the right balance.

If the campaign is a quick burst and you have high spend and reach requirements from day one, it would probably make more sense to start with a low 10% viewability or no viewability requirement. As you gather data, you can slowly increase impressions daily; otherwise, you will risk not hitting reach/spend goals.

Active View (Google viewability Technology)

If you are using a different DSP to Google DV360, you will have other viewability options that could include: a 3rd party integration, typically MOAT or IAS, Integral Ad Science. Note, DV360 does have MOAT and IAS integrated as well.

Viewability Targeting DSP

Audience Lists

We’ve already covered audience lists that come in different flavours, including first, second, and third party, so we won’t cover them again.

You should note that you should use a combination of inclusion and exclusion lists that allow you to narrow in on users as they move down the funnel or have made a purchase to optimize the spend properly.

An example of this might exclude users who have already purchased from you.

Custom Audience segmentation

One area we haven’t touched on yet is custom audiences. You have two options custom affinity and custom intent.

Custom Affinity

You can create custom affinity audiences using interests, URLs and Apps.
Custom affinity audiences work well for branding. For performance-driven campaigns, you should look at custom intent audiences.

Custom Intent

You can create a custom intent audience using keywords and URLs.

Audience List Targeting DSP
How To Select Audience List Targeting in DV360 DSP

Day & Time Part Targeting

If you believe certain times of the week are likely to work better for your campaign, you should apply day and time targeting.

TIP:
If you are a b2b marketer, consider only displaying messages during or close to working hours. Your audience may be more interested in interacting with your message during working hours.

Day & Time Targeting DSP
Leverage Day & Time Targeting in a DSP

Browser Targeting

Browser targeting allows you to target different browsers.
Example use cases of using browser targeting
If you promote software for Windows devices, you may create different targeting strategies for Microsoft Internet explorer vs Chrome.

Browser Targeting in a DSP
Browser Targeting in a DSP

Device Targeting

Device targeting allows you to target desktop computers (notebooks and laptops), smartphones, tablets, and connected TV devices.

You can select a specific device and the operating system using advanced settings. A quick search for iPhone brings up several versions of the iPhone you can target.

Device Mobile Desktop Taregting
Targeting Mobile, Tablet or Desktop Devices

Connection Speed Targeting

Connection speed targeting allows you to target users based on their internet connection speed. We tend not to use connection speed targeting. If you are a telco company selling ISP services, this could be a handy option, but it is rather niche.

Connection Speed DSP Targeting
Targeting by Connection Speed

Carrier & ISP

Carrier & ISP targeting allows you to target users based on their carrier or ISP.

Also, quite a niche targeting option that is rarely utilized unless you are a carrier and ISP looking to sell ISP. There are hundreds of options available due to the massive number available globally.

Carrier_ISP_Targeting

Conclusion

If you are a marketer, DSPs provide an opportunity for you to leverage new technologies and tools to create more effective campaigns.

By considering the different targeting options available within a programmatic (DSP) such as Google DV360, advertisers can optimize their digital marketing strategies by reaching the right audience at the right time with the right message.

Regardless of how you use the approaches described above, a targeted advertising campaign will almost always outperform an un-targeted one.

If you would like a tailored strategy by an expert programmatic media agency, then contact Advant Technology for more information on how we might be able to help you with your next programmatic buying campaign.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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We are a world-class programmatic marketing agency that can generate more sales and leads for you. Leave your email address, we will contact you for your free paid media review.

Categories
B2B Blog Guide

Ultimate Guide To B2B Programmatic Advertising

B2B_Programmatic_Advertising

Ultimate Guide To B2B Programmatic Advertising

Are you a B2B Marketer wanting to learn more about how programmatic advertising can reach your highly niche target audience?

Perhaps you’re not quite seeing the returns you need with Google Ads and LinkedIn?

You’ve come to the right place to learn about how you can place highly relevant ads for your audience through the world of programmatic advertising.

B2B programmatic advertising is a digital marketing process that uses various technologies to deliver ads to business customers faster, more efficiently and with higher potential for return on investment.

The Challenge

To reach their target audience, B2C marketers have been using programmatic advertising techniques for many years, allowing them to develop highly relevant online advertisements and deliver them at scale and cost-efficiently.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said in B2B advertising, where we still see low or poor adoption of programmatic.

Advant Technology is a B2B programmatic marketing agency that has shown many B2B brands and agencies how effectively use the medium. We work with both agencies and clients directly.

The challenge we see is that many agencies typically push what they know instead of exploring the boundaries of what’s possible. The truth is programmatic advertising requires a more niche set of skills, and it’s more complex to grasp than LinkedIn, Google Ads and Facebook.

We, as consumers, see search ads all the time and LinkedIn ads all the time, so we naturally build a better understanding of these platforms. So naturally, as a B2B marketer, you lean into using what you feel most comfortable with, what you see and what you know; paid search, LinkedIn etc., CPL demand gen or a contextual takeover on a publisher home page. Sound familiar?

The Opportunity

LinkedIn, Google Ads etc., can be great, but you are probably missing a trick by not incorporating true programmatic advertising.

B2B brand marketers willing to learn about programmatic could see more leads, sales, and increased brand awareness.

How? by leveraging data properly giving you a competitive advantage.
This B2B programmatic guide aims to teach you some of the basics and advanced B2B strategies.

The Background

In a post-pandemic era now more than ever, your audience is turning to a range of digital channels to make purchasing decisions about complex products and services, face-to-face selling is not as powerful as it once was, and this trend is only becoming exacerbated. By digital channels, we mean websites, social media, email, white papers, and third-party resources from Gartner, etc.

As a B2B marketer, increasing your awareness and building trust through these channels is imperative. Programmatic advertising is one of the sharpest, most precise tools for influencing and nurturing leads.

How to run a B2B programmatic Campaign

There are many stages to running an effective campaign that will drive cost-efficient leads that your sales team will love.

Let’s go through the steps and deep dive into each of them.

Planning

Goals and objectives

Be clear about what you want to get out from programmatic. Try using SMART Goals, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

SMART Objectives for Programmatic Advertising Campaign

Map the B2B buyer journey

The B2B buyer journey will be unique to your organisation. By understanding your buyer journey, you’ll be able to identify how programmatic can be used along the journey to influence purchase behaviour. The buyer journey starts typically with problem identification. The user then begins to explore solutions, builds its requirements, and finally makes its selection.

Business customers make decisions by an increasingly larger cohort, meaning you must influence the buyer cohort across a larger group of decision-makers. It would be best to influence the whole audience across the buyer journey, including ensuring you are running lead generation and brand campaigns.

B2B Buyer Journey Advertising Campaign

Define your B2B target audience

Create an audience persona, this will help you think of your customer more humanly, and this information will prove valuable when targeting them. Remember, you need to look at all the decision-makers influencing a purchase, not just the final decisions maker.

  • What are their pain points?
  • What language do they speak?
  • What companies do they work at?
  • What content do they read on which sites do they spend time?
  • Who are their influencers?
  • What publications do they follow?
  • Where are they located?
  • What are their job functions?
  • What is their job seniority?
  • What industry do they work in?
  • What are they searching online? Stick to business searches
  • What are their job titles? Ensure you get all variations and look at local market nuance, a director in one country might be a VP in another.
Defination of B2B Audience in Programmatic Advertising

Choose a Technology – Programmatic DSP & Partnerships with DMPs

Once you have defined your target audience, it’s time to start looking at a DSP that will place ads against your ideal target audience. Our media agency tends to use Google DV360, which has access to many B2B data segments.

New partnerships with DMPs need to be formed; the DMP will be the data overlay across your line items in the DSP.

You need to ensure the data partners can integrate with the DSP, and you need to ensure the DSP operates with high volume in the markets you are looking to reach decision-makers.

Check what kind of scale/reach you can run your campaigns. If you’re an advertiser spending millions across your marketing, it probably won’t make sense if you can only spend a few thousand a month in programmatic due to audience restrictions.

If the scale is too small, consider broadening your target audience.
Note most DSPs require around $100k a month in media spend but working with a programmatic agency can give you access to DSP technology at much lower marketing spend investment levels.

Build your creatives

Your creative strategy needs to be based on your audience and buyer journey.

Build your creative strategy and messaging that will resonate with who and what you are trying to influence. Think about the medium needed to convey the message video, display or native. The ad specs will depend on the DSP but here is a good guide.

Display Ads For B2B

When it comes to B2B programmatic advertising, display ads are the most popular format.

Display ads allow advertisers to combine text and graphic elements; suitable for communicating about complex solutions.

The size with the most reach is 300×250. If you are doing a brand awareness campaign, you should consider a 970×250 and a 300×600 which take more screen space and make a more significant brand impact.
If using display, build your ads in html5 or use a tool like nexd.com as the transition between frames will be much smoother and look more professional than a GIF banner, your prospects will respond better to a well-designed ad.

Video Ads in B2B Advertising

Video ads are an excellent tool for B2B marketing. The formats you need to know are pre-roll and native video/outstream. Keep your video short and to the point.

Native Ads in B2B

The benefit of native adverts (content ads) is that they blend naturally with their surrounding environment on publisher sites. Native advertising has become widely acknowledged as an effective format for B2B because they provide a more authentic form of storytelling than display formats.

Native works well for white papers; CPMs are pretty low, but you can not convey vast amounts of information due to the title and character lengths, so keep the message and call to action simple.

Check out the playbook from IAB to learn more.

Interstitial Ads

You may want to think carefully before using interstitial ads, as they can be pretty invasive.

Setting up campaigns in the DSP

A clear set-up structure will give you greater clarity in your reports, allowing you to make informed optimisation decisions.

Typically the flow will look like this:

  1. Create the advertiser
  2. Export tracking pixels and send them to the web dev team for implementation on your website, who may decide to implement them directly to the page or via a tag management system like Google Tag Manager (GTM) or even Tealium if you subscribe to it. GTM is free, though.
  3. Integrate data from your CRM such as salesforce
  4. Ensure the pixels are firing correctly and collect audiences based on events.
  5. Create a campaign / Insertion order.
  6. Create multiple line items. Each line item should have a unique set of attributes such as targeting, these are your tactics for success. For example, one line item may use contextual targeting based on keywords. Another may use first-party data retargeting, and another may use third-party targeting using Bombora data. Clearly label your line item with a sensible taxonomy/naming convention so you can come back to it later on and see quickly and easily what the attributes were. When you set up 50 line items, you’ll soon see why a logical naming convention is so important.
  7. Define the bidding strategy/algorithms on your line item, you usually have a few options such as maximising; clicks, conversions, viewable impressions, time in view, completion rate, video views at 3 seconds, 10 seconds or completed views.
  8. Assign an ad fraud tool.
  9. Import your creatives assets such as a display ad / native ad.
  10. Submit your ads for approval by the ad exchanges.
  11. Assign your creatives to the line items, either using multiple ad formats and sizes per item or splitting them granularly.
  12. Launch / Go live, the moment you have been waiting for!
  13. Reporting, export your report using dimensions and metrics important in achieving your KPIs. Use a reporting API tool that allows you to see the progress and results that have been generated visually.
  14. You must collect enough data before beginning optimisation. Optimise the campaign by adapting creativity, targeting strategies, bidding strategies and infrastructure, creating white lists and black lists, frequency capping or introducing new algorithms from third parties to automate the whole process.
    Having accurate data on board allows you to make more informed decisions with your marketing within this whole process.
Step-by-step guide on how to launch a DSP campaign
Step-by-Step DSP Launch Process

Those are the basics of programmatic advertising in B2B. Now let’s look at some of the most effective targeting options that can be utilised;

Firmographic Data Targeting

B2B organisations use Firmographic data to understand their target audience better and define the kind of people who should see their online advertising. This includes relevant data such as:

  • Industry sector
  • Status & Structure 
  • Location
  • Size – Revenue, employees etc

B2B Intent Data Targeting

As a marketer, you know that it’s essential to understand your target audience and intent. Successful marketers who use programmatic ads are aware of intent-based factors that can help them align their strategy. Intent data is overlaid on campaigns to reach audiences who are actively showing buying signals against a given topic area related to what you sell. Bombora is one such provider of effective intent data.

Target Account Lists (TAL) Targeting

Directly targeting a group of strategic accounts + usually some job title or function.
Technographic Data Targeting
The Technology Stack of a Business: Technographic Data is a tool for analysing a firm’s technology stack. What hardware and software do they utilise? Which tools and applications are they using? How are they integrating and utilising their various systems and platforms?

Third-party Data Providers

Let’s check out some of the leading providers:

Bombora

Can offer more granular targeting than LinkedIn.

Ziff Davis

Offers technology-based audiences in publishing, research and conferences.

Dun&Bradstreet

The world’s leading source of commercial data on companies, empowering businesses to access trusted insights about their suppliers, competitors and customers.

HG Data

A firm that specialises in developing targeted marketing strategies for the technology buyer market

The death of the third party cookies and changes in Apples privacy policies will affect the scale and quality of B2B data, so it’s recommended to take a first-party first approach.

Combining these data providers and the power and cost-efficiency of programmatic helps us to deliver more qualified leads.

First-Party Data Targeting

The most valuable and impactful data you can use for programmatic advertising is the first-party data you already have in your CRM system. You can target contacts and accounts with this CRM data by first collecting it and labelling it through proper pixel implementation or data match upload.

