November 2017 - Digilant

2017 Holiday Shopping Insights & Stats for Marketers and Media Buyers – Infographic

Posted on 11/30/201704/21/2023 by Karen Moked

The results are in from America’s biggest shopping weekend of the year and the numbers are bigger than ever! According to Adobe, who predicted that Americans would spend $5 Billion this year on Black Friday, they actually surpassed that number in online retail sales reaching $5.03 Billion – up 16,9% over last year. This comes after the record $2.87 billion in online sales on Thanksgiving. Adobe analyses 80 percent of online transactions for the 100 largest web retailers in the country to come up with these stats.

Mobile Traffic Dominates Black Friday

This year, according to Salesforce 60% of traffic to retail sites came from a mobile phone device. This tells us that consumers are not just browsing on phones, as 42% of Black Friday orders were placed from a mobile phone. 2017 represents a huge shift to mobile and the first Black Friday where computers accounted for less than half – 49% – of all orders.

According to Adobe’s Revenue tracking index, on Black Friday, 54.3% of retail website visits and 36.9% of revenue came from mobile, with conversion rates for tablets up 13% year over year, and smartphones up 16.5% year over year.

With consistent mobile retail traffic and revenue since the beginning of the month, it’s time for all marketers to consider running mobile only programmatic campaigns. Because consumers have access to reviews, ratings, and suggestions at the tap of a button,mobile-driven micro-moments are grabbing the huge majority of consumer attention. It’s important to get in front of that consumer at the right time with the right ad, on their device of choice, and create a fluid and intuitive buying experiences – all the way from the awareness stage to the point of purchase.

Mobile is also transforming the in-store experience for customers. In-store shoppers search for information online while in-store. For the most part, they’re using search engines but consumers also head to the retailer’s own site or app. This presents a powerful opportunity for retailers to connect with shoppers, whether by sending them a special coupon or thanking them for coming into the store —mostly using the opportunity to prevent them from turning to the competition.

Getting Personal With Programmatic, 3 Buying Strategies for the Holidays – Infographic

Posted on 11/28/201702/02/2020 by Karen Moked

It’s that time of year when consumers are being bombarded with advertising from all their favorite brands plus all the other brands that are trying to capture their shopping dollars. For marketers, it’s the perfect time to work programmatic into your holiday media buying plans – so that you can reach specific audiences based on their current interests and behaviors. With programmatic the consumer gets a more personalized experience – the right ad at the right time – resulting in a much better chance of converting them into a paying customer.
There are a couple of ways that programmatic advertising ensures brands can meet the unique needs of their seasonal shoppers when and where it really matters.

1. Data

One proven method of reaching customers on their seasonal shopping journey is leveraging first-party data for digital ad campaigns. The modern shopping experience is across devices, locations and is always-on. Utilizing the data that’s gathered directly from customers often translates to more accurate targeting capabilities and insights to what your audience responds positively to. When first-party data is added to third-party data and insights, marketers can create a well thought out campaign to ensure that their customers are receiving offers that will positively influence their shopping experience, in the right place and the right time, rather than add to the noise of online advertisements. You can accomplish this by c onnecting your CRM data to your programmatic media buy.

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2. Geotargeting

Programmatic advertising can help customize the experience for shoppers in physical stores through geotargeting. By targeting consumers with ads bytheir geographical locations, including ZIP code levels, brands have the power to develop hyper-localized ads to fit consumers’ exact preferences. These programmatic campaigns offer flexibility to taylor relevant ads to specific audiences, using data and analytics to make the necessary tweaks to maximize your holiday campaign performance.

Advanced programmatic geotargeting can be especially useful for holiday campaigns when paired with dynamic creative. Serving in-store promotions or product-specific ads to consumers within the zip code of store locations, advertisers can target those users who would most likely convert. With programmatic geotargeting, marketers can combine audience data filters with location signals to deliver timely ads that resonate with shoppers looking for specific holiday discounts or a particular product. These ads allow retailers to provide helpful details to consumers such as whether a product is in stock at a nearby store.

