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"Digital ad tech firm Centro has a twofold partnership with Sheridan: Sheridan will license Centro's DSP (demand-side platform) to drive new students to sign up for classes, and they can take a course on programmatic advertising fundamentals through Sheridan's Faculty of Continuing and Professional Studies."
Read more in MediaPost.
The calling card of programmatic advertising is reach, and marketers enjoy the ability to generate massive scale for their campaigns in a smart and data-driven way. But if you poll marketers, what’s precluding them from an even bigger commitment to programmatic is a persistent concern around brand safety. According to the IAB, nearly 1 in 3 marketers claim brand safety as the biggest inhibitor to increased programmatic budgets.
Centro DSP has a strong commitment to brand safety, and we employ a variety of first- and third-party technologies to ensure that ads that run through our DSP are safe for businesses and consumers alike. At the same time, our focus is on making sure that campaigns are the most effective possible. One of the recurring questions we get from customers is how to ensure the right equilibrium between safety and scale?
The good news is that such an equilibrium is possible. It requires making a few decisions ahead of a campaign, as well as an understanding of the objectives of the campaign.
First, you and your team need to agree on what level of risk you are willing to entertain. For brand campaigns, awareness that is generated through scale might mean a higher risk tolerance than that for a direct response campaign, which is typically oriented around cost-per-action and return-on-ad-spend goals.
Next, you’ll determine which brand safety parameters are most important to you. You’ll be able to take advantage of Centro’s integration with ComScore’s BidRatings solution, which enables pre-bid screening across a number of variables. These can include things like viewability, invalid traffic, brand safety, contextual categories, page content and site rank. And through our integration with Peer39, we also provide brand safety specifically within the mobile app environment. Keep in mind that screening against many or all of these will reduce a campaign’s scale, so you’ve got to figure out the right tradeoffs between risk and reward.
Then, you can decide if you want to create a ‘block list’ or ‘allowed list’ – sites you want to exclude or include from the campaign. Reasons to exclude may include things like questionable content, or competitor sites, or publishers whose content doesn’t agree with your brand, and many others. An allowed list (a short list of sites you only want to be on) can ensure a high level of safety for an advertiser, but this is one of the most reach-limiting tactics available. Our Customer Success team can provide a master block list, and we refer clients to the Pixalate Seller Trust Index to navigate trustworthy exchange sources.
Finally, once you’ve made your decisions, it’s time to let the campaign run, while keeping a close eye on performance once the campaign is live. With Centro DSPs real-time performance reporting, you’ve got the ability to make course corrections on the fly if campaign reach is not where it needs to be.
The good news is that most brand safety technologies are easy to understand and to utilize, so in short order you should be able to precisely identify the right mix of safety and scale to meet your objectives. Good luck!
VIDEO: Centro CEO Shawn Riegsecker is a guest on the April 18 episode of Business Rockstars, discussing entrepreneurship in Chicago and how Centro is driving change in digital advertising. Segment starts at the 52-minute mark.
See it here:
https://youtu.be/Vde8IPqMGpo?t=52m25s
There are a plethora of ways to precisely target audiences in programmatic advertising. In Centro DSP, we’ve given users multi-pronged targeting tactics they can use to find customers with the right ad, at the right time, and in the right media environment. Here are some techniques for customizing campaigns by language, app, and/or context.
Browser Language
Marketers can target customers by the language setting of the user’s browser. For example, perhaps an advertiser wants to find French-speaking users who may be browsing English websites. Or perhaps the marketer wants to reach all Latin American language speakers, so they’d target browsers set to both Spanish and Portuguese.
When targeting non-English speakers, using browser language as a tactic can help expand reach. It’s an easy alternative to contextual language targeting options. Browser language targeting enables you to find non-English speakers without increasing CPMs due to contextual data provider costs. However, best practice is to utilize both techniques and optimize to the one that works best for your campaign.
See below a sample of browser language targeting options.
App Lists
Centro DSP allows users to target specific desktops using domain lists. Now they can also allow list/block list mobile app inventory. Note that there needs to be some familiarity with the app ID or app bundle name in Centro DSP to create these lists.
Users can create an applist by:
Here are some of the ways this targeting option can be used:
Contextual Apps
Third party targeting on mobile app inventory is provided by Peer 39. Users now have access to contextual and brand-protection segments for mobile app campaigns. These can be leveraged to target or block specific app categories, ensure impressions are only served in inventory that is in line with the brand, and serve ads that best match the content interest of the audience.
Try out a few combinations of these and many other targeting options on Centro DSP today.
At Centro, we know that keeping up with the trade pubs and latest trends can be tough and time consuming. To make that easier, we’ve compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy our latest list below!