Types of first-party data activation

  • Submitted a lead on your form
  • Downloaded white-papers and case studies
  • Website visitors
  • People who watched video content on your site
  • Email subscribers
  • People who have attended previous webinars
First_Party_Data_Targeting_Programmatic_Advertising
First Party Data Targeting

In the wake of the death of the cookie in 2023, advertisers can look to contextual programmatic marketing based on a white list of handpicked sites or based on keywords.

Contextual Targeting

In combination with some of the other methods discussed, contextual targeting allows us to deliver ads in the right environment, so not only are you reaching your audience in terms of job function, job title, company size etc. but also when they are consuming relevant content.

The example below on the left is a contextual ad. It was delivered to all of our technology buyers, targeting only publications that would be relevant to them and even more detailed down to the specific publication’s section they were most likely to read. Here you can see it has been receiving a 1.3% CTR.

The third example is a technology buyer ad targeted to publications within the technology industry. As already discussed, you can drill down much further here to reach this particular audience. The CTR for these ads was over 1.13% CTR.

B2B Programmatic Advertising FAQs:

 
How programmatic advertising works

What Is Programmatic Advertising?

Programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of digital advertising, in contrast to the traditional method that involves human negotiations, it is structured to replace human negotiations with AI-optimization and machine learning.

The aim is to increase transparency and even efficiency for both the advertiser and the publisher. Programmatic advertising has helped to increase media buying efficiency.

What is a Demand Side Platform?

A DSP is a software platform that allows marketers to serve digital advertisements across display, mobile, social, video and native networks. It includes a mixture of automated and manual settings making buying extremely efficient. A DSP connects to publisher inventory through an ad exchange.

Why use a DSP?

A DSP is used to buy ad inventory in real-time from multiple sources, which gives you the ability to control your advertising spend while reaching your target audience using robust data across potentially thousands and thousands of sites.

A DSP can be used to create specific audiences based on actions they’ve taken on your site, such as downloading a white paper; these audiences can then be retargeted. DSPs access ad space inventory from all parts of the world.

What is Account-Based Marketing?

ABM is a strategic approach in which you focus your time and resources on a select group of accounts that are most likely to buy your products or services. In contrast, mass marketing targets all customers within a certain market segment.

With account-based marketing, you want to identify different accounts with potential and then develop a strategy for each.

How do B2B marketers use ABM to help their sales team?

ABM is helpful to “nurture” accounts since it allows you to create personalised campaigns that are relevant for each account’s stage in your sales cycle.

For instance, if an account has already raised its hand, they may be a viable candidate for your services. Using ABM, you would execute a campaign to nurture their interest and show them how you can help them meet their goals.

What is Programmatic Direct?

It is a purchase that’s made directly from a publisher website with negotiation, contracts and tenders going back and forth.

What is Real-time Bidding?

It is the process of buying and selling ads through an open bidding system in an auction-based format where no negotiation is required with the publisher who is selling the ad space via their SSP. Most inventory is bought this way.

What is Programmatic Guaranteed?

Is where there’s a fixed rate agreed upfront with the publisher, this isn’t done via an auction.

What are Private Marketplace Deals?

It is a way for advertisers to buy ad inventory that’s not on the open exchange (real-time bidding) it tends to be sold by a publisher or media owner directly with closed access to a select group of buyers and still uses an auction system.

What is a Data Management Platform?

You’ll hear the term DMP thrown around a lot and it means data management platform. A DMP is a technology solution that manages and exchanges data.

It can create audience segments, which can then be used with other ad technology platforms for retargeting or targeting audiences.

Data in B2B advertising has come a long way and it’s without question the main reason why today programmatic B2B can be so powerful.

Should I use LinkedIn and Programmatic at the same time?

The ad ops team at Advant Technology has recently looked into the marriage between programmatic and LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a powerful channel in a B2B marketer’s weapon’s arsenal. LinkedIn advertising is great because it offers you the option to target particular users by country, industry, company size and position title.

LinkedIn advertising has great formats, including the carousel, video, single image and dynamic ads.

The challenge with LinkedIn is that it can be costly. CPMs can creep above $200USD+; at this kind of CPM, you need to get very high engagement rates to achieve a cost-efficient cost per lead.
What an effective cost-efficient cost per lead means to you will vary, so do the math and set your KPIs.

By contrast, programmatic advertising CPMs will be lower, and although CTRs will also be a bit lower in programmatic generally speaking, your effective CPCs should be better, how this translates to leads and revenue is something that probably needs testing. Make sure to use Google UTMs so you can analyse how LinkedIn compares to programmatic campaigns. Google UTMs will allow you to track the performance of a marketing channel by Source/medium within Google Analytics.

How can a B2B programmatic agency help me?

All of this sounds great but complex. I want to get involved, but I don’t have the time, team experience or knowledge. In comes –> programmatic agency –> in comes Advant Technology.

A programmatic agency helps advertisers navigate the steps discussed.

Advant Technology can help with the end to end process for planning and buying for successful B2B programmatic. Contact us here!

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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Blog Guide Programmatic

Programmatic Advertising Introduction For Traditional Marketers

Programmatic for traditional marketers

Programmatic Advertising Introduction For Traditional Marketers

Are you a traditional marketer who doesn’t really understand programmatic advertising?

Programmatic Advertising Introduction For Traditional Marketers
Programmatic Advertising Introduction For Traditional Marketers

Embrace Programmatic Advertising: A Guide for Marketers

Are you tired of endless acronyms like SSP, DSP and DMPs? Unfortunately, the programmatic advertising ecosystem is full of three-letter acronyms. Perhaps they are designed to scare away old school media folk.

Fear not; this guide will bring you up to speed on what programmatic ad buying is.

This article covers programmatic advertising strategies, how media buying works, and how to step-by-step apply the knowledge into your advertising strategy.

Programmatic display native ads b2b isn’t all that new anymore, but it is becoming one of the most valuable strategies for brands and advertisers.

It’s no secret that the digital advertising sector is expanding and developing rapidly. By 2021 programmatic advertising spend will reach 88% of all US digital display ad spend, which accounts for $81 billion according to Emarketer.
While this sector continues to grow, many people might feel behind how this type of advertising works. It pays to be educated on the basics of programmatic ads to avoid falling behind in your marketing.

To get on board with programmatic media buying, you must understand how it differs from traditional digital marketing methods and why it’s so effective.

Here are some insights that may help:

  • Programmatic ad campaigns use data to target customers.
  • Automating buying across hundreds of sites saves brands time and money by eliminating tedious tasks like manually buying on placements or submitting ads to multiple sites at once. In other words, automation helps brands get their ads in front of the right people at the right time.
  • Programmatic ad campaigns also use automation to serve dynamic/personalized content, track engagement rates and capture valuable audience insights.
  • Programmatic ad campaigns are conducted with preset rules to engage viewers, measure campaign performance and optimize budgets in an automated way. This strategy uses historical data to predict how users will engage with ads so marketers can set bidding strategies for desired outcomes.
  • This process also helps brands better reach their target audiences at the beginning of the path to purchase funnel. With programmatic ads, marketers can make changes to their campaigns in real-time. For example, if a brand wants to change an ad’s creative, they can do it instantaneously instead of manually submitting it for approval by humans on multiple sites. They can also automate bidding strategies based on machine learning, track engagement rates and optimize spending accordingly.
  • Bringing all of this to one platform can save marketers a lot of time and resources, which they can then use to focus on areas that will drive innovation for their business.
  • Programmatic advertising is unique because it lets brands advertise across sites without having to do any manual legwork directly with each website; that’s the traditional way, that’s the old way.
  • Advertising technology helps automate processes like targeting audiences, connecting with them, and measuring engagement rates so you can avoid wasting time and money on ads that won’t lead to a sale.

But before we get into the weeds, let’s start at the beginning: what exactly is programmatic advertising?

Programmatic Advertising Definition - Advant Technology
Programmatic Advertising Definition – Advant Technology

What Is Programmatic Advertising?

Programmatic advertising is a digital ad buying method that uses algorithms instead of humans. This strategy uses data, which means you can target users more precisely and measure results more effectively.

The idea behind programmatic advertising is that machines are better at identifying the right audience than people are. We humans may not always choose what’s best for us – but our devices know what we like to read, watch, play, or where we’re likely to visit next better than we do.

Real-time bidding for programmatic advertising - Advant Technology
Real-time bidding for programmatic advertising – Advant Technology

How does Real-Time Bidding (RTB) work?

RTB is a type of programmatic advertising that lets advertisers bid on ad placements according to factors like relevancy, geographical location, and audience demographics through real-time auctions. Auctions take place in less than 0.2 seconds.

Here’s how it works: an advertiser sets criteria for their campaign, including a budget, audience type, time frame, and other preferences. An algorithm then automatically searches for opportunities to display relevant ads to audiences matching these criteria.

These opportunities are auctioned off to the advertiser with the highest bid, who wins based on their preferred criteria. The advert is then published where your audience can view it. A record of this transaction is stored in a data warehouse for reporting/analytics purposes.

This process eliminates tedious tasks like manually buying ads across sites and creates more opportunities for advertisers.

Types of Programmatic Ad formats

Programmatic Display Ads – Banners, static and animate in many shapes and sizes:

This kind of programmatic advertising serves ads on desktop, mobile, and tablet sites based on behavioural targeting, contextual targeting, or geotargeting. Advertisers place bids for ads to be displayed on certain types of content within certain geographical boundaries.

Programmatic Video Ads – Pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll, in-stream, out-stream
These ads appear in pre-or mid-rolls of videos, gaming content, and other types of digital media such as between articles, but mostly it’s video ads before video content. Learn more about Pre-roll Advertising Agency.

Programmatic Native Ads – Text only or text + image
Native ads are often seen as a better fit for brand messages because they look similar to the surrounding editorial content instead of appearing in banners or pop-ups that can be disruptive.

What is a Data Management Platform?

The data management platform (DMP) is a trusted online service that allows marketers to create profiles of users based on their behaviours and interactions with a specific brand or website. Data from a DMP can be used in combination with other parts of the marketing stack, such as your CRM system, ad servers, location-based systems and email service providers to deliver personalized and relevant messages across screens and devices.

Data management platforms (DMPs) are an integral part of the modern marketing arsenal, serving as hubs for data coming from all sources. Over time, marketers have come to rely more and more on their DMPs for new types of insights into their users, and the DMPs themselves have evolved to accommodate the growing expectations.

What is an Ad Exchange?

Ad exchanges are digital marketplaces. They connect publishers and advertisers, allowing them to buy and sell ad space in real-time. Advertisers use an ad exchange to manage the buying and selling of their online advertising through a vast network of web publishers.

Publishers can participate in multiple ad exchanges depending on which types of advertisers they want to attract, which ad formats they are using, and what types of traffic they’re looking for. Think of an ad exchange as the stock market with inventory instead of securities. The most well-known exchanges in the US are Google’s AdX, Chitika, OpenX, Yahoo’s Right Media Exchange (RMX), Sovrn and Appnexus.

What is a Demand Side Platform?

A demand-side platform (DSP) is a technology platform that enables advertisers to manage, optimize and serve digital media buying across all advertising formats.
Demand-side platforms are different to supply-side platforms which, sell inventory through an ad exchange to the DSP through real-time bidding (RTB).

What’s the difference between an ad network and a DSP?

DSPs typically have access to more demand sources; this allows them to be more effective in buying inventory at the best price for an advertiser.

Ad networks are typically only able to place the inventory they sell within their ad server across their network, where DSPs can place ads across many different types of ad servers and demand sources. This allows them to be more effective for advertisers because you’re buying inventory at the best price across all different types of sources through one platform instead of having to go through various advertising networks.

Ad networks typically sell lower-priced inventory, sometimes known as the remnant, where DSPs can buy premium publishers at the best price across all types of ad servers and demand sources. This allows them to be more effective for advertisers because you’re buying higher quality inventory at the best price through one platform rather than going through many networks.

How much does Programmatic Advertising Cost?

The cost is much as you are willing to invest.

In traditional advertising, it would have been hard to spend $0.01, but technically this is possible in programmatic, that’s because you don’t have to commit large spends to buy online ad space. The programmatic ecosystem lets you spend as little or as much as you want. Algorithms help you decide where your dollars are best spent to deliver an effective ad campaign.

There may also be some minimums with the programmatic technology provider.

Most DSPs minimum fees are around $10,000USD monthly or £7000 GBP. In display advertising at an average CPM of $1.50 would generate 6,666,666 impressions.

Human negotiation in the traditional media buying process was a big part of daily life, digital advertising does away with much of that human negotiation.

Programmatic Agency Fees

Typically media agencies will take an 8-15% media optimisation fee.
Media agencies may also charge set up costs and other costs around media planning and developing a programmatic advertising media strategy.

Programmatic media is a complex space, so an excellent programmatic media agency is worth its salt to maximize your ROI. They will help you to specify the right advertising technology infrastructure and ensure ads are served to the right target audience.

Programmatic Advertising for Traditional Marketers Summed Up

Programmatic advertising provides more precision than traditional media buying and gives marketers better insight into their target audiences.

What’s more, implementing a programmatic advertising strategy can help marketers stay ahead of the competition and reach their audience with targeted messages at optimum times, ultimately leading to higher conversions and ROIs.