3. Personalization

With programmatic advertising, you can remain agile and base your media plans on when, where and how your consumer wants to shop. You can offer shoppers product recommendations organized by the type of gift recipient – shoe lovers, sports fans, and more. Then you can personalize that offer with a coupon to their local store.
You can marry customization with automation and offer consumers a personalized experience, whether is be a product that they might be looking for or a piece of advice through a native ad on a preferred social platform. Social media will have a real impact on what people buy for their loved ones this year so marketers also need to consider social as party of their holiday media plans.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to capture the attention of your consumers this holiday season. Try getting personal with the right programmatic buying strategy. Talk to us at Digilant to get started.

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Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH): Bringing Back Billboards Using Ad-Technology

Posted on 11/27/201704/21/2023 by Karen Moked

By 2019 it is projected that $4.5 billion will be spent on Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising in the United States. This old but new again marketing tactic has the ability to reach mass numbers of people, at the right time, in the right place. It’s no wonder companies and agencies are investing their budgets in placing their ads on these banners, billboards and screens. We’ve put together everything you need to know about how DOOH works and why you should incorporating it into your programmatic advertising plan.

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Defined

Historically categorized as ‘traditional media,’ requiring media buyers to book months in advance, today DOOH builds on the the programmatic promise. These ads are no longer static and limited but are strategically placed LCD and LED screens that display digital content to consumers in places like bus stops, airports or on busy highways and are growing in number. Many also incorporate interactive features that allows consumers to involve themselves in the advertisement.

What are the Advantages for Digital Media Buyers?

The platforms for these advertisements are not unlimited like other digital ad channels, however, they are 100% viewable. No one can run ad-blocking software on a billboard or at a bus stop. This is a key advantage for marketers. DOOH advertisements have all the same features as online media, reaching the right target, at the right time, with the right message but with an advantage: you can guarantee people are going to see your ad.

Areas in which these ads are displayed use tracking to determine the demographics of the audience. Audience profiles are made up of information such as age, gender, income, spending habits, etc. When looking to purchase ad space, buyers choose where to place their campaign based on these profiles and set parameters based on target audience, budget and KPIs just like any other programmatic buying channel. As the campaign runs, marketers are given unlimited creative executions and can change the ad, in real-time, as different audience segments enter the area. Throughout the campaign, marketers are given reports on the success of their advertisement.

This new form of advertising shifts back to the early years of advertising: placing ads that demand attention in public spaces with high-foot traffic. DOOH ads reach high volumes of consumers but do a better job of engaging viewers through the unlimited creativity that can be incorporated. These ads can change in the space of a second, in order to ensure the right message is being showcased, at the right time, to the right people. DOOH unlocks countless advantages when added to your media plan.

How is it Being Used?

Major cities have been quick to jump into the DOOH market. New York, Paris and London are rapidly expanding their involvement while ensuring the content is engaging. Screens are being placed at bus stops, taxis, airport baggage claims, billboards, malls and other pedestrian epi-centers.

What’s Next for DOOH?

Interaction with consumers is improving as motion-censored screens are becoming more common in major cities. Technology is now able to recognize gestures as small as finger movements. Thee screens for DOOH ads are advancing and tracking capabilities are improving, leaving no room to skimp on the creative. Research into emotional recognition is in the works which will incorporate a new and even more targeted aspect into these already audience-specific ads.

9 Tips for Media Buyers to Minimize Ad Fraud in Programmatic Campaigns

Posted on 11/22/201704/21/2023 by Mitchell Carey

eMarketer estimates that U.S. programmatic investment will surpass 83 billion dollars in 2017, representing 73% of all digital ad spend this year. To ensure that this increase in spend is sustained, the industry needs to continue to improve the programmatic purchasing experience and eliminate problems such as fraud. According toad verification company Adloox, the numbers suggest that ad fraud will cost brands $16.4 billion globally this year, and that nearly 20 percent of total digital ad spend was wasted in 2016.

