What can 2016 teach us about 2017?
2016 was, in several respects, a very exciting year. Many advertisers realised that digital provides a unique opportunity to reach consumers that otherwise would have been inaccessible. As a result, ad expenditure increased and is expected to surpass $37 billion in 2017 in the US alone. Mobile has become the device of the day, seeing more than twice the amount of ad spending compared to desktop.
It also seems a certain device of tomorrow as an estimated 80 % of the world’s population will have a smartphone by 2020. This will inevitably create new markets and help others reach their potential. Chinese ad expenditure, for example, is expected to amount to $10.81 billion in 2017, making it the third largest online advertising market in the world. It would not be surprising to see it climb even further in the years to come.
However, digital also brings new challenges that, as 2016 showed us, not everyone yet knows how to solve. A lot of the ad spending remains suboptimal. A recent study showed that, in the US market, more than 66 % of brand advertisers believe that at least half of their mobile advertising wasn’t successful in achieving set goals.
Combined with an often-used but outdated CPM model, players without display advertising savoir-faire frequently find themselves stuck with low quality, high quantity campaigns in order to achieve enough impressions to make money from digital. It’s a vicious cycle that not only undermines branding efforts, but also ruins ROI and annoys consumers.
Fortunately, the tools needed to turn the proverbial tide are already available. Here are a few of our strategic recommendations for 2017.
Cross-Device Campaigns
Many companies today talk about “mobile first audiences” and while they rightly do so to a certain extent, the customer journey often includes different devices at different times. By identifying the unique patterns of different target audiences and creating multi-device and multi-channel campaigns to suit, one can ensure more relevant, immersive and engaging consumer experiences leading to, typically, better results.
Understanding Data
Data is often said to be the key to programmatic success. Quantitative information can tell us who’s buying what, when, why, and what message is most effective to influence them to do so. However, in order fully understand the data, analytics need to be applied. Visualisation tools can be very helpful to that end and there are several on the market if you are not using one already. If you are an Adssets client, you already have a visualisation tool waiting for you in Adsscore. In it, a highly user-friendly environment enables campaign follow-up and ad optimization without delay.
Native Ads
Content marketing is hailed one of the most successful and important forms of connecting with audiences. Native ads have been around for some time. But offer potential value to all involved parties and continue to rise in popularity. Provided that they deliver qualitative content, they can drastically increase the time spent between brand and consumers who otherwise ignore conventional advertising.
Planning Ahead
We know, we know. Planning ahead is a heck of a lot easier said than done in today’s advertising world. However, while brand awareness may be the perfect goal for one brand in one situation. It can also be the wrong one for the same brand at a later point in time. The ideal path to, say, great conversion rates may not necessarily go via a single campaign. To a large degree, it depends on the brand and the timing. With the right set-up, every individual campaign can be optimised. Also, can be placed correctly in a line of campaigns for the best results and both short- and long-term goals.
Source-to-Ad Feeds
The word “feed” can, unfortunately, be interpreted to mean different things depending on who you talk to. What we mean by source-to-ad feeds is a live data feed between an ad and a material source. The feed enables live updates to the ad and creates the possibility to react in real-time. By having an open line of data communication, the same ad, in the same place, can run with differing ad content such as texts, images and/or colours. This ensures an ad that is personal, relevant, up-to-date and fresh.
For further, and more in-depth, strategical advice, do not hesitate to contact us. We are always ready and happy to help!