Programmatic Advertising vs Traditional Advertising - Programmatic Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Programmatic Advertising vs Traditional Advertising – Programmatic Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Programmatic advertising

  • Faster workflow due to real-time bidding & programmatic tools
  • Hyper-targeted audience for a better return on investment
  • Automated buying methodology
  • 100% trackable
  • Reduces human effort
  • Transparent
  • Buy ad space through technology

Traditional advertising

  • Low fraud risk
  • Scalable audiences via TV & Outdoor
  • Limited targeting
  • Heavy labour cost due to inefficient workflow
  • A slow and long planning process
  • Buy ad space through humans and manual signature contracts
  • Publisher by publisher planning and purchasing

If you want to learn how programmatic advertising can benefit you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.

We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about the process and how it could fix many of the problems plaguing your marketing strategy today. Don’t wait! Reach out now so we can start solving these issues together.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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We are a world-class programmatic marketing agency that can generate more sales and leads for you. Leave your email address, we will contact you for your free paid media review.

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Blog Guide

Programmatic Advertising: C-Suite Guide

Global_Programmatic_Agency

C-Suite Guide to Global Programmatic Media Advertising

Established in 2014, Advant Technology Ltd has worked with some of the largest brands in the world and spent millions of dollars on advertising for its clients. Whilst we only have offices in London, Advant Technology is an international programmatic agency managing global campaigns in the UK. CEO Ben Myers observes changing consumer behaviour and the media strategies that follow it.

C-Suite Guide to Global Programmatic Media Advertising - Programmatic Advertising - Advant Technology
C-Suite Guide to Global Programmatic Media Advertising – Programmatic Advertising – Advant Technology

If you are part of the management team in an international organization and want to learn the hype around this multi-billion dollar industry, this blog post is for you. Fear not. Next time someone at the lunch table throws around phrases like private marketplaces, programmatic direct, demand-side platform or even data management platform, you’ll know exactly what they mean.

So let’s get into it.

Programmatic advertising is the process that determines when, where, and for how much to bid on online ad space. It involves automation technology that makes it possible to buy online media by using algorithms instead of a manual process by humans to determine the value of ad inventory. It does this in real-time via a global bidding landscape, which is why sometimes you’ll hear programmatic being called real-time bidding (RTB).

Most commonly, it includes formats such as video, digital display banners and native but also connected TV, digital audio and out-of-home advertising. Programmatic spending has seen colossal growth globally, no matter the market, which is no surprise given the rise in e-commerce and the ever-growing competitiveness for brands to be more cost-effective in reaching their target audience.

The Global Programmatic Industry

  • A new generation of technologies has made it possible to automate key aspects of the advertising business, including buying and selling advertisements.
  • The concept behind programmatic ads is that they should bring more efficiency into online media buying by eliminating human error and making it possible to place ads with pinpoint precision whilst taking thousands of buying factors into account.
  • Programmatic is a more streamlined approach to media buying than traditional media buying, helping advertisers increase their return on investment, improve ad targeting and streamline their marketing efforts by using automated software.
  • Advertisers must evolve their strategy and embrace programmatic media if they want to stay current in today’s marketing world.

Today, the path to purchase is non-linear; consumers are increasingly influenced by digital channels everywhere they go. Programmatic has helped standardize media buying on a global level. As a result, we have worked with many firms that have redirected their marketing budgets to programmatic media managed by the global marketing team as opposed to local marketing where traditional investment would have been in print and TV, something that would have been very difficult to do on a multi-market international level but with the advent of the global programmatic RTB ecosystem, it’s now much more straightforward.

Advantages of Programmatic Advertising - Programmatic Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Advantages of Programmatic Advertising – Programmatic Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Advantages of Programmatic Advertising

  • Faster workflow due to real-time bidding & programmatic tools
  • Hyper-targeted audience for a better return on investment
  • Automated buying methodology
  • 100% trackable
  • Reduces human effort
  • Transparent
  • Time-to-market
  • Lower cost of media buying
  • More precise targeting

Challenges of Programmatic Advertising

  • More complex data architecture to integrate data sources across different channels, devices and partners
  • New insights from big data may create privacy concerns
  • Integrating data from different sources is a challenge
  • Limited inventory in some markets and getting ad placement on desired sites may be difficult
  • Data-driven automation can be overwhelming
  • Increased competition for media buys
  • A lack of transparency on how money is being spent depending on your infrastructure and media buying approach
  • Brands have a difficult time monitoring engagement metrics due to an overload of ads displayed across multiple web pages and ad networks
  • While it’s easy to set up a campaign for programmatic advertising, brands struggle with optimizing their strategy post-launch
  • Hiring a good talent

Now that we understand a little about what programmatic advertising is, the advantages and disadvantages, let’s look at how consumer behaviour is changing and how we need to think about reaching our target audience.

Non-Linear Path-to-Purchase & Cross-Device Campaigns

We first need to consider consumers’ non-linear journey; this is prevalent in both b2b marketing and b2c marketing. To address the fact that consumers are present across many touchpoints, we need to use programmatic advertising that reaches consumers wherever they are in the most efficient way to influence their purchase behaviour, one way to do this is by implementing cross channel campaigns.

Cross-Channel Campaign Implementation

Cross channel campaign implementation is an excellent opportunity for marketers to capitalize on the customer’s journey. This knowledge can lead to personalized cross-channel campaigns that address user needs across the buyer journey. An agency will need insights into the most popular channels used across different countries to create an effective advertising strategy.

Cross-Device Campaigns

When viewing their web content behaviour or interacting with mobile applications, users may have several devices that are continually connected to the internet, allowing marketers to collect data about user behaviour and habits.

This information is invaluable for creating a personalized experience. Users tend to do research online before purchasing an item, so knowledge of common interests leads to effective marketing strategies for products or services desired by customers.

What Should Global Brands look for in a Programmatic Agency?

Marketers may seek the help of an experienced global digital media agency to plan and conduct cross-screen, cross-device and cross-channel campaigns for maximum exposure and cost-efficiency.

An effective international programmatic media agency has experience & insights into global markets and takes the time to monitor user behaviour across different countries. This knowledge can lead to cross-device, cross-channel marketing campaigns that capitalize on the consumer’s activity at any given buyer journey stage.

For example, users who prefer using their mobile devices when engaging with content online will automatically share information within certain apps without even thinking about it. An experienced global digital media agency is aware of this phenomenon, which allows them to create relevant advertisements based on their location, habits and interests.

Brands and full-service marketing agencies should employ an experienced programmatic media planning agency team who understand the various technologies available for implementing artificial intelligence, machine learning and other disruptive technologies.

Programmatic strategy and agency services:

It is beneficial to choose a company that has worked with globally recognized brands, providing end-to-end services that span strategy and content development to campaign execution.

Whether B2B or B2C, a programmatic media agency should offer complete transparency. They should be able to explain what you can expect from the campaign. How they will specifically target your niche audience and the number of expected impressions per month/week/day, and how this may translate into an ROI.

As technology has advanced exponentially over time, businesses have had to keep up with the “new normal” by enacting new strategies and recruiting more tech-savvy talent.

This is really where a programmatic agency comes in. The ability to manage quickly changing digital content/technology with the help of an agency comes with a cost but has great potential for long-term benefits.

Misconceptions about Programmatic Advertising?

Although the industry is getting more sophisticated, there are still a number of prevalent misconceptions that senior management teams should be aware of.

One common misconception is that programmatic media will replace all other forms of media buying and planning, which it won’t. Programmatic can assist advertisers with effective targeting, personalization and reporting throughout their campaigns, rather than seeing it purely as an alternative channel to TV or newspaper ads.

Programmatic is not a “one size fits all.” With this medium, it’s important to remember that every client/brand/ industry is different and therefore requires unique solutions.

Programmatic is more than just placing an ad on a webpage: it’s about having access to one of the largest pools of data in history so advertisers can deliver on their branding and business strategy goals.

While some brands still believe that programmatic advertising is reserved for digital-first businesses, this misconception will likely fade as global companies continue to invest in this medium.

Digital Advertising Reporting Deep Dive

Reporting gives management stakeholders the insights to understand your media investment. Good reporting is the backbone of a robust programmatic campaign.

  • Set up reports for each market [you will see big differences by country, if you are running a US campaign, consider viewing reports by state]
  • Set up real-time dashboards [summary of all campaign activity/key performance indicators (KPIs)]
  • Centralized reporting [to have one view of all activity]
  • Summarise key metrics in a dashboard so you can easily see them, e.g. impressions, clicks etc., [useful for ad tech managers]
  • Use charts and graphs [to visualize data over time, spot trends via visual aids]
  • Use dashboards that are colourful and not too bright [to ease viewing the data]; we like to use colours that are consistent with our clients brand guidelines
  • Use metrics that match your goals for campaigns such as sales, website traffic etc. [do not rely solely on clicks or ad spend if you want sales or conversions]
  • Look at why campaigns are succeeding/failing and determine the root cause so you can resolve issues. [when optimizing campaign activity, it’s essential to review and learn from past performance to improve future results.]
  • Keep in mind that humans are attracted to colour and visual elements. [in our experience, we find yellow & green to be most appealing for ad tech managers, but test your own brand colours and designs against the ones you think work best]

Is International Programmatic Advertising Safe?

The beauty of programmatic advertising is your brand can quickly appear across millions of sites and rack up billions of branded impressions across the globe; however, this does come with risk. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure your team is taking steps to ensure a clean campaign that will not tarnish your brand image, avoiding your ads appearing next to inappropriate or illegal content.

Buying programmatically can mean that you are buying large inventory groups via third-party ad exchanges rather than directly from a trusted publisher. This means that there needs to be a level of trust between buyers and sellers to resolve any problems amicably. There are safety nets in place to help ensure your ads appear on appropriate websites, but they are not infallible. Consider using private, trusted deals if you are a highly sensitive brand.

Look for agencies that provide transparency around inventory sources and where they stand on keeping brands safe from harmful content.

Transparency will help you better understand what inventory your ads will appear against.

Can you buy premium inventory through programmatic technology?

Yes.

Premium inventory is defined as exclusive, guaranteed ad space sold at a premium (i.e., above the market rate) through direct deals.

What is the best programmatic advertising platform?

What is the best programmatic advertising platform? - Programmatic Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
What is the best programmatic advertising platform? – Programmatic Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Your media agency should help choose a platform to deliver you the best digital marketing results.

Let’s take a look at some of the leaders:
AdForm offers a suite of products, including display, video, social and native advertising. Some of the formats you can find in Adform are: banner ads (text/image), interstitials, rich media ads (native ad networks, video).

Teads offers an array of formats for advertisers, including video (mostly out-stream), native and CTV (Connected TV). You can access their inventory through a private marketplace or run programmatic campaigns directly.

AppNexus describes itself as an ” open platform for programmatic buying “. It provides access to inventory across more than 600 ad exchanges and boasts access reaching 700M unique visitors a month.

Google DV360 is a DSP in the Google Marketing Platform that is built upon DoubleClick Bid Manager. It offers a range of formats, including in-app native, mobile web rich media, display ads using DoubleClick Studio templates, and YouTube masthead ads.

MediaMath is a DSP that allows you to buy programmatic ads and an extensive range of inventory and formats, including in-stream video, interstitials, display advertising, banners and so on.

Demandbase aims at B2B companies and offers to target by company name, industry and job title for marketing professionals.

TradeDesk offers access to inventory across a wide range of ad exchanges and supply-side platforms. It provides a range of formats, including standard banners, mobile ads, video ads, social media and Instagram. It uses data points and machine learning across the programmatic ecosystem to target audiences cost-effectively. The Tradedesk only works with media agencies.

Matomy is a global performance-based marketing company that operates as an ad exchange for publishers and a DSP for advertisers. It offers a wide range of formats across display, video and mobile. Matomy is close to an ad network.

Criteo is an advanced retargeting platform that claims to access over 700 million consumers worldwide. It offers a range of ad formats, including native ads, social media, banners, and product listing ads (PLAs).

Wrap-Up

As part of the management team, ask hard questions. The investments made by your team and their agencies will impact your bottom line.

If you found this information helpful, please let us know. We can provide a customized strategy for your brand that is tailored to the way your customers think and behave. Our team of experts are ready and waiting to work with you. We develop effective international programmatic media strategies to generate sales by using the power of human behaviour at each stage in the buyer journey funnel from the first impression through to conversion.

Check out our other services:

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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Blog Tourism

How to Promote your Destination to Travellers with Digital Advertising

how to promote your destination to travellers with digital advertising

How to Promote your Destination to Travellers with Digital Advertising

As a travel company, it can feel like you have to do something new all the time. We explore some of the basics of promoting your destination to attract visitors with digital advertising.

Advant Technology is a digital agency that has serviced many travel brands, both private and governmental organisations.

We thought we’d share a few ideas so that you as a travel brand can take some tips we have learnt and apply them in your tourism marketing.

The Covid Pandemic’s Impact on the Travel Industry

A note on the pandemic.

The travel and tourism industry is massive, well, it used to be.

Today, we sit and wonder, will the travel and tourism sector ever be the same again?

The global tourism market has clearly been hit one of the hardest, and as a result, fewer ad dollars have flowed from the travel industry, the returns just wouldn’t be there through 2020 and 2021.

International travel is not as easy as it once was, in fact, it can be highly complicated. Business travel has also dipped as zoom meetings have become the new norm, an area that is unlikely to be as big as it once was.