Companies that participate in the programmatic advertising ecosystem are most interested in banishing fraud and exposing bad practices. That is why companies like Digilant are bringing more and more transparency to the whole process, promoting regulatory improvements against cybercrime, trying to ensure that content appears in the appropriate spaces and the advertisers get the greatest return on their investments. It is the only way for ad-tech to continue to be a marketing lever in the digital economy.

The good news is that because of efforts from programmatic vendors fraud is now in retreat. The National Association of Advertisers of the United States calculates that the losses will be over a million dollars less than last year.

In order to help marketers minimize fraud we have come up with 10 tips that help them make safer programmatic investments.

9 Tips for Minimizing Ad Fraud

There are different measures that advertisers can take to make their investments more secure:

Search for personalized strategies. Each proposal must be adjusted to reflect your brand values and overall marketing KPIs.
Examine the context on the publisher pages. The analysis of the data of a web page can confirm that the content is relevant and suitable for your brand’s advertisements. Implement whitelists and blacklists, analyze user traffic and strengthen visibility criteria.
Use machine learning to implement audience targeting and then to safely expand the audience of campaigns by finding people that look like them.
Ask if they are willing to use only Ads.txt. This buying method confirms that each webpage uploads a file to its root domain detailing which SSP (Sell Side Platform – a tool that manages the programmatic advertising of a website) offers its inventory, its Placement ID and its relationship with that SSP. In this way, it is ensured that the information passed from SSP and the publisher ID is accurate. The publishers publicly indicate who is actually authorized to market their advertising space eliminating inventory fraud.
Prioritize programmatic buying in private marketplaces, which ensures a direct relationship with publishers.
Avoid non-certified apps. The environment of the applications can be more risky than desktop or mobile web.
Ask if the DSP has a pre-bid solution. Ads are only bid on and served if the inventory meets certain conditions and pre-bid filtering can be used to ensure contextual relevancy or to prevent ads from appearing in environments are not brand safe.
Identify programmatic companies that have or work with the best fraud technology solutions and application of best practices.
Run away from opacity. The most advanced programmatic buying companies are offering an increasingly transparent relationships.

Types of Ad Fraud

Fraud affects all digital marketing, generating false traffic. The fraud started with clicks (generated by people who have no real interest in the ad) and impressions (when requesting an impression in an Ad-Exchange knowing that it will not be seen by any real user). It was technically sophisticated with bots (software programs that simulate the action of a person visiting websites and clicking on advertisements).

Four other ad fraud practices that digital marketers are faced with include pixel stuffing, ad-stacking, ghost sites and masked URLs. Pixel Stuffing occurs when the visitor of the web page does not see the advertisement because it is so small, but for the advertiser it counts as an impression. Ad-Stacking is when several banners or videos are placed on top of each other in a single advertising space. Because the user can not see that they are stacked, the advertiser is charged for false impressions. Ghost sites are false websites and impersonations of domains, as the Financial Times recently experienced. Masked URLs occur when an ad is said to be shown on one website but is actually placed on another one.

There is also the reputational risk that brands can face if their ads appear next to inappropriate or illegal content. This was discovered last spring with Youtube and Google. The brands unknowingly placed advertisements for brands next to violent political content, religious extremists and other negative environments. The analyst firm Nomura calculated that the search engine could lose more than 7% of its revenue in 2017, totaling close to 750 million dollars.

In August, it became known that Google was refunding money to hundreds of brands affected by advertising fraud. Brands’ ads purchased through the DoubleClick Bid Manager-Google were being placed on pages with false traffic generated through automated programs.

At the end of last year, the computer security firm White Ops revealed the biggest and most sophisticated scam to date in this area, named Methbots. A group of Russian cyber criminals created an “army” of bots, pretending to be real people, that generated more than 300 million fake video views a day. More than 170 million dollars were spent by advertisers who believed they were generation impressions of real consumers.