Ad Blockers Are Employed by 10% of U.S. Desktop Users, comScore Finds
Adoption of ad blocking software remains flat when comparing mid-year to year-end 2015 numbers. It’s interesting to note that comScore’s report offers a more conservative adoption rate than reports by Adobe and PageFair, which recently stated that US ad blocking rates are 17%.
Retail Brands are Testing the Power of Messaging Apps
Sephora partnered with Kik to launch a one-to-one chat experience with its consumers. The service provides reviews, tips and recommendations, as well as the ability to buy products directly in the app. Digital savvy brands are looking toward messaging apps as a way to stay relevant to the mobile-first generations.
Algorithms are Being Tweaked and the Idea of “Free” Social is Dying
Facebook has been a pay-to-play environment for brands for a while, but now Instagram and Twitter are following suit. The bottom line: to succeed in social, the focus needs to be on creating content that will make an impact and applying a solid paid strategy that will make is soar.
Facebook Adds Video Ads to Articles
Facebook has set the bait and added video ads to Instant Articles in the hopes of enticing more publishers to join. Instant Articles enables easier access to a variety of news sources, along with faster load times for all types of content. Facebook rivals have already jumped in with alternatives to Instant Articles, like Google’s “Accelerated Mobile Pages”.
Mobile First? New Research Says ‘Not So Fast’
This article’s content may seem like a ‘no duh’ at first, but it contains some important considerations for marketers to keep in mind as to when and why mobile might be the right—or wrong—strategy for a given product or audience.
Publishers See Rising Premium on Mobile Advertising
A rising demand for mobile advertising opportunities is facing limitations, specifically the smaller screen’s ability to offer as many units as desktop display environments. Accordingly, publishers are now leaning towards creating more premium ad units that better enhance the mobile user’s experience.
MRC Proposes Mobile 'Viewable' Guidelines, Says Newsfeeds Remain Vexing
The MRC, as promised, finally released guidelines for mobile viewability which essentially mirror desktop standards, except for some differences for mobile newsfeeds.
With Its Total Audience Measurement Rollout Delayed, Nielsen Will Share More Connected TV Data
In a move that shows even further proof of the evolving TV and video landscape, Nielsen announced that beginning later this month, it will make brand-level data available from connected TV devices through its TV panel. The next phase will focus on identifying the apps viewers use to watch content on these devices.
Microsoft Gives Marketers Video Ratings Data On Par with TV
As part of the Microsoft Pulse service, the company is rolling out new technology for traditional marketers to rate ‘sentiment’ and ‘performance’ of messages in online video campaigns. The data gives media buyers, creative teams, and market researcher’s insight into what viewers think about their video ads.
Digital Audiences Become the MVP of TV Sports Sponsorships
With all the platforms and devices consumers have access to these days, it’s no surprise sports sponsorships have started to extend beyond live programming.
City-Wide Survey of Chicago Professionals Gives Centro Accolades for Workplace Culture;
Generous Employee Benefits Help Propel Centro to Consistent Growth for More Than a Decade
CHICAGO – April 7, 2016 – Centro (centro.net), a provider of enterprise-class software for digital advertising, today announced it has been rated as the No. 6 Best Place to Work according to Crain’s Chicago Business. In previous years, Centro had been No. 1 on the list for four years straight. Crain’s Chicago’s research showed that Centro employees credit the company’s generous benefits that include unlimited vacation days, 401(k) matching, medical/dental/vision insurance, and more. It is a testament to how Centro balances strong growth with responsible business practices and caretaking of employee needs. The company is continuing to add to its team of software experts, media specialists and sales leaders, and opportunities to join can be found on centro.net/careers.
To compile the list of top companies in Chicago, Crain’s conducts an annual survey with Buck Consultants to gauge the sentiments of the regional workforce. The research spotlights Centro’s positive culture as a staple of its business character. In the past couple of years, many organizations have given the company recognition for its programs and benefits that keep employees happy. Centro’s awards include:
“I am incredibly humbled and grateful for the appreciation our employees have bestowed upon Centro. Our efforts to build a lasting business that cares for employees, partners and customers are magnified by our position in Crain’s Chicago’s Best Place to Work list,” said Shawn Riegsecker, founder and CEO of Centro. “Our company’s focus on the well-being and happiness of our people has fueled the rapid growth and ascension Centro has experienced the past few years.”
To help drive its goal of making digital advertising easier for the people who work in the industry,
Centro added more than 200 team members throughout North America in 2015. The company is building the digital advertising industry’s first system-of-record technology for managing all aspects of the media buying lifecycle. Centro’s software platform automates and streamlines digital campaigns from start to finish across all sites, channels and devices.
Crain’s Chicago Business’ yearly survey with Buck Consultants, a human resources consulting firm, determines the Best Places to Work. With 191 companies applying and 13,100 professionals submitting survey responses, the evaluation examined a wide variety of quantitative and qualitative workplace factors.