Today brands need to keep their pulse on travel restrictions and do what they can to efficiently reach audiences, but a positive ROI on digital ad spend is harder, so you should really think about whether it makes sense to do any kind of paid media until things begin to open up or only promote to prospects who can travel freely to your destination.

Why should you use digital advertising?

Digital ads are easy for people to find online, they’re fast, they’re flexible, and they give you access to huge audiences across search engines, social media platforms and video sites.

They also allow us as marketers to be creative with our content by using different types of formats such as images or videos, which are great for storytelling.

Digital advertising will allow you to reach people at the perfect time with the right message – all based on your traveller’s location, intent and interests.

You can attract new travellers by showing prospects your destination in a way that is relevant to them. It will help you increase your brand awareness amongst prospective customers who may not be searching for a destination at all or, on the other hand, they may be actively looking for their next holiday (in-market audiences).

Who is responsible for country marketing?

The role of a DMO, aka Destination Marketing Organisation, is to get tourist traffic across the regions by implementing a range of marketing strategies sustainably.
As a DMO your task is to encourage visitors to come to the subject country and provide them with any relevant information about the region.

Why is country marketing important?

Successful country marketing can greatly benefit the local tourism industry, including restaurants, entertainment sites, hotels, airlines, local transportation, car rental firms, tour operators, and other sectors. This increases spending in your country, helping boost the economy and allowing you to share your great culture with potential visitors.

I’m a country or destination marketer. Where do I start?

The first way you can increase your chances of success is to identify the ideal traveller for you.

Keep the target audience front and centre

Remember, your ideal traveller is someone who will spend the most in the areas of the country where you want to increase tourism. Potential visitors should:

  • Spend more nights in your destination
  • Spend more per day
  • Be eco friendly
  • Spend time and money in areas with lower tourism

Begin by understanding how they travel, what they value and where they’re most likely to be spending time online, this will allow you to tailor your marketing campaigns specifically for them.

Be specific about your target audience

Finding out which platforms are being used by your target market is also helpful. According to ComScore, the top digital ad tech platforms by the unique audience at least once per month were Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter and Google Search.

As a DMO, you should also have a deep understanding of the decision-making process, in normal B2C marketing, this is called the purchase funnel, but as DMOs do not sell anything directly, the process is slightly different.

By implementing a proper buyer journey research and analysis of your buyer, you will better understand the 5 stages of decision making they go through before making a purchase.

From here, you can map the digital channels to the stages of buying and then create a messaging framework.

Different messages, different channels for different stages of the funnel, each with different objectives and KPIs.

Travel Decision-Making Process
Travel Decision-Making Process

Travel decision-making process – Identify critical moments on the booking journey

Understanding the travel customer experience is essential to marketing professionals in the travel/tourist sector.

  1. Dreaming: Who doesn’t love to dream about where they’d like to travel next? Creating informative and inspiring content to help inspire them to start planning their next trip! KPIs include reach, impressions, viewability.
  2. Researching: In this stage, travellers will be gathering as much information as possible. They want the best deal for their money, so it pays to have. KPIs in digital advertising include: Clicks, CPCs and dwell time.
  3. Planning: This is where travellers could use your help! You can provide them with all the information they need to plan their perfect adventure. KPIs include: Clicks, CPCs and dwell time.
  4. Booking: You’re now in the money! Now that your traveller knows where they’re going, they need to find somewhere to sleep. KPIs include Average Order Value, Average Conversion Rate.
  5. Experiencing: When they arrive at your destination, you want them to have the most memorable experience! You can achieve this by providing engaging experiences tailored to their specific wants and needs.
  6. Sharing: Travellers want to share their extraordinary experiences with friends and family. Driving organic sharing is excellent because it’s totally free branding. KPIs include Reach, Average Shares.

Know which devices they use and when

The trip booking process often takes many touchpoints across desktop devices and mobile devices. Consumers will switch between devices during different stages of the buyer journey. So make sure to get a deep understanding of those touchpoints so you can plan how you will use the content online to maximise the effectiveness of your tourism marketing strategy.

Digital Marketing Channels to Use When Promoting a DMO
Digital Marketing Channels to Use When Promoting a DMO

Digital marketing channels to use when promoting a DMO

By understanding your target audience and the channels they are using, you can create targeted campaigns that will inspire travellers to start planning their next trip.
We’ve distilled a few options that you might want to try, in order to inspire travellers to start planning their trip to your destination.

  1. DIGITAL OUT OF HOME: You don’t need to limit yourself to traditional forms of advertising like billboards or bus ads– try something creative and give programmatic Digital Out of Home a go.
  2. VIDEO CONTENT: Video is a highly engaging form of content, so it makes sense that we use it in our marketing. With video, you can show people who you are and what makes your country great, do this by focusing on experiences.
  3. ADVERTISE ON NEWS SITES: Online advertising is a great way to tell your audience that you exist and can be done at scale using programmatic advertising. We’ve seen far greater reach and engagement with programmatic ads than social media. Don’t just use the same old ads on all of your platforms. Tailor each ad to a specific platform and demographic, so you’re sure you get the most return for your buck!
  4. BUY ADS ON SOCIAL NETWORKS: Social media sites are great places to post ads. They provide reach, engagement and excellent targeting.
  5. BUY ADS ON TRAVEL SITES: Travel sites like Kayak, Expedia and TripAdvisor are all great places to buy online ads for your business. It’s also worth signing up to Google Adwords so you can post ads on other platforms like YouTube or Gmail.
  6. TRY CONNECTED TV ADS: This is an especially great idea for DMOS who want a more immersive digital format. What about programmatic audio ads? Heard of those?
  7. ONLINE ADS IN MOBILE APPS: Showing your ads in mobile apps helps you get in front of an on-the-go audience that are constantly using their devices for entertainment and information.

What creative should I use?

Depending on the audience you want to reach, you might use different types of creativity. Gone are the days of showing a couple of travellers laying on a pretty beach, today travellers are looking for memorable experiences.

Here are some ideas:

  1. VISUAL: Creative is a must for digital advertising because it grabs people’s attention quickly and effectively! The more engaging your ad, the better.
  2. VIDEOS: Video is a must for digital advertising because it grabs people’s attention and can be used to give all kinds of information about the destination informing your target audience in a short amount of time. You can show potential customers exactly what it’s like to experience your destination, which could just be the thing they’re looking for.
  3. EMOTIVE STORYTELLING: Don’t just sell yourself – give your potential travellers a taste of what they can expect and why they should visit you!
  4. HUMOUR: Of course a little light-hearted fun is always good for engagement and branding.
  5. RIVETING STORIES: Sharing stories can help to show personality.

Can I use UGC (User Generated Content)

100% as long as you have permission.

Sometimes UGC feels more organic and authentic, which will help you build trust. Look for hashtags from people who post content from your destination. Ask permission to use the content, and get the original high-resolution video and files.

Digital Ad Metrics to Monitor
Digital Ad Metrics to Monitor

How do I measure success?

Measure your ROI ! That’s how.

The bottom line is, you want to know if the money you’re spending on digital ads is worth it or not, so use those metrics! Here are some metrics you can monitor:

CLICK-THROUGH RATE: How many people click through to your website after seeing an ad? The higher the CTR, the better.

WEBSITE VISITORS: How many visits did you receive as a result of an online ad?

ENGAGEMENT: How engaged is your audience? Are they watching your video, or reading your blog?

IMPRESSIONS: How many times was your ad displayed to a person online?

SOCIAL SHARING: How often is your content shared on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook? More shares equal more brand awareness!

REACH: How does your ad reach target audiences? Is it young people, older people, families? Knowing this helps you better understand which kinds of ads work best with different people.

BRAND RECOGNITION AND AWARENESS: Have people heard of your brand? Have they seen your ads? High brand awareness can literally translate into revenue for you! Perform a brand research study before, during and after.

PPC IMPRESSION SHARE: How high is your share of ad impressions?

BRAND RECALL: When you’re advertising, do people know it’s coming from you, did they remember your ad and did it help to drive consideration?

VIDEO COMPLETION RATE: How much of your video was watched? The higher number, the better.

There’s a lot involved in measuring success, and it can seem overwhelming at first, but that’s what we’re here for! We’ve developed an extensive set of metrics to help you measure everything from social media engagement, website traffic and opt-in rates so you can optimise your digital ads and see what works best with your target audience.

Should I focus on brand recall or brand consideration?

Focus on brand awareness and consideration for your destination marketing efforts. Consider that you’ll want to focus on different goals at different stages of the buyer journey.

Branding Objectives

Brand recall: basically reflecting how well a consumer can recognise and identify a brand or product from seeing or hearing an ad, logo, name etc.

Advertising consideration: this one is more difficult to achieve. This is when an individual has taken the time to consider your destination before they do their next vacation or holiday.

Your goal should be to get your message out there in a way that stands out from the noise and establishes brand recall.

To do this, you should focus on building a better last impression. Here’s how:

  1. Don’t have a generic ad that could be from any other company in the world. Use pictures and images unique to your destination/destination marketing organisation.
  2. Make sure all of your ads include a logo or brand name. Having your logo in an ad is more important than the picture you use.
  3. After people see your ad, remind them about you again. Use catchy call-to-action headings that will stick in their mind, and then run a new ad with that heading and logo or brand name.
  4. To build familiarity with your brand, use the same logo or visual across all of your ads. You can even create a colourful background that makes you stand out against other advertisers.
Digital Advertising for Travel Brands and Organizations Word Cloud
Digital Advertising for Travel Brands and Organizations Word Cloud

Conclusion

There are many digital advertising tools out there, but not all of them will work for your destination.

You should pick the ones that best suit your goals and target audience. Remember- the more you test, the better chance you get results!

We are experts in travel marketing, having worked with Destination Canada, Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Tunisia National Tourism Organisation, Greece National Tourism Organisation and many other national and local tourism organisations.

If you are a travel brand or a country or destination marketer and need help creating a digital ad campaign, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us your RFP, and we’ll respond with a well-crafted media plan.

Whilst Advant Technology is headquartered in the UK, but we help brands globally, so don’t be afraid to ask us if we can help you in your target market.

MORE TO EXPLORE

Digital Marketing Tourism Agency

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

Free Paid Media Review

We are a world-class programmatic marketing agency that can generate more sales and leads for you. Leave your email address, we will contact you for your free paid media review.

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B2B Blog

Building B2B Brand Awareness Across the Buyer Journey

B2B_Brand_Awareness_Buyer_Journey

Building B2B Brand Awareness Across the Buyer Journey

Are you a B2B company looking to grow your brand awareness?

The way B2B buyers make decisions is changing. Brands need to understand how they can best engage them along the sales cycle.

Digital channels have become the most influential way of doing this.
Brands that don’t embrace digital-first risk being left behind as this change is exponential.

The buyer journey has changed significantly in recent years, with buyers becoming increasingly self-sufficient when making complex business buying decisions.

They are shifting from being influenced by salespeople to being influenced through digital channels, and brands that don’t embrace a digital-first approach are at risk of being left behind as this change is happening at an exponential rate.

This means that companies must take into account what makes each channel unique in order to provide value across the entire buyer journey – not just during the purchase process but also before and after too!

It’s no longer enough for brands to be present on these channels; they need to create content that resonates with their audience so they can build trust and authority within their market sector.

Buyers want helpful information which speaks directly about their pain points or challenges – if you can demonstrate clearly how your product or service will help them overcome these issues, then you’re onto a winner!

Brands must engage prospects and customers at a personal level; you must understand them, share their pain points and demonstrate clearly and personally how you can help.

This more emotive buying attitude is what B2C brands have always done well, and now is the time for B2B brands too to embrace this approach; the thing is, that’s not easy, and it needs to be done across the whole buyer journey.

Unfortunately, when it comes to marketing efforts many businesses, only focus on generating leads. This is true of large companies and other businesses that are market challengers.

The reason is that such demand generation efforts provide more immediate results; it’s easy to buy leads on a CPL basis and get valuable information in front of purchase decision-makers; however, this isn’t going to generate trust.

A B2B must also address its target market through valuable brand recognition tactics; a hybrid approach with a well-balanced media plan is normally best.

We explain why with actionable insights, sit back, relax and read on.

Crafting B2B Brand Awareness Across the Buyer Journey

The future of B2B buying is changing; brand advertising needs to adapt.

In order to be part of this new age of digital-first buying, B2B brands need to shift their mindset from ‘push sales messages’ to building trust with prospects through online brand awareness. But many salespeople are still stuck in the past, operating under the assumption that more calls, more emails and more sales meetings will do the trick.

The truth is that business customers are spending less time when making complex buying decisions, and B2B brand advertising has never been as important.
In order to build a strong brand, valuable content marketing as a stand-alone approach isn’t enough. Sure, that’s good for search engine optimisation / organic traffic. Your marketing strategies need to be complemented with a digital media first approach, which includes building brand awareness and standing out from the crowd through paid campaigns, third-party sites and social media channels.

The results of recent campaigns run by Advant Technology show that when companies increase their digital presence through holistic online branding, leads grow faster than when they don’t.

This demonstrates the significant impact building a strong online presence can have on B2B lead generation.

B2B buying is a collective decision

Keep in mind that you are speaking to a collective group of people. It’s not just about getting your name in front of that group; it’s about influencing how they feel about you.

To succeed, you’ll need the collective perception of the company to be positive, trustworthy and relatable. That way, your target audience is more likely to buy your product or service.

Remember: people buy on emotion, not on logic. The more you can get them interested in your business and its products and services, the more likely they are to consider purchasing it.