Programmatic Media Buying 101: Why Marketers Are Talking About Attribution

Posted on 11/20/201704/21/2023 by Karen Moked

Digital media buyers started using attribution measurement as a way to understand which aspects of their programmatic, social and search campaigns are contributing the most to campaign performance and/ or lead generation. In digital advertising, attribution measurement can now be done at a user-specific level, what this means is the that most ad-tech platforms apply technology in order to assign a consistent user identifier across all advertising related events. This is opposed to traditional digital media performance analysis, where ROI is generally calculated per user event or group of users because there is no consistent user identifier available.

Attribution Defined

Attribution is defined by a couple of different things. First, it’s the cause or the origin of an event like a conversion or a download. Second, how much of a customer’s decision can be attributed from exposure to an ad on a certain channel? For example, Jessica bought a pair of shoes because she downloaded a coupon from a specific publisher’s page.

Multi-touch attribution quantifies the influence each advertising impression has on a consumer’s decision to convert by assigning a credit value to each touchpoint. For example Jessica bought her shoes after visiting the retailer’s website several times and then downloading the coupon. Each marketing touchpoint gets x% credit or attribution towards the sale of the shoes.

So Why do Marketers Find Attribution Critical to Their Marketing Efforts?

Today’s Internet users are no longer browsing on a single device but switch from laptops to tablets to desktops to phones and, depending on the device, also interact with different browsers. Another attribution complexity is that users are no longer stuck in a single marketing channel— but are regularly exposed to TV ads, emails, Facebook ads, radio and more. In order for marketers to address a multi-device and multi-channel world they need attribution measurement. Through attribution they can look at users through the lens of the least common denominator—the person, the individual engaging with a brand across all channels, devices and browsers.

Other reasons cited by marketers according to AdRoll’s Annual State of MarTech Industry Report included a “full-funnel approach” that can help brands better assess where a user is in the customer journey and what event led to their conversion. The survey revealed that marketers in 2016 allocated 72% of their budgets to prospecting for new customers, with the most successful channel being paid-for social media according to half of the participants. 32% of the 1,000 US-based marketers surveyed said programmatic display ads were the most effective channel for them.

If you’re not measuring the impact of your marketing efforts—especially in today’s world of fragmented devices and touch points—you are likely missing out on ROI opportunities and wasting spend on channels, strategies and audiences that aren’t performing well. Plus, getting attribution right helps you maximize your learnings to make better business decisions over time. This guide will provide an overview of the what, why and how of attribution in today’s marketing landscape.

Using Attribution Models is Next Step in the Programmatic Media Buying Evolution

An important next step in the evolution of programmatic media buying for marketers, is to improve algorithms based on attribution models. Attribution models can and should be used to improve programmatic media advertising algorithms.

Using an attribution model, the behavior of individual customers can be tracked both cross-platform and cross-device. Individual purchase paths across the customer journey can be observed and used to continuously improve the programmatic media buying algorithm. Using an attribution model marketers can collect more customer data and then they can show relevant ads in ever better places at ever better times.
When attribution models are used to inform programmatic algorithms, marketers gain a more realistic view of ad effectiveness. Plus, with full transparency they can decide how much more relevant it was.

Tips for Moving to Multi-Touch Attribution

Make no mistake—multi-touch attribution requires an investment in cost, time and expertise. However, you can take steps toward shifting your marketing organization’s mindset about attribution.

Run a data assessment. The results of any attribution exercise are only as useful as the data is accurate, completed and connected across silos.
The attribution model and product you use should allow you to make ad buying decisions by using the variables that are influential in your conversion goals.
Have internal meetings to help qualify budget, anticipated goals and expected ROI, infrastructural and technological elements to consider and how multiple systems might need to hook together.
Choose the right data matching partners, which often comes down to the best match for the type of CRM data (email vs phone numbers, for example) and best practices around data hygiene, including ongoing data cleansing. The more conversion data you have to look at, the fuller the picture of attribution across channels and online-to-in-store sales.
Prepare to activate and optimize in media. The attribution model and product you use should allow you to decision on the variables that are influential in your conversion goals. Some technology companies offer real-time integration with multi-touch attribution vendors that makes this process simpler and faster to execute on in media.
Rely on your technology partners, like Digilant, for support in implementing the right solution.