About Centro
Centro (centro.net) is creating a platform to make digital advertising easier. Its enterprise-class software centralizes, organizes and automates all digital media campaigns across all channels, accessing both guaranteed and biddable inventory, to achieve any objective. Our holistic approach gives marketers a single system of record to fulfill their research, planning, buying, optimization, reporting and reconciliation needs. Since 2001, Centro has successfully planned and executed more than 250,000 campaigns across all digital display platforms and ad format types. Headquartered in Chicago with 32 offices in North America, Centro has received numerous accolades for its commitment to employees and workplace culture.
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Contact:
Anthony Loredo
646-462-4888
It’s clear that 2016 will be a breakthrough year for programmatic advertising in politics. In fact, just this week, Borrell Associates raised its digital advertising estimate for political in 2016 by 8%, now projecting a 620% increase over 2012 spending.
Programmatic media buying offers the ability to target voters more efficiently, at scale, serving relevant creative across devices. But with that promise comes a host of pitfalls that political buyers need to be aware of: fraud, quality, and brand safety.
Fraud
Smart buyers must protect themselves and their clients from the outright theft of their advertising dollars through fraud, but also have to be conscious of the environments that their ads appear in. At their most benign, misplaced ads are wasteful, and at their worst, they have the potential to be extremely embarrassing and damaging to a campaign.
Ad Quality
Campaigns are struggling to find scale within quality content, with a reported 70% of premium publishers blocking political ads as a vertical on the open exchanges. Doing the extra legwork to create private marketplace relationships with publishers directly – or working with a partner who’ll take on that heavy lifting – is essential this year.
Brand Safety
Centro is at the forefront of combatting fraud and creating safe, high-quality ad environments, and we made it part of our mission to educate marketers about these topics. So for this issue of Political Digital Digest, I’m going to focus on articles that highlight what you need to know to stay safe in the rough neighborhood of digital ads.
Each issue of Political Digital Digest brings you the latest news and developing stories about the innovative role digital media is playing in the 2106 election. Everything you need to know is right here, right now.
What You Need to Know
Examining the Ad Fraud Marketplace
http://www.campaignsandelections.com/campaign-insider/2674/examining-the-ad-fraud-marketplace Campaigns & Elections reminds us that if it sounds too good to be true…
Group finds campaign ads on ISIL-inspired videos http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/30/group-finds-campaign-ads-isil-inspired-videos/82446396/
The worst-case scenario example of why quality has to be a concern.
How Much of Your Audience is Fake http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-click-fraud/
A great behind-the-scenes overview of the fraud problem from Bloomberg
Why the Open Exchange Isn’t Always Ideal for Political Buyers
http://adexchanger.com/politics/why-the-open-exchange-isnt-always-ideal-for-political-buyers/
Who Should Be Responsible For Stopping Programmatic Ad Fraud?
http://marketingland.com/responsible-stopping-programmatic-ad-fraud-152412
If it’s in everyone’s long-term interest to stamp out fraud, why aren’t more stepping up? A look at the layers of participants and the role they play.
DSP Spotlight: Buying for Quality with comScore Bid Ratings https://centro.net/blog/centro-dsp-spotlight-buying-for-quality-with-comscore-bid-ratings/ Learn how to use this data to select the best-quality inventory for your campaign in Centro DSP.
Webinar: The Many Faces of Ad Fraud: Our ad fraud expert, Ian Trider, is hosting a 3T Spotlight webinar on April 20, focused on how you can protect yourself against the many forms of ad fraud, learn more here.
Response to our 3Ton30 webinars have been tremendous and as we continue our quest to educate and service our customers in the smartest and most efficient way possible, we’ve realized that certain pressing topics demand our full attention. When such topics arise, we shed light upon them with 3T Spotlight – a comprehensive, 60-minute webinar and Q&A that provides all the information you need on complex topics in digital advertising today.
April 20th at 1:30 p.m. EST premiers the new 3T Spotlight series, where Centro’s Director of RTB Platform Operations, Ian Trider, will give you an in-depth look at the current state of ad fraud. Specifically, Ian will give you insights into the many forms of ad fraud, how widespread the problem is and provide tips and best practices for identifying and protecting your brand against fraud.
Whether you’re well-versed in the murky and treacherous waters of ad fraud or you’re new to the subject entirely – our spotlight webinar on March 20th will be full of valuable Tips, Trends, and Techniques every marketer is looking for in order to dominate digital in 2016.
Click here to learn more information and to save your spot. Registrants will receive a handy prep sheet to guide them through the webinar. Can’t make it this month? Keep your eyes peeled for 3Ton30 webinars every month in 2016.
"Solid benefits include a new unlimited vacation policy; matching 401(k) contributions; an employee stock option plan; medical, dental and free vision insurance; 12 paid holidays plus one Save the World day a year for charity; and support for continuing education."
Read more in Crain's Chicago.