B2B user journey analysis

Example of a Buyer Journey Research

Deconstructing the right brand building approach for your company starts with a user journey needs analysis, which should form part of any successful marketing strategy. Before you do anything else, make sure you understand what it is that makes a good digital campaign that aligns with your brand’s objectives. Question everything down from the activities involved to the reporting and analytics. Keep it lean, easy to measure and communicable.

Start with a buyer’s journey

Buyer_Journey_Research
Example of a Buyer Journey Analysis

Think about what makes you, your brand and your product unique in a sea of competition.

  • What will make potential customers choose you over a competitor?
  • What will make your existing customers stay?
  • What is the USP that sets you apart?

This is not just related to product or service, but also in terms of the overall company values, vision and goals. It would be best if you focused on the areas where your brand has a competitive advantage and how your product is more innovative than your competitors.

Advant Technology works has proprietary technology mapping the buyer journey with close attention built around data science and custom algorithms to decipher what’s most important to your customers. This then helps form the foundation of your marketing strategies.

Key areas of focus should include:

  • Understanding the buyer journey and stage in the buying cycle
  • Identifying potential pain points and problems your buyers are facing. How can you help them solve these problems?
  • Defining a target audience
  • Alignment of content with customer’s needs, goals and objectives. Not just product features
  • Audience targeting based on behavior, company goals, objectives, positioning and intent
  • Digital paid media campaigns need to be performance-driven with strong analytics
  • Keep it simple with clear marketing messages around benefits over features

To achieve this, it is important to know the answers to the following questions:

  • Who is involved in the buying process? (i.e. C-suite)
  • What do they value? (i.e. price, security, speed)
  • How does that change throughout the process? (i.e. awareness, consideration, preference)
  • How does this shift affect the types of messages & messaging they respond to?
  • What platforms do they use to access information about your products/services?
  • What are their pain points, both in and out of the process?
  • How can you address these issues?
  • When is it appropriate to engage with them?

Many companies make the mistake of jumping straight into paid media campaigns without first mapping out their buyer’s journey and building the right content marketing strategy.

Mapping out the buyer’s journey is an effective way to understand where your audience is in the market, what they’re looking for and how they interact with your content.

It’s important first to define your brand positioning, set out your vision and develop a comprehensive digital paid media plan that serves as a guide for all other marketing efforts, including PR, events, content and social media marketing. Also, don’t underestimate the power of showing the human side of the business through testimonials and customer stories.

Our USP in B2B branding

When you have a good understanding of your USP, it’s time to look at a brand awareness campaign. It would help if you reached prospects at different stages of the buying process.

In the awareness stage, prospective customers need to know about your company and product offering as the first point of contact.

In the consideration and preference stages, prospects start comparing brands to see who fits their needs best. Once they have made a decision for a specific brand or supplier, in the purchase and delivery stages you should keep them loyal by delivering on your promises.

To create strong brand awareness, you need to make sure your online presence is consistent across the different channels (paid social media, organic search & display advertising, third-party sites and blogs).

You can’t expect prospects to visit all of these places, but it’s important they understand who you are when they come across your brand.

With an efficient DSP (demand-side platform) you can control the frequency of messages in paid advertising and leverage remarketing to move buyers through a sequence of content messages that will drive your audience from awareness to lead (MQL), and finally and hopefully SQLs and sales.

What content do I need for B2B branding?

One of the most important aspects is creating quality content that presents value for the reader.

It should be free, educational and relevant to your target audience. This could include videos, infographics, blogs/thought leadership pieces, eBooks & whitepapers, webinars & seminars. Make sure you have a consistent look across all your content – through colours & logo placement for easy recognition online. All of this falls within your content marketing strategy.

If you want to increase brand awareness and brand perception, your website needs to be more than just a place of transactions and delivery of content.

It’s also a marketing hub where you can build trust, show expertise and generate leads from inbound traffic. It would be best if you created specific landing pages for ad campaigns so visitors know exactly what they’re looking at and you can track the return on your investment.

Brand awareness strategy

Consistency of message – Your unique selling proposition, go-to-market strategy and personas are key messages that need to be communicated consistently through all your marketing strategies.

Optimise your website – Aim for your website to rank (organically or through paid advertising) for the right keywords and have a deep understanding of search intent so you can create content that resonates with prospects at each stage in their buying process.
Target audience – You need to understand who you’re aiming to reach and the channels they use when researching products or services online.
Share of voice – You can’t expect prospects to come across your website by chance. It would help if you were where the search is taking place by anticipating what they are looking for, when and where.

This could be through creating content on third-party websites or social media platforms, joining relevant groups and communities online or using paid advertising depending on your industry and market. Think about where you might be able to repurpose existing content as part of your long term brand-building strategy and whether you have any internal spokespeople who could be put forward as industry experts at events.

Best marketing channels to build awareness

Social media content is an important part of increasing brand awareness as it allows you to reach specific audiences and get an insight into how they interact with certain types of content. It also enables you to see what’s trending, create conversations around topics that interest your prospects and engage with influencers in your industry.

You need to understand where your audience is in the buyer’s journey and what content they engage with most.

If you’re reaching prospects during the consideration and preference stages of their buying process, social media is the perfect place to share information, provide insight into problems you solve and keep prospects engaged with your brand. Below, we dig into a few examples of social channels where and how to use social to reach decision-makers.

LinkedIn ads

LinkedIn has been known as an effective platform for generating awareness around buyer personas – it’s great for reaching decision-makers in your industry, sharing relevant content about topics that matter most to your audience and engaging with other professionals in your industry.

It’s also a great platform to attract new customers, or if you use video formats, it can be a great platform showcasing your brand story.

PPC & Google ads

Google AdWords is an effective paid channel for B2B marketers because it allows you to reach audiences based on keywords & intent data. For example, if you’re conducting research into cloud solutions for your company, you’d want to target your ads only at people looking for information on cloud platforms so you can increase the number of leads in your pipeline.
It enables you to reach a highly relevant audience based on interests, intentions and behaviours, meaning the right people see your ad at the right time.

Programmatic ads

Example Programmatic Display Ad
Example Programmatic Display Ad
Example Programmatic Display Ad
Example Programmatic Display Ad
Example Programmatic Display Ad
Example Programmatic Display Ad
Example Programmatic Display Ad
Example Programmatic Display Ad

Programmatic ads can be an effective way to reach a very specific, relevant audience that has expressed intent around the types of products or services you offer.
An effective way to use them is through a combination of programmatic & organic channels, as it provides you with total control over how much traffic is coming from each source.

For example, you can use data around intent behaviour to create highly relevant ads in programmatic display, native and video advertising; you can then use analytics tools to see how many of them went on to make a purchase and what conversion rates are, which helps you understand how your paid ads contribute to the success of your overall marketing program.

Some platforms you could consider for getting your firmographics, and intent data is Bombora, Dun&Bradstreet, 123 Push and Stirista.

Combined with a strong understanding of your customer, great content and targeted data, programmatic typically outperform due to its cost efficiency and scale. It’s a robust channel that many marketers don’t leverage.

Try a mixture of video native and display formats for maximum reach and A/B test using a controlled experiment. It’s a great way to reach your audience through different types of content formats, and it enables you to test which ad units work best for the audience you’re trying to target.

Remember that since many B2B sales cycles are 6-12 months, you must stay active throughout the journey; an on / off approach won’t be effective in nurturing your customers.

When it comes to B2B marketing strategy, paid ads need to be tailored to specific personas at the different stages of the buying process. Brand awareness is not only helpful at the top of the funnel; it’s important across all B2B marketing.

Reporting on brand awareness & measuring success

If you want people to know about your organisation, you need to tell them about what you have and keep them updated. This can be a first step in getting people interested in your brand and will show what kind of company you are.
When this is done right, it can provide value and resources to people before they even contact you.

It’s important to use analytics tools to measure campaign performance and ROI so you can justify how your advertising efforts are generating results for your business.
You want to see which channels and types of ads are most effective so you can dedicate the majority of your budget to those options.

In order to do this, you need to have a clear understanding of your key performance indicators, so you know what’s working and what isn’t.

Use analytics tools & reports to see which channels are most effective for generating brand awareness and other top-of-the-funnel metrics, such as web traffic and total conversion rates.

Wrapping it up: brand awareness

B2B_Brand_Awareness
B2B Brand Awareness

Let’s summarise this article:

  1. Brand awareness ensures that people are aware of your business, its products, or its services. This is not only helpful at the top of the funnel but also across all stages in the long run.
  2. The buying process for B2B organisations is long and requires consistent messaging over time to nurture prospects through their journey. Thus, it is important to be active over the long run through many touchpoints.
  3. The best way to create brand awareness is by using a combination of paid, organic, content and programmatic channels.
  4. Focus on specific personas at different stages in the funnel for your B2B marketing efforts, or you’ll lose traction.
  5. Digital advertising is the most effective way to create brand awareness due to its low cost, high scale and targeting capabilities. It can be used alongside other top-of-the-funnel tactics such as content marketing to ensure your brand gets maximum exposure over time.
  6. Reporting on brand awareness is important to generate results that justify your advertising efforts. It would be best if you used analytics tools proactively to measure campaign performance and ROI, so you can optimise your digital marketing budget.
  7. Never forget to A/B test ad formats, audiences and content types in order to maximise exposure for your brand awareness objectives.
  8. If you want people to know about your organisation, you need to let them know. Tell them about what you have and keep them updated. This can be a first step in getting people interested in your brand and its offerings.
Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.
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Blog Guide Video Advertising

CPCV Video Ads! Kick Charge Your Brand Awareness

CPCV Video Advertising

CPCV Video Ads! Kick Charge Your Brand Awareness

CPCV stands for “Cost Per Completed View”. It is a relatively new type of advertising that has gained popularity over the past few years.

As marketers, we’re all pretty familiar with cost per click (or CPC) and cost per thousand impressions (CPM) pricing. But what about CPCV?

What is it? And why should you care? This article will answer these questions and more to help you understand what CPCVs are all about.

When considering whether to buy online ads, be it display, native or mobile, you need to familiarise yourself with the various pricing models that are available in the paid media ecosystem. Most likely, you’ll need to use a mix in your marketing strategy to maximise the ROI of your digital marketing.

Shameless Agency Plug
If you’re an advertiser looking to get more completed views, more brand awareness and maximum impact with your marketing budget, reach out to our team. We run many CPCV programmatic campaigns for advertisers across the globe, helping our clients to purchase cost-effective video campaigns at the most competitive low CPVs in the industry globally!

Benefits of online video campaigns - Advertising - CPCV - Advant Technology
Benefits of online video campaigns – Advertising – CPCV – Advant Technology

How does CPCV work?

In short, advertisers only get charged when the video creative is served to the target audience and watched by that target audience to 100% completion or 30 seconds, whichever comes first.

The advertiser must brief the agency with the following:

  • Video Length
  • Market
  • Target Audience
  • Other metrics, such as viewability required
  • Budget
  • Timeline

The programmatic agency will then respond with a price per completed view.

CPCV ads work differently via Google Ads. YouTube has many formats, but the only format where you pay for completed views is their TrueView Format.

What is a YouTube TrueView format?

Youtube Trueview Format - Programmatic Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Youtube Trueview Format – Programmatic Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

This is a skippable video format that allows viewers to choose whether or not they want to watch the whole video. This means advertisers only pay when someone watches the video creative in its entirety (or 30 seconds). The TrueView format is a type of in-stream format.

Why is CPCV pricing important?

Video spending continues to grow at an unmatched rate accounting for over projected to be $148,018 million, according to Statista. With numbers like this, it’s no wonder why marketers are keen on finding new ways to earn exposure whilst minimising the risk of paying on an impression basis, whereby you pay no matter the completion rate of your video.

Benefits of online video campaigns?

  • Viewers are more likely to purchase a product after watching an online video campaign.
  • Video has the highest engagement rate out of any other type of ad format.
  • Video campaigns are more likely to result in higher brand awareness.
  • Advert recall is improved, especially when advertisements are paired with an image or text related to the product being advertised on screen.
  • Videos can be used to create a brand image or identify with an audience.
  • Video campaigns are an effective way to communicate complex messages, ideas or concepts.
  • You can track a video campaign’s performance with more accuracy than other forms of online advertising such as audio advertising.

As you can see, there are many reasons why you should be using CPCV video advertising in your marketing strategy. They provide a more engaging experience for the viewer.

What websites can I feature on?

Programmatic advertising allows you to buy across thousands of websites globally, anything from forbes.com to The Guardian to Vice News and everything in between. If you want to advertise on a specific domain/site, let us know, and we can cost this up for you.

Can I run on mobile apps?

Yes, especially in mobile gaming!

Can I buy CPCV ads in rewarded video advertising?

Yes!

CPCV ads are particularly prominent among rewarded video advertising, where you will also get an excellent share of voice of the mobile screen and excellent viewability.

Most rewarded ad campaigns offer the user some kind of reward for completing an action; sometimes, that action is watching a video to 100% completion.

How can I lower my CPCV?

To lower your CPV consider broadening the targeting or extending the time period. Consider adding more inventory to your mix, such as delivering across mobile desktop and also in-app and using a mix of in-stream and out-stream formats.

How do you calculate CPCV cost?

Total budget divided by the total number of completed views.

More Video Metrics to track:

Other Metrics: Should I care about viewability as well as completion rate?