A Media Buyers Lunch Conversation About Breaking Media Silos in Kansas City

Posted on 11/16/201704/21/2023 by Karen Moked

On Tuesday, November 14, Digilant hosted a discussion and lunch at Stock Hill KC on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. I joined local digital media agencies and brands to hear their colleagues discuss their approach to integrated planning and media silos.

During this intimate lunch conversation Raquel Rosenthal, CRO at Digilant U.S. moderated the conversation with Claire Bishop, VP of Marketing and Engagement at Children International, Lucas Cobb, VP of Integrated Planning at MMGY Global, and Pam Williams, Director of Media and Client Services at Rhycom.

Raquel kicked off the lunch discussion by addressing the following question to Claire: How are you managing – or planning to manage – digital advertising activities across search, social and programmatic? Are you merging the tactics or do they remain siloed activities?
In 2010 there were 150 ad technologies out there and now there are 5,000+, so what does that mean for our industry? It has created silos of data and silos in organizations with all the different channels like email, CRM, and search so what does that mean for the customer experience and journey?

Claire said that at Children’s International the reality is that search, social and display are all managed by external partners and that her and her team have to work at making sure that all of the channels are integrated with everything else and one another. They are definitely working hard to make sure that they leverage everything that they know to drive more effective marketing campaigns with the agencies and each other. Still there are many things that we have to solve for in order to effectively discern the impact that each of these channels have. Children’s International does a lot of direct mail and promos during the holidays and are looking for these tactics to work in combination with email and CRM points of integration along the spectrum of their marketing. All in all Claire finds this exciting grounds to cover for her brand.

Raquel also asked if Claire is looking at personalization along the customer journey?

There general answer is yes, for them with 350 thousand continuity givers talking to them through all the various channels, being able to speak to them personally is very important. And they need to understand where does personalization pay and what’s its the impact.

Pam, a question for you, How is Rhycom is managing the customer journey with all the different channels that are now available for marketers?

Pam’s response was that the customer journey is so fragmented and you need to be nimble and relevant. So how do you do that we when attention spans are so short and dispersed? You need to know your client, what they are looking, likes, dislikes and demographics so that you can segment effectively and then map back to the customer journey. Measurement is really important to us, we now know what is working, our job is to educate the clients on perceived failures and transition that into the next campaign.

Claire chimed in by saying that you have the ability to be responsive by having automation in place, thus creating your own journey and adventure. Marketers also have to have a system to smartly asses those signals in order to take advantage of the information coming back in – the landscape has widened for us.

The customer is demanding the experience that they want and we have to be careful about what we give them, Raquel concluded.

Lucas, what are the expectations that your brands have of programmatic marketing?

People expect that the programmatic marketing will be smarter than the people who do it, responded Lucas. Not every partner is going to have the same ability to reach every individual. Agencies needs to understand how the partner will fit into the customer’s marketing ecosystem. Paid search has been our closer for years, but there are new opportunities with other technologies to close that loop.

So Lucas, what new channels have you explored in digital in 2017 beyond display, native and video? And what new channels or formats do you plan to try in 2018, for example: OTT, TV, Radio or new platforms like Amazon?

I have tried them all, he said – channels like TV, radio and outdoor. Using the data to drive the decisions in every channel and making sure they use the right partner that can get there. There is now an average of eight devices per household, knowing that TV is still very important also knowing at the same time that what you put on their devices is equally as important. And it takes data to drive that connection.

Pam also added that it will be exciting to see what will happen with programmatic Out of Home and the impact on media planning.

So how have you been distributing your budget between search, social and programmatic?

For Lucas there is no ratio for every client that works but on average, 70% is probably programmatic.
For Claire the average split is 10% for search 10% for social and at least 30 for programmatic because of all the channels in programmatic is more expensive because there are so many more opportunities like native and video as well as reach even with target audiences.

