2018 Digital Marketing Insights Q&A

We received a lot of questions during our November 3Ton30 webinar. Because we like to keep these bite-sized presentations under 45 minutes, we weren’t able to answer all of them, so we’ve enlisted our fearless speaker, Ryan Manchee, to share some additional digital marketing insights and answer questions on our blog:

Does Centro support podcast advertising? If so, what results have you seen from this? Do you have any major takeaways?

Centro has worked on a number of digital marketing campaigns with podcasts as an advertising channel, all with fairly good success. It’s important to keep in mind that there is no direct click or interactive engagement that can happen during a podcast. So, it’s best to use this as an awareness effort, or to provide a specific referral code (ideally with a discount) to measure performance.

From a targeting perspective, there are several podcast platforms like Panopoly, Gimlet, and Midroll, each with varying levels of demographic or geographic targeting. For now, I think most podcasts are ideal for brands with a national presence, though there are some podcasts with a heavier subscription/listener base in specific markets.

Here’s a link to the NPR/Edison Smart Audio Report I referenced during the webinar Q&A. This report does a great job of highlighting podcast opportunities – in particular the potential with smart speakers/assistants.

Learn more about audio advertising with Centro.

How does your team at Centro talk about the effects of client website user experience in relation to campaign performance?

For digital marketing campaigns where it makes sense and we are able, Centro analyzes a combination of post-click and post-view activity, which helps provide an understanding of the effectiveness of the ads, and helps show us where we can optimize to improve performance over the course of a campaign (and for future campaigns).

On the personalization chart, was there a third option – besides generic vs personalized – that the remaining percentage of marketing leaders went with?

My interpretation from the study is that not all marketing leaders responded, so the totals did not add up to 100%. You can see the full Salesforce State of Marketing report here (and page 11 has the personalization data chart).

What is your take on the recent moves by large brands, like P&G, to drastically change their digital spend? Won't this impact the overall trend? For example, if P&G is doing this, why would I still do it?

I love seeing bigger brands help move the industry forward. A line item for them may be another marketer’s entire annual budget, so when a company like P&G pushes for more transparency and accountability it’s not just a benefit for them, but a benefit for the entire industry.

My interpretation of the challenge they put in place earlier this year was for more transparency in the supply chain, and additional assurances via certifications to mitigate fraud and establish a higher minimum expectation for viewability. I feel that any impact on the industry is more of a correction, allowing the good players to become even stronger, while the ones in the middle have to choose to evolve their business to where it needs be.

Beyond the benefit for the industry, I like the validation that the way Centro runs our business is very much forward-thinking, operating in a more transparent model that helps deliver performance for our clients not just by smart planning, quality media (see the recent TAG certification) and optimizations, but by putting more of our client’s investments towards working digital media.

Why would a company sell their first-party data? Isn’t it more beneficial to have proprietary data to use toward your own products?

Most of the companies that sell their first-party data are either publishers who have been able to smartly segment their audiences, or are a data-focused company, like an OwnerIQ that has unique purchase and shopping data they license to digital marketers.

Companies that sell products or services with an overlapping client (or prospective client) base may form a relationship that allows them to license one or each other’s data. A simple example would be American Express and Mercedes Benz, who are in different businesses, but have customers who may be good customers for the other’s business.

For additional info on specific opportunities, Centro capabilities, or questions unanswered, please reach out to your Centro Account Lead.