Both are important metrics to look at.

Viewability measures how many impressions were served and displayed above the fold.

The definition of viewability can be found here: This becomes an issue if you’re paying based on views and your campaign is completely invisible because viewers didn’t scroll far enough down the page for it to load properly.

Completion rate takes into account whether or not your video creative was watched in its entirety, where viewability is whether the ad was seen or not. These metrics are important for brand awareness.

Viewable completion rate matters because both metrics are critical to tracking the quality.

Other Metrics: CTR Click Through Rate

Most clients usually have sales as their goal. They want a solid, but that doesn’t mean that success should only be clicks and traffic.

Video advertising can serve the purpose of increasing awareness which over time will help to increase the salience and therefore sales by nurturing audiences over the long term.

What is the average CPCV in rewarded video advertising?

$0.01 to $0.07 for mobile in-app inventory. This can be a very competitive rate for 100% in view and fully completed video ads, so you should consider using them as part of your video strategy.

Average Cost of CPCV Campaigns

Across open exchange inventory, expect to pay around $0.01 to $0.10. Note Advant Technology accepts payment in GBP, EURO and USD.

How does CPCV advertising compare to other models?

The CPCV model is not alone in the online advertising bubble, and they all have their own pros and cons. Let’s take a look at some other pricing models:

Where can I run CPCV campaigns?

We offer CPCV pricing to advertisers and agencies globally.

Cost-Per-Mille (CPM)

It is still used by most for video advertising, but paying for impressions on video advertising doesn’t guarantee the ad was viewed, only that it appeared, this is where optimisation towards completion rate is key.

Cost-Per-View (CPV)

It is another model which looks at ‘views’, but again, what counts as a ‘view’ is not set in stone. Generally, a CPV campaign will be priced on a video quartile such as:

  • 25% completion
  • 50% completion
  • 75% completion
  • or the number of seconds

Of course, the advertiser can expect to pay less for a CPV campaign compared to a CPCV.

Cost-Per-Action (CPA)

Models are performance-based, meaning an advertiser would get charged only if action was taken after watching the video.

This action can vary from a specific download or purchase but mostly benefits performance marketers and isn’t great for building brand awareness.

Cost-Per-Second (cost per second)

CPS is a time-based model and variation of CPCV, with the cost rising per second viewed.

This still doesn’t guarantee a whole video has been watched but can be more bang for your buck than the impression-focused models.

CPCV Video Ads! Kick Charge Your Brand Awareness - Advant Technology
CPCV Video Ads! Kick Charge Your Brand Awareness – Advant Technology

Wrapping it up!

The way we consume content has changed significantly, from mobile devices to social media, so many options make it hard to grab anyone’s attention anymore.

This is where CPCV comes in; CPCV advertising enables a guaranteed complete view.

There is no such thing as the perfect ad, so you need to test different pricing models until you find what works for your product/marketing goals.

A successful marketing campaign needs an arsenal of strategies: native, Facebook posts, tweets, prospecting, retargeting, performance, brand, search etc, the list goes on.

As mentioned earlier, CPCVs offer a more effective way of advertising compared to CPV because you pay only when the ad is viewed completely and successfully. Meaning you will get better value for your money by paying less on average per view or while still reaching your target audience effectively with relevant content.

So if you have a video and want to increase your brand awareness among your target audience, buying on a CPCV is the way forward. Reach out, and we can discuss setting up a campaign for you. Our CPCV campaigns start from around £1500 / 1800 Euros.

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Blog Native

Is Native Advertising Ethical?

is native advertising ethical

Is Native Advertising Ethical?

An increasingly popular form of advertising that has the prospect of influencing consumer behaviour more than traditional advertising.

Companies wanting to conduct a native ad campaign must know the various types of native advertisements and the ethical issues involved.

What is Native Advertising?

Native Advertising Definition - Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Native Advertising Definition – Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Content by brands that looks and feels like the regular news we read on the web. It typically appears on news publishers as a form of marketing where ads are paid for by an advertiser.
If advertising is content that looks and feels like other content, then perhaps the average user cannot distinguish it as an advertisement; this is a problem. Therefore, this is potentially unethical. We will address this in more detail but first, let’s get to the basics, including why advertisers use native advertising.

Advertising industry definitions

The Native Advertising Institute define it as:

paid advertising where the ad matches the form, feel and function of the content of the media on which it appears.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau IAB, another trusted source on online advertising, has a definition that can be found here.

Is Native Advertising Ethical - Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Is Native Advertising Ethical – Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Where can you buy native placements?

Ads can be bought from publishers directly or via a programmatic auction.

The Purpose of Native Ads

To promote awareness and drive sales for performance campaigns, the effects on consumer behaviour go beyond this.

Native advertising formats also seek to prevent users from turning to adblocking software for relief from irrelevant or obnoxious ads.

The Benefits

Benefits of Native Advertising - Are Native Ads Ethical - Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Benefits of Native Advertising – Are Native Ads Ethical – Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

They are designed to be more engaging than other forms of marketing. They may result in greater levels of brand awareness and engagement. Still, it’s essential advertisers recognise content should be clearly labelled.

There are many reasons for the increasing popularity:

  • It is efficient at targeting users who are likely to be interested in the advertised product or service. It can provide an effective and less jarring way to persuade consumers of a product or service benefit.
  • There is less motivation for the public to skip or block native ads than more invasive and forced ads. Forced ads can be deemed annoying, such as pre-roll video advertising.
  • They are designed to be less intrusive than other digital advertisements because they attempt to blend in with the surroundings in which they appear. As a result, users may find them less frustrating and more relevant than other forms of digital advertising.
  • They enable greater consumer choice and transparency, native advertising may help to build trust.
    Now, let’s dive into ethics which is the crux of this content.

Examples of native ads

madeformums.com - Native Advertising Example - Advant Technology
madeformums.com – Native Advertising Example – Advant Technology

Ethical native advertising

Ensuring audiences are aware that native ads exist is an integral part of protecting trust, transparency and honesty. This is especially true when advertising on journalistic sites such as news publishers.

Web users need to be informed and understand the difference between paid-for content and impartial recommendations or opinions, so a clear label is critical if you’re a publisher.

There are also concerns about ‘advertorials’—ads that masquerade as independent articles.

While such ads may be labelled as advertising, they are designed to look like legitimate content; thus, a conflict of interest is at play. Advertorials are also sometimes called branded content.

So, is native advertising ethical?

That depends, and our answer to that is, yes, as long as they conform to the necessary regulations ensuring it is clearly labelled.

The advertising industry needs to be held accountable. It must ensure that all the stakeholders within the supply chain of the delivery of native ads are doing their bit. Those stakeholders include.

1. The Advertiser
2. The tech platforms include SSPs, DSPs and exchanges.
The publishers This lack of transparency is a primary source of frustration, with users often labelling native ads as ‘deceptive’.

Marketers that seek to advertise their products through native should ensure they are transparent about their affiliations.

Types of native advertising / native ad units

  • Paid Search Unit
    These types of placements/units are search results. They are commonly highlighted in different colours. They are positioned at the top of the page before other search results on search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
  • In-Feed Unit
    These advertisements appear in the middle of social media or editorial content on platforms such as BuzzFeed and Facebook.
  • In-ad with Native Element Units
    These advertisements contain content meant to look like the editorial content around it.
  • Promoted Listings
    These advertisements are product listings that might appear on search pages and shopping websites. They are promoted by sellers such as Google or Amazon.

Ethical questions stakeholders should ask themselves

  • Transparency and honesty – Is it clear to the consumer?
  • Are labels easily visible?
  • Is it possible for consumers to differentiate between an advertisement and other content?
  • Editorial independence – Does the website or social media platform publishing native ads operate independently from advertisers?
  • Interference – Are marketers seeking to interfere with consumers’ website use?

The Future of Ethical Ads

While native advertising has been successful in the short term, it may be necessary for further improvements in transparency and ethical standards to remain effective long term.

Marketers should continue to work collaboratively with news websites and the ad-tech industry to promote accurate and ethical native advertising standards.

Conclusion

In summary, native advertising can be a powerful tool in the hands of marketers who are transparent and ethical. It is crucial to consider how your customers will react to it before using this form of marketing strategy for your business.

Suppose you need help planning an ethical campaign? Our international media experts can help strategise the best approach to ensuring trust and safety for your digital advertising campaigns.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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We are a world-class programmatic marketing agency that can generate more sales and leads for you. Leave your email address, we will contact you for your free paid media review.

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Blog Guide

CBD Digital Advertising Guide

CBD Digital Advertising Guide

CBD Digital Advertising Guide

This digital CBD advertising guide will help you with your CBD marketing strategy if you are a CBD business online. We take you through advertising restrictions from prominent digital advertising and social media platforms.

The CBD market in Europe is growing because more people accept products that have CBD.

CBD is experiencing exceptional interest across the world. According to the Brightfield Company, worldwide CBD sales are predicted to rise by 400% during the next four years in Europe alone.

According to Roy Bingham, the cannabis industry is expected to be worth $24 billion dollars by 2021, the co-founder and chairman of BDSA.

Cannabis advertising is changing and those changes are here to stay. You see, CBD is found in many different industries, including pharmaceuticals, personal care, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals. It comes in the form of edibles, CBD oils and sprays.

There is a boom in CBD brands and naturally, this is going to attract marketing talent. The US, as is often the case is ahead of the curve when it comes to CBD advertising, but that does not need to be the case.

Many brands use organic marketing techniques (i.e. no paid advertising), such as social media and SEO, these are both great in attracting your audience, and while organic is an important component of any marketing mix, paid media messaging plays an equal role, and we have seen excellent ROIs with online paid media advertising.

This article mostly focuses on paid advertising since this is what Advant Technology specialises in.

We think the best route for paid marketing of CBD products is through programmatic, it’s ahead of the curve, and the CBD industry needs to get on board as it enables CBD and Cannabis ads in a more open way with fewer advertising restrictions.

What is programmatic advertising?

Programmatic is a form of online digital advertising. It can include display ads that appear on mainstream websites or even audio advertising for brand awareness campaigns.

Today you can even buy connected TV ads via programmatic.

Let’s look at the more technical explanation of what programmatic advertising is.

Programmatic is the automation of digital ad buying. With programmatic, an algorithm sifts through vast amounts of data to determine which ads are shown where.

The goal is to deliver ads that are more relevant and effective than those placed on sites using traditional methods of buying online ad space.

This article applies to both programmatic advertising in Europe and the US.

The Basics

What is CBD?

CBD is one of the most common compounds found in cannabis and hemp leaves. It accounts for up to 40% of the plant’s extract and by itself, it apparently does not cause a “high” like THC but has its own benefits, as we will see shortly.

The list of conditions that can be treated with CBD is growing rapidly. So far, CBD has shown potential in the treatment of anxiety disorders, insomnia, arthritis, pain relief and many others.

This non-psychoactive compound may also decrease the symptoms of certain conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. The list is not conclusive at this point, but more research is being done.

CBD has become popular because people are looking for natural remedies. CBD is one of the most versatile compounds found in cannabis. The list of conditions it treats, as mentioned above, is growing rapidly. That’s why CBD products are becoming more popular.

However, the main reason behind the growth of CBD popularity is the fact that it’s legal in many countries. Marijuana or cannabis with high levels of THC are still illegal in many parts of the world.

CBD is widely available on the market because it can be made from hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC. This has allowed CBD to become one of the biggest selling products in the US.

What is Cannabis?

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa), popularly known as marijuana, is a plant that produces three different products: the leaves and flowers that can be smoked; the stems and seeds that can be used to make hemp fibre; and the oil from seeds which is used in cooking. Of all these products, it is usually smoked dried leaves and flowers that are called marijuana.

Cannabis is indigenous to Central Asia but grows in most parts of the world today. A hemp plant can reach a height of six metres, with palm-like leaves up to five or six feet long.

Cannabis is slowly being decriminalised in many parts of the world.

Does Programmatic advertising have restrictions on CBD & cannabis advertising?

Programmatic platforms are important for cannabis and CBD businesses because they help people who want to advertise their products. But there are other ways to advertise that can open up inventory on mainstream news and entertainment sites.

Digital ads that you see online are mostly bought programmatically. Some 85% of display ads will be bought via ad tech platforms. If you are advertising cannabis or CBD, make sure to use a programmatic system for your ad buying!

Programmatic systems are important for CBD & cannabis advertisers because they help people who want to advertise their products.

These types of ads allow businesses to engage with the right audience through the simplest, most efficient digital marketing channels. But there are other ways to advertise that can open up inventory on mainstream news and entertainment sites.

What are CBD ads?

CBD ads are advertisements related to the promotion of CBD products.

OK, so what problem does programmatic solve?

Ads being bought via programmatic platforms are typically more effective at reaching the target market. Programmatic buying also offers advertisers the ability to micro-target audiences based on their personal data, making it easier to reach a certain demographic without spending a fortune on ads.
So we know that programmatic can offer an alternative to social media platforms, but let’s take a deep dive into the policies of major advertising platforms and social media. Despite the fact that this area of business seems to be legal and profitable, most social networks have either restricted or continue to disallow CBD advertising. We did a lot of research on online advertising avenues. Here’s what we found.

Pinterest Policy CBD

Pinterest says:

We will allow ads for topical hemp seed oil products that contain negligible amounts of THC and no CBD and make no therapeutic or medicinal claims.