Where does programmatic fit in your consumer lifecycle? are you planning to use programmatic within your overall campaign strategies?

For MMGY global, programmatic is everywhere in their campaign strategies, it helps them find new people but also exclude people that they don’t want to reach. It has also become a top of the funnel tactic, where in the past programmatic was only used for bottom funnel.

For Children’s International programmatic helps them reduce waste. By that Claire means that digital advertising introduces reams of data, so they need help to reduce the waste of just putting spend out there in the impressions we are serving, doesn’t just have to be at the bottom the funnel, it just needs to be the opportune time to capture that moment. Programmatic can be central in guiding the decision when, where and to serve the message to throughout the customer journey.

We hear a lot about “always-on” digital marketing strategies, across social, search, etc. What are your thoughts about having an always on programmatic campaign and why?

We should absolutely have an always on programmatic strategy – engagement and exposure to digital media is constant, answered Claire. In the past advertising was restricted to a certain time when you were at home watching TV or at work on the computer. Now exposure is across the board, people don’t even realize they are being exposed. For us the problem is there is a lot of waste of exposing people when it’s not relevant to them. At this time of year, the mindset of donating and giving is popping up all over the place, Children’s International has to be there, when people are ready to give a donation or gift or we are missing the opportunity. The world made up of individuals with different experiences, we have to be present when people are ready to raise their hands.

Lucas, can you give us an example of how you have put programmatic data into action?

Programmatic data for us has been more about who we are trying to reach and what do we know about them? We know a lot about the brands that we work with and who their audiences are and with programmatic we can find the people we know we want to reach. Our programmatic partner needs to make that data work harder, that piece of that programmatic model is what we really need.

So another question then, if data is so important; how do you police your partners to make sure they are using the data the right way?

You can’t, but throwing your data into a black hole won’t do you any good. We put walls around our data, we don’t share PII with clients, partners – so the protections are in place. You also make sure that we choose the right partners.

Claire also answered this question by saying that she needs smarter people than herself to apply that data, our data is out there everyone has it. Data security is a huge concern and we have folks that are committed to handling data, passing it through without PII and other ways that are really important. I agree with Lucas that it’s important to cement reputable partners, use your judgment and experience and relationships with people you can hold accountable.

Claire, one last question, given this years’ YouTube controversy and the constant battle against ad fraud, what has been your brand or agency’s POV and or approach?

Working with non-profit we stand for credibility, transparency and trust, in today’s climate, pairing those three things with programmatic is tricky. We want to show our ads in opportune and also safe places, not all those scary places that you can go on the web. Something you have to think about, like what we said earlier about data partners, who are my partners and can I hold them accountable.
The landscape has really changed, to get sales up we have to be on the right pages. Ask your partners what are they doing to handle viewablity and fraud, ask the hard questions.

Lucas chimed in to say that he hates that they have to use fraud monitoring 3^rd parties, why are we paying for that and why is there no repercussion for those committing the fraud? Buy side is delivering it and paying for it. Publishers and SSPs are making money off fraud. Claire wrapped up the discussion by saying that advertisers have to stand up for themselves when it comes to fraud and address it in a meaningful way.

A lot of content for an hour of conversation, but the panelists did a good job keeping up with Raquel’s questions and Digilant appreciated their time and thoughtful answers in what turned out to be an inspiring afternoon.

Gearing Up for Winter with Cradles to Crayons

Posted on 11/10/201704/21/2023 by Mitchell Carey

There are currently over 300,000 kids in the Greater Boston Area that are living in low-income or homeless situations that face the risk of having to brave the winter without the clothing that they need to stay warm. The Gear Up for Winter initiative led at Cradles to Crayons Boston, wants to change this, so that no child is cold for another of Boston’s long and unforgiving winters. Since starting the new initiative, Cradles to Crayons (C2C) has already managed to help out 40,000 children and aims to help another 100,000 this season.