Taboola CBD Policy

The advertising of cannabinoids (CBD’s) is restricted.
Campaigns advertising the sale of CBD products need to comply with the following policies:

Facebook Policy CBD

Facebook has an increasingly older audience. Normally for eCommerce and performance campaigns, Facebook is an incredible platform for generating a positive ROI. The success of Facebook as a marketing tool is due to two things: its ability to attract a huge audience and its micro-targeting capabilities. In short, their policy can be summarised in this sentence.

We don’t allow people to promote CBD or ingestible hemp on Facebook. The update to non-ingestible hemp was made months ago.

Google CBD Policy

Google has several advertising solutions/channels including:

Here is Google’s policy:

Outbrain CBD Policy

Snapchat CBD Policy

Snapchat is a way to reach young people if you want to sell CBD products. It has the largest market for CBD products that are for people under the age of 30.

Snapchat does specifically refer to CBD or cannabis-related products; however, what we can establish is that Snapchat is not a good place for marketing edible CBD products, including gummies and supplements.

They also don’t allow smoking and vaping. You should not mention any health benefits in the ad creative or the landing page.

In these ads, you can have fun. But make sure that the ad meets the requirements. You should show lifestyle images to connect with people and make them memorable. You can mention CBD or hemp in your ad as long as you specify that it does not have THC in it, so you will be approved by the platform.

OK, so know that we know most of the key social media and native advertising platforms don’t allow CBD ads, let’s get back to programmatic.

How to run CBD compliant ads

First off, you must ensure you comply with the local laws in your country; typically, that means using data overlaid on the campaign, so you only reach 18+ audiences, + make sure you comply with other messaging rules and regulations.
You should look at both national and state laws. Dispensaries, for example, may want to geo-target their ads.
All states have rules about how you can market and advertise cannabis. You should know that there are some broad guidelines that apply to all of these states, which you should follow when making your ad.

  • Ensure nothing appeals to children e.g. the use of cartoons
  • Do not make claims to health benefits
  • Do not make false statements or misleading claims
  • You are not allowed to show product consumption
  • Do not use any testimonials or endorsements from celebrities or individuals or companies/organisations
  • Do not make reference to your competitors
  •  There must be a for adult use only label
  • Do not use pricing promotions

What are the US state laws regarding Cannabis advertising?

In some states, you must include a disclaimer about your cannabis ad. For more information, see this CBD article.

What ad formats can I run through a programmatic DSP for my CBD marketing?

Here is a shortlist of the advertising formats you run through a demand-side platform:

  • Banner CBD Ads – Static and video.
  • Ads usually appear at the top or bottom of a web page, sometimes both.
  • Interstitial CBD Ads – Video only
  • Rich Media Ads- Interactive experiences like games, offers, 3-D experiences etc.
  • Mobile CBD Ad Units – These are housed in mobile apps so the inventory is plenty.
  • Native CBD Ads – Content ads that look like organic content (blogs, news site etc.)
  • Video CBD Ads – Normally up to 30 seconds like but up to 15secs on mobile works best
  • Audio CBD Ads – Great for getting your brand heard in music apps and podcasts.
  • Connected CBD TV Advertising – Up and coming, big screen, very effective at telling your brand story.

CBD Web Landing pages

Like any e-commerce company, you want to ensure your landing pages are well optimised to increase conversion rate. There are many CBD businesses that have done a great job at streamlining the user journey. Do your competitive research, learn from what they are doing but don’t copy.

What targeting tactics can I use when targeting my CBD ads?

Here we explore some targeting techniques related to programmatic advertising:

1. Re-Targeting, retarget users who visited you
2. Geo-Fencing, very important so you do not advertise in a state or county that disallows CBD ads
3. Contextual Targeting
4. Lookalike Targeting
5. In-Market Targeting, only relevant if your item appeals to those demographics or psychographics
6. Behavioral Targeting, as the name implies, this technique focuses on targeting people who behave as you would expect for your market
7. Affinity targeting, related to your fan base. You create a page or group and market towards those specifically interested in your creation
8. Demographic Targeting, for instance, do not attempt to sell a grilled cheese sandwich at a hip-hop concert
9. Interest Targeting, similar to affinity targeting
10. Keyword Targeting, very important for Google Adwords
11. Topic Targeting, use this technique to target psychological groups or similar interests. For instance, you are selling a CBD product targeted toward people with insomnia you can target insomnia related topics from across the web.

Targeting is very important to your online advertising campaign. With all of these targeting options available, it’s easy to start getting very specific about your demographic and tailor your ads directly towards them. The trick is picking the right ones, so you are not wasting time and money instead in selling your CBD product.

Conclusion

CBD advertising is a new frontier for many companies. So much so that even Google Adwords does not allow CBD ads yet.

While the industry matures, there are plenty of options available to CBD businesses looking to advertise their brand.

Programmatic DSPs are an exciting way to target your CBD marketing campaigns across multiple channels at scale. Here are some helpful tips on how you can participate in this evolving market:

  • Only use reputable ad networks or partners
  • Have your ads approved by the network first
  • Commit to building great landing pages with clear calls to action
  • There are too many people out there pushing bad practices, do what you can to avoid them.
Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

Free Paid Media Review

We are a world-class programmatic marketing agency that can generate more sales and leads for you. Leave your email address, we will contact you for your free paid media review.

Categories
Blog Display banners

What’s the difference between HTML5 (animated) & Static Banner Advertising?

HTML5 vs static banner advertising

Battle of the Banners: HTML5 vs Static Banners Ads

HTML5 Banner Ads vs Static Banner Ads - Programmatic Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
HTML5 Banner Ads vs Static Banner Ads – Programmatic Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

As the world of technology takes off to new heights, online advertising is becoming increasingly competitive and diverse. Today, we take you through the difference between HTML5 & static banner advertising.

Banner ads have been around since the internet’s early days, and static ads were in line with the online speeds the tech could handle. With modern tech like 5G and faster internet speeds, animated display ads bring banners into the 21st century.
So, which banner is best? Depending on your goal, both static and HTML5 could be right for you. You need to think about three things:

1. Campaign objective – what do you want to achieve? Are you looking for brand awareness or performance advertising?

2. Message – What is the message you want to convey?

3. Budget – How much do you want to spend on your ad campaign?

Top 5 Benefits to HTML5 - Why use HTML5 instead of Static Ads - Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
Top 5 Benefits to HTML5 – Why use HTML5 instead of Static Ads – Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Why use a static banner ad?

Static, sometimes known as image ads, offer the chance to get a quick and simple message across, which can fit your objective if it’s a clear and concise one. They also allow you to do this without taking your whole budget.

Displaying just one image, their simplicity and lack of animation keep costs low as less time is needed to create them.

Animation is not always the answer. Depending on the placement of the ad, a user might only catch the end of the animation as they scroll down to it. If you have a capturing image and simple message, then a static ad could work a treat in prepping for this problem.

If you’ve created several banners, it may be worth trying out different configurations to see which one performs best. This will depend on factors like the layout, colours and message.

Turning your static ads into an image gallery or collage can also help keep costs down while giving you more creative freedom.

What is Dynamic Ad - HTML5 Banner Ads - Advertising 101 - Advant Technology
What is Dynamic Ad – HTML5 Banner Ads – Advertising 101 – Advant Technology

Why use an HTML5 animated banner ad?

HTML banner ads offer a more engaging user experience to display sound and motion. As they’re animated, they usually prevent people from scrolling past the advert without stopping – meaning that your message is seen by a higher number of viewers.

As we all know, it takes time and resources to animate an advert and achieve high levels, but you pay for what you get. This type of ad also allows the advertiser to create an interactive experience with the user – changing images, adding video clips and sound.

Static worked before, so why should I now choose an HTML5 animated ad? A significant drawback to static banners is their single frame giving limited options to let you get creative. As attention spans shrink, this creativity is crucial.

HTML code has overtaken the previous GIF and Flash formats to give even more fantastic options for your creativity through animation, images, and more. This step-up provides native support in all browsers, faster loading, and smoother animation.

This harmony makes for an overall improved user experience that seems more natural and grabs user attention in those vital first few seconds.

HTML5 banners also allow the advertiser to track their success. Data can be collected through tools such as Google Analytics to help understand what works and what doesn’t, resulting in more informed decisions on future campaigns.

The battle between HTML5 vs static banner ads is still raging as technology advances, and we become more creative with our online ad strategies. Using a bit of both will ensure you get the best results.

HTML5 Ads vs Static Banner Ads - Why use HTML5 Ads - Why use Static Banner Ads - Advant Technology
HTML5 Ads vs Static Banner Ads – Why use HTML5 Ads – Why use Static Banner Ads – Advant Technology

Top 5 benefits to HTML5 include:

  1. Eye-Catching
  2. Informative
  3. Interactive
  4. Multi-Device
  5. Easy Optimisation

Eye-Catching

As mentioned, a great campaign creative is now even more key in keeping up to 70% of your audience in the opening seconds.
With the option for animation, movement and colours combine to draw the eye to the ad natively. Movement in itself increases the chance of passing the ‘blink test’, which in advertising looks at how effective something is at catching the audience’s attention.

Informative

Where static ads are limited by size, they tend to cram in much information.

Instead, HTML5 ads utilise many frames, letting you creatively place more information with changing fonts, sizes, colours, and animations.

Interactive

Animation brings a new opportunity for interaction, as HTML5 ads improve click-through and allow users to use the ad almost as a mini web page.
For example, by clicking with arrows that choose between colour, product, or whatever you’re interested in promoting, a user can get engaged by doing more than just reading.

Multi-Device

Gone in a Flash. Flash script is dead, along with the need to have extra plugins. Instead, HTML5 requires no third-party plugins to view animations and allows the same ad to adapt to different screens, no matter the size.
This is more important than ever as we quickly switch between device and platform, hopping from desktop to tablet in a heartbeat. Everyone has their own preference, and many people use multiple devices simultaneously.

Easy Optimisation

Trends can crumble as quickly as they take off in the online world. Being able to update your ads easily keep them on the ball and dynamic enough to adapt to a quickly changing environment.

So, what’s the difference between HTML5 banner ads and static, and which should I choose?

The above outlines that it depends on budget, message, and placement. A static ad could give you the simplicity needed for its success and avoid some problems with HTML5 banners.

However, it looks like the future of online programmatic advertising is moving towards the creative powers of HTML5.

The smooth tech of HTML5 glides between devices and platforms, allows animation to give even more creativity, provides even more information, engages like never before, and can be kept up to date with ease. Features that static could only dream of, so you should consider it worth the extra buck.

What is rich media?

Sometimes html5 ads can be confused with rich media, let’s define.

RICH MEDIA: a marketing medium that features video or sound and is interactive. The user participates in the media presentation. Rich media can be either Interactive (browser-based) or Download-based (stand-alone).

The most popular programmatic display ad sizes in order are:

  1. 300×250
  2. 320×50
  3. 300×600
  4. 728×90
  5.  160×600
  6. 300×600
  7. 970×250

Note that banner sizes will vary by platform and market and ultimately depend on the publishers you want to target.

What is a dynamic creative?

A dynamic ad is an HTML5 banner that can serve multiple creative elements to address all types of audience interactions, such as click-through, hover-over, expand and more.

It allows you to be more relevant with your audience by serving the right message at the right moment. The ad creative should have multiple creative elements that adapt based on the target audience, e.g. different colours, messages and products.

Why use dynamic ads?

There are two key reasons:

  • Dynamic creative is more relevant and creates a better user experience.
  • Allows advertisers to control and automate their display campaigns and save time and money in the process.

Where can I find display guideline specifications for programmatic DSPs?

Your agency will help with the exact ad specs, but here is a pretty good reference from Google.

How does an HTML5 banner ad work on different platforms?

HTML5 ads can be rendered on any platform, including mobile, tablet, website or app. Because HTML5 ads are rendered in real-time, they can adapt to different formats required by the publishing platform. This flexibility allows advertisers to have one ad delivered across multiple devices and screens with optimum performance measured at both pixel level and device level.

Are static ads better for lower-funnel activity?

Generally speaking, if there is a place for this format, it’s at the bottom of the user journey where we are trying to convert the user.

Which format will deliver a better CTR / Click-Through Rate?

Most likely HTML5 as they are more eye-catching, this is certainly what Advant Technology sees in its campaigns.

Conclusion

Now you know why animated ads have gained in popularity over the years! Need help with your next programmatic display advertising campaign? Contact us today for expert guidance and tailored solutions.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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New Programmatic Agency? What You Need To Know

New Programmatic Agency onboarding

New Programmatic Agency? What You Need To Know

Hello digital marketer!

So you’ve decided to move a new programmatic agency. Congrats! We tell you what you need to know to make onboarding smoother for everyone.

If you are looking for a new agency to handle your programmatic advertising, this article is for you. We have created an in-depth guide on how to prepare yourself and your team with all the information they need to start working with a new agency.

This will help make the transition as smooth as possible.

By reading this article, you will understand what steps need to be taken to make sure that both parties are ready for programmatic advertising together.

An exciting time for your business; we hope that you are ready for the opportunities that lie ahead of you.

Processes

The first step in this process is client/agency onboarding, which means preparing yourself and your team with all the information they need to start working with a new agency.

Expert Opinion

This article has been created by the team at Advant Technology and being a programmatic agency themselves, they have first-hand experience onboarding many new clients every year.