In an effort to help reach this goal, the Digilant Boston Office headed over to the Giving Factory on Wednesday to check, sort, and package donations brought in from all over Massachusetts. The first group was in charge of assuring that the donations were new or in new condition, so that the children receiving them would be proud to wear the clothing. Once reviewed, the clothing was brought into the outfit section, where volunteers created packages for both boys and girls from newborns to teenagers. Lastly, once these outfits and other winter essentials, like sweaters, vests, and socks, were organized, the sorting team assisted in placing the packages in the proper to be sent out in time for winter.

It was a great day and the Digilant Boston Team looks forward to continuing to help put together clothing packages with C2C as the winter approaches. With offices and local drop-off centers in the Greater Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago Areas, many of us can join the cause and make a difference in the lives of our communities’ youth this winter. Visit Cradles to Crayons’ site to find out more about how and where to volunteer or donate and keep up with the Digilant Cares’ Teams latest collaborations with C2C by following us on our Instagram.

Calling All Marketers: 6 Reasons to Get on the Programmatic Buying Bandwagon for the Holidays

Posted on 11/06/201704/21/2023 by Karen Moked

Despite what might be considered setbacks for the programmatic industry in 2017, like the YouTube ad controversy and the constant battle against “bots” and “ad fraud” – more and more marketers are investing in programmatic advertising. eMarketer estimates nearly four of every five US digital advertising display dollars will have been transacted programmatically in 2017, totaling $32.56 billion. For 2018, programmatic digital display ad spending will climb to $39.46 billion, with 80% of mobile display ads being purchased programmatically — that’s up 21% from 2017.

So marketers can’t afford to not get on the programmatic bandwagon, if they want to be effective in getting their brand out in front of customers and prospects, the Holiday Season is prime-time for getting a running start.

6 Reasons You Should be Buying Programmatically ASAP

1. The world of advertising is moving towards Automation.

With more of the advertising display dollars being spent programmatic platforms than any other method, and huge advancements in ad technology, brands who continue to buy ads manually will fall behind their competitors who choose automation.

2. Personalization is now achievable though Programmatic.

Personalizing your marketing has always been a goal but now it’s a real thing through programmatic targeting tactics like geolocation, in-depth demographics information and dayparting, for example. And also more consumers are accepting of and are feeling more positively about a brand when their ads are personalized.

3. More Data!

With marketers being tasked to analyze and optimize on hundreds of different data points about their users, programmatic platforms can use this data to create detailed behavioral profiles of existing customers and even prospects. This data can then be used to enable tactics like lookalike modeling and contextual targeting which gives advertisers the ability to create a more personalized media plan for their Holiday campaigns.

4. Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) really works.

DCO technology enables marketers to use programmatic platforms to deliver on the promise of serving relevant and custom advertising to the consumer and capture their attention. This also gives marketers the opportunity to have their best performing creative be served more often. Studies have shown that DCO ads can have up to 50% higher post-click conversion rates over standard display ads – delivering overall better results than non-dynamic creative.

5. Make Storytelling a reality by reaching the right audience.

Today’s customer expects a journey, an experience, a story from their advertiser or brand. With the accuracy of programmatic targeting and the sophistication of ad-tech platforms, there is finally the potential to deliver this.

6. More scale equals more opportunity.

With more consumers adopting ad blockers, every opportunity to get in front of potential consumers needs to be maximized. Programmatic provides the scale that most marketers need to get in front of the right consumers at the right time, especially during the Holiday season.

In summary

Anyone in the marketing role knows that the holidays are a crucial time for ads, which means that the market is flooded with advertising, but not all of it is optimized for the best results. In addition to getting on the programmatic bandwagon, here are some other things marketers should be thinking about:

Creative eye-catching images and well-written ad copy that is most relevant to your target audience.
Your ad should directly link to the product you want to sell, saving time for the customer.
Have a strong call-to-action; make it time-sensitive!

To find out more about programmatic buying tactics and shopping habits this 2017 Holiday season download Digilant’s ‘Holiday and Consumer Shopping Report.’