Advant Technology works with many agencies; creative agencies, SEO agencies, PR agencies etc, not only brand/advertisers/clients directly.

This article’s information comes from expert opinion through many years of experience working with other agencies and brands/clients/advertisers.

Today, the team shares what they think you need to know when you begin working with the new agency of choice.

Advant_Technology_Programmatic

Factors affecting the scope of the onboarding

Naturally, every agency will have its own idea of onboarding clients, which will depend on the project’s scope. The things that are likely to affect the onboarding process are:

• Total budget – a bigger advertising budget will typically mean a more holistic onboarding process
• Timeframe – an always-on and long term contract/agreement will result in a more comprehensive onboarding
• Scope – the more extensive the scope is, the more critical it will be to have a comprehensive strategy
• The total number of ad formats required
• The goals and objectives of the programmatic campaign
• The number of ad creatives
• The size of the team required to support and facilitate the media plan
• Ad inventory – whether it will be open RTB exchange inventory, PMP or programmatic guarantee deals or a hybrid of all three deal types
• The number of DSPs (demand-side platform)
• Market research
• Audience targeting research
• Data plan – depending on the size of your data plan, you may need to find a DMP (data management platform) that matches it
• Location targeting research
• Device segmentation and match rate research – audience matching can be done using cookies or device IDs
• Demographic & psychographic profiles CRM list segments available for matching against audiences
• Compatibility with existing audience data
• Existing ad technology stack
• Types of creatives and ad tags available for insertion
• Analytics – types, platforms, integrations with existing infrastructure etc.

As we’ve discussed, onboarding is just the first step, but to understand onboarding better, let’s look at that from a bigger picture view so you can see what comes after client onboarding.

Programmatic Agency Onboarding Process
Advant Technology's proprietary approach, developed for our one of clients, Destination Canada in which we managed end-to-end planning and buying.

Marketing Goals and Campaign Objectives

Goals and objectives need to be defined before onboarding a client to understand the scope of what will be required to achieve those goals and objectives. There is a difference between goals and objectives. Let’s establish what you should be looking at at this stage.

Remember: Objectives should be measurable and actionable.

Goals can be unmeasurable, while objectives should have a specific structure to ensure they’re attainable and trackable.

For example, a goal could be to increase brand awareness among our target audience.
On the other hand, an objective would be to sell 100 units in 30 days at $50 each.

This type of objective is much more specific and actionable because it’s measurable and timebound.
Advant Technology likes to use SMART objectives as a framework

SMART objectives are:

Specific: what the desired result should be and measure whether this has been achieved in your campaign. It also makes it easier for everyone involved in carrying out the digital advertising campaign to know what the team should do.

– Measurable: a number attached so you can measure your progress throughout the campaign. You will not be able to assess whether or not your digital advertising strategy was successful unless there are measurable results at the end of the campaign.

– Achievable: it is vital to set an achievable objective.

– Relevant: Choose a relevant goal so there can be a direct correlation between what you are trying to achieve through digital advertising and the objectives that need to be defined at the beginning of this process.

– Timebound: an objective must be timebound because it is the only way to know that you have achieved your goal. This also makes it easier for everyone involved in carrying out the campaign (the agency and client, for example) to follow up on progress throughout this process.

Audience Insights / Research and Education

A process whereby the agency asks detailed questions about your market, your product/service, and the audience you are trying to reach. Thorough audience research is vital before the agency defines a strategy in reaching the target audience.

Know everything you can about your target audience in detail because paid media will not be successful if it does not reach its intended audience.

Programmatic Channel Strategy – Media Planning & Allocation

In this step, the agency will use audience insights from the previous step to plan media allocation and buy digital ads; this is your programmatic strategy. Media planning is a process where we determine placement, timing and budgets for purchasing ad space on various channels.

An agency may start by looking at your budget; how much you have available to spend over what period? Then analyse all relevant first-party data that can help the agency identify which advertising avenues will be most effective in reaching your target market with the message that resonates best based upon their demographics, psychographics etc.

For example, if an insight shows your potential customer base tends to purchase more during certain times of the year, such as Black Friday or specific days like Mothers Day, placing the ads within that timeframe would make sense.

Digital_Media_Plan
Example Digital Media Plan

Partner Strategy

Still part of the media planning stage, but rather than look at the channels, one should be looking at which partners are needed to execute the channel strategy.

Conversations and negotiations with DMPs, DSPs, Ad Exchanges, supply-side platforms or even RTB (real-time bidding) platforms to ensure the strategy is executed correctly. Additionally, it’s time to think of which specific publishers we can engage.

Lastly, reviewing third-party data can be applied inside the programmatic technology of choice to reach a particular audience segment.

Content Production – Brand Positioning / Creative Brief (Digital Advertising Campaign)

A brand positioning makes your company stand out from the competitors in the marketplace; it’s how you want to be perceived by potential customers and align with your marketing message(s). This step is where the agency will start creating ideas for ads that communicate these messages through photography or video, depending upon which platform best fits what needs to communicate.

For example, a pre-roll video ad may need to be different from a YouTube ad to an out-stream ad to an interstitial ad. They are all delivered differently, and thus their length/message may need to differ too.

Content production also spans across the landing pages. The ad’s landing page needs to be compelling and give value to the user. Why should they bother spending time looking at this ad?

The creative brief lets you see all these ideas come together in one document, so everyone involved is clear how it looks, feels, and sounds. Important because if there are any issues with production or timing, you want them sorted early rather than later. It may take longer depending upon each case.

Channel Usage

It involves making sure that everything has been planned out correctly from start to finish, it also ensures that all ad placements (website, mobile apps etc.) have tracking implemented. Hence, we know which platforms/channels are performing most effectively for us – again, data drives our marketing decisions. All assets should be adapted for their various channels.

Digital Channel Planning
Digital Channel Planning

Campaign Optimisation

Running a campaign involves lots of campaign optimisation. Progress should be tracked daily, so adjustments to media spend can be made if needed or refine messaging and creative based upon how the target audience responds. Just a few things to consider when are optimising a campaign are:

– The creative used in the ad. Does it match your brand? Is it engaging and exciting enough for people to click on?

– Your target audience, who is seeing these ads, and how often will they see them so you can better understand the performance of each one? Do certain demographics perform well or poorly compared with others? Are there specific times where an ad performs better than others (daytime vs nighttime)?

And what about locations? Do certain regions produce lower engagement rates than other areas such as cities or states within different countries that might be more receptive to this type of advertising, like New York City over small towns in Iowa? All of these factors should be considered.

– The key here is not just optimising within a specific ad but across all of them in order to get maximum results from each one being served at different times throughout the day or week, depending on what works best for your business goals.

Whatever direction you decide to take after reviewing these factors, make sure every decision aligns directly back towards improving performance and growing conversions rather than simply placing ads and hoping for the best.

• Consider removing specific channels that haven’t worked well or even introducing new channels. It might also be worth thinking about swapping out programmatic display for programmatic native or reducing programmatic spend and up-weighting publisher direct activity. There are lots of things that can be done. Some of them can be left to artificial intelligence. Others are more a manual process.

Continued Reporting, Analytics & Insights

Once the campaign has been running for a while, it’s time to take a look at what worked and didn’t work. The client should receive an end result report with clear insights into what worked best with their target audience as well as a section on next steps / future recommendations, including potential ideas for new campaigns based upon learning from prior ones executed within their brand strategy framework.

Marketing plans change over time, and agencies will need to be flexible and nimble in order for them to maximise their effectiveness.

Programmatic Video Report

Programmatic Video Report Showing Viewability, Completion Rate & Domain Reporting

Let’s take a look at other questions you might be asking in anticipation of finding a new programmatic partner. FAQs:

What is the structure of a programmatic ad agency?

Advertising agencies have different structures depending on the type of service they offer, whether that’s programmatic, web design or creative.

Programmatic agencies can vary in size and structure depending on the company, but structures are typically relatively flat, with many client service-focused roles that support programmatic buying. Programmers will also be members of this team as they play an important role in getting creative elements ready for integration into programmatic campaigns. Job functions may include:

• Campaign Managers
• Account Managers
• Ad Operations
• Media Strategist
• Business Director
• Client Services
• Creative Development
• Developer
• Analyst
• Media Planner

What are the benefits of programmatic advertising technology?

Programmatic ad technology has several benefits.

First off, it’s an efficient way to increase your target market by reaching the right audience at scale.
Additionally, programmatic media buying is an excellent way to measure the effectiveness of your ad spend and track KPIs such as conversions and ROI.

The technology allows companies to monitor important metrics like clickthrough rates (CTR) which is how often someone clicks on an ad that appears in their feed or landing page views for ads that direct users to a specific landing page.

Programmatic also has a dark side, with fraud being prevalent in the industry, so make sure you use ad fraud protection.

How should my agency report back to me?

The agency should be able to provide data on the performance of your campaign. They should have access to multiple dashboards that tell you information about impressions, clicks, and conversions. Tracking these elements will help give insight into what works well for a given brand or product and give an idea of where costs are being incurred.

Programmatic agencies should also be able to closely monitor the performance of your ads across different channels, including online display advertising.

Later, this information is fed back into future ad campaigns so that you can see how effective they are in converting users into customers or clients, depending on what it is you’re trying to achieve.

How can an agency make your programmatic advertising more effective?

When an agency runs programmatic campaigns, their goal should be to improve sales, increase brand awareness, and reduce costs. For an agency to achieve this, they need to follow these steps:
-First and foremost, the agency needs to understand the clients’ marketing goals.

-Next, the agency should determine if programmatic is a good fit for your marketing objectives.
– The agency will need to leverage their expertise so ask what level of service they’ll be able to provide, including campaign setup & testing as well as creative development services.

What services does a programmatic ads agency offer?

In a nutshell, they should be able to plan, buy, set up and execute a programmatic media buy, optimise and report back, and in the process, hopefully, return a positive ROI.

How much does a programmatic campaign cost?

The cost of programmatic advertising varies from agency to agency. Some agencies have a minimum spend requirement, while others may require you to commit for an entire campaign or even year, depending on the size and scope of your ad buy.

How do agency traders work?

An agency trader optimises programmatic campaigns; their role typically involves analysing data to ensure that the agency buys media at optimal prices. The trader will also be responsible for reporting on campaign performance and adjusting campaigns accordingly to meet specific agency KPIs, meaning they’ll have regular contact with agency management teams; therefore, traders should communicate effectively, both orally and in written form.

What are programmatic exchanges?

A programmatic exchange is a platform where publishers list their inventory to be purchased by advertisers using automated software platforms or algorithms called ‘smart bids’. So, this allows them to trade advertising space across multiple ad networks without being dependent on just one provider. Advertisers bid against each other for an impression which goes into an auction-style format where the bidder wins.

How do programmatic ad platforms work?

Programmatic advertising technology works by using a system of automated bids to buy ads at the best price. The whole process happens in milliseconds and delivers relevant messages to consumers across many different channels, including social media, mobile apps, audio, TV screens and billboards that are all driven through your chosen agency’s digital strategy.

What does it mean if an agency has a trading desk?

It means an agency has a specific team of programmatic specialists whose job is to buy advertising for its clients.

What does a programmatic analyst do?

They are responsible for running reports to track campaign performance and gather data used in future campaigns.
Should I own the programmatic technology stack?

Advant_Technology_Ad_Stack
Example of An Ad Tech Stack

It’s not always necessary to own programmatic technology, but it does come with benefits. This could be in the form of reduced costs, but your budget will need to be big enough. Generally, most DSPs require a minimum of $100k per month.

Should I leave my existing programmatic agency if I have issues?

Moving agencies is time-intensive, and as we all know, time is money. Try to find a solution first before making the switch.

It’s important to make sure you’re not leaving programmatic advertising before giving it a fair shot. Analyse what isn’t working and speak to other partners. The problem might not be the agency; it could be that programmatic isn’t right for you due to many factors, both macro and micro.

What programmatic agency should I choose?

There’s no shortage of programmatic agencies in today’s landscape. Choose one that will best suit your needs and programmatic approach. Make sure there is a good cultural fit, and they understand your business.

How long should my contract last?

This will depend on the scope of your campaign. You can opt for a long term commitment or just run one-off projects. Long term contracts (one year or more) is a commitment from both sides, from the client side a commitment in spend and from the agency side a commitment they will meet the services expected.

In the first instance, it may be better to run a few campaigns before entering into a long-term agreement.

Wrapping it all up.

Programmatic_agency_word_cloud
Programmatic Agency Process

 

When you are onboarding a new programmatic agency, be sure to have an open line of communication.

Be clear about your goals and objectives so that the team can set out on the right path from day one. That way, any potential pitfalls or missed opportunities will become apparent early in the process, and both parties will feel confident moving forward together into uncharted territory.

If there is anything our team has learned through our years leading digital marketing teams; its that effective partnerships take time and effort, but they’re worth every minute!
We hope this blog post has been helpful!

If you’re looking for a programmatic agency, we’d love to hear from you.

Picture of Ben Myers

Ben Myers

Ben Myers, CEO of Advant Technology. Programmatic advertising expert and all round digital strategist. Globe trotter, food fanatic, cocktail maker, car crazy, that's Ben. London born n bread, it was here where he gritted his teeth in the advertising world starting at Videojug.com and then moving onto Teads where he drove sales, publisher growth and ad operations. A regular speaker at trade events around the globe. Passionate about helping brands achieve their goals through digital advertising.

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