What do the Star Wars movies, the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and Converse Chuck Taylors all have in common?
They’re classics. Never go out of style. Oldies but goodies. Each and every one has stood the test of time—and for good reason.
Another thing we’d add to this list? Broadcast radio. Yep, you heard that right. Whether it’s blasting the Billboard Hot 100 hits in your car on a cross-country road trip, blaring at the local bar in your hometown, or serving as background noise to the weekend project you’re tinkering on in your garage, broadcast (aka traditional) radio is part of the soundtrack of our lives.
Sure, digital audio may be getting more airtime these days (it is digital advertising’s fastest-growing category, after all), but AM/FM radio is still a force to be reckoned with in the audio world.
Today, we’re exploring the latest broadcast radio stats and digging into why savvy marketers are using it as part of their holistic media mix.
Ready to rock ‘n roll? Let’s dive in.
Before we explore how traditional radio fits within an omnichannel strategy, let’s take a look at some of the most recent stats on the channel:
Beyond accounting for a substantial amount of media time, having a powerful reach, and amassing the majority of total audio ad spend, audiences deeply connect with traditional radio. In fact, 51% of listeners say they’re more trusting of radio and podcast advertisers than on any other medium.
“Okay, cool,” some marketers might say. “Sounds like traditional radio still slaps. But what’s the best way to utilize it?”
We’re so glad you asked! We’re total proponents of using traditional radio as one of many channels within a holistic, omnichannel campaign. With its significant reach and established credibility, it’s a great way to connect meaningfully with audiences when and where they’re listening, to build broad awareness of your brand or product, and to tell your story in your own words.
But make no mistake—we certainly don’t suggest throwing all your other channels (or any, for that matter) out the window. Like most advertising channels, broadcast radio works best when used as part of an omnichannel approach. Though traditional radio has many benefits, it is less measurable than digital channels like display, mobile, video, and audio, and is best used as part of multi-channel campaigns.
So, what might this look like in practice? One way radio could be used is to expand reach within a holistic digital audio campaign. This could involve running ads in digital content like podcasts and streaming music, as well as on traditional AM/FM radio.
In a more omnichannel context, it could mean running broadcast radio ads, as well as using geotargeted digital out-of-home ads, to build broad awareness and drive consideration for your brand or product. Other channels—say, social media, connected TV, or podcasts—could then be used for lower-funnel ads (and retargeting) to drive conversions.
Thanks to advancements in programmatic technology, a good DSP will allow you to tap into all of these types of inventory through a single sign-on platform. In Basis, for example, advertisers can plan, buy, and measure programmatic radio buys within the context of their larger omnichannel campaigns.
Though podcasts, streaming music, and other forms of digital audio are booming, traditional radio is still a prominent player in the world of audio advertising. When used as part of a holistic audio or omnichannel strategy, broadcast offers advertisers the ability to connect with listeners in a variety of locations and contexts. And, by harnessing the power of programmatic broadcast radio, marketers can tap into this channel in an automated way and measure the results of their radio ad spend.
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Now that you know all about how to leverage broadcast radio in your omnichannel campaigns, why not become an expert in digital audio as well? Check out our guide to digital audio advertising for everything you need to know.
You’re setting up a programmatic campaign and reviewing your digital checklist before the campaign goes live. Have you targeted a specific audience? Check. Established the KPI? Check. Set the bid, uploaded the creatives, and chosen the inventory? Check, check, check. Now you’re ready to sit back and watch the data flow in... right?
Not quite.
While setting up a campaign involves careful planning and execution, there’s a world of potential that lies in continuously monitoring and refining its performance. Through data-driven insights and strategic adjustments, optimization empowers marketers to enhance targeting precision, maximize conversions, improve ROI, and ultimately drive impactful results.
In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, adapting and optimizing campaigns is key to effectively engaging your target audience. Read on to learn more about what digital marketers need to know about campaign optimization.
Similar to how an athlete’s performance is impacted by how much training they put in before the game, programmatic performance is largely shaped by the decisions made during the planning process. In order to have something to optimize toward, you should look at your goals and translate them into measurable KPIs during planning (CPC, CPA, CTR, conversions, etc.) It's a lot like picking a campaign targeting tactic. Without doing the work and research beforehand, you’re playing a guessing game and casting your net too wide.
Here are some questions advertising teams might consider throughout their planning process:
All of these factors will influence campaign performance and an advertiser's ability to optimize effectively.
Once you’ve decided what you want to achieve, and once your campaign is live, it can be a challenge to figure out how to start optimizing. Let’s break down the different optimization strategies to help you get started:
First things first, you need data. But that doesn’t mean you can or should make major optimizations based off just any amount of data. The sample size needs to be large enough to be valuable and allow for informed decision-making.
Optimizing a campaign based off one hour of campaign data is not sufficient. Generally, you want to wait until either 10-20% of the campaign is delivered, or the campaign has been running for one week.
Once you’ve got campaign data, advertisers should leverage a combination of manual and tech-based optimizations, as each has its own focus.
Manual optimizations have a broad scope and can impact performance by drawing upon historical insights, considering additional metrics beyond the key performance indicator, and accommodating campaign intricacies (such as directing funds to a nascent market with limited brand awareness).
Technology-based optimizations employ advanced algorithms to uncover patterns, trends, and opportunities that are solely focused on the key performance indicator. These optimizations also automate repetitive tasks, effectively conserving valuable time and resources for advertisers.
Minor optimizations can be made on a tactical level to push spend towards delivery and performance, and include adjusting the bid for win rate and efficiency or shifting your budget to higher performing tactics. You can also look at your top spending sites to see if they are meeting or exceeding your KPIs. If they are, increase your bid, and if they’re not, turn the site off.
Some sites might get thousands of impressions, but not enough engagement. That’s often a sign that an ad might not be reaching the right audience, or that the content on the page doesn’t have a strong call-to-action. If that happens, you may want to consider turning those sites off and reallocating budget to sites that are producing better results.
Major optimizations are made once you notice the campaign needs more dynamic changes. As a best practice, a tactic should spend at least $1,000 or deliver 1,000 impressions before teams make any major optimizations.
Once a campaign has reached this threshold, advertisers should focus on:
By identifying domains that demonstrate exceptional performance as well as those that underperform, advertisers can strategically develop an allow list comprising top performers or implement a block list to exclude domains with subpar results.
By reviewing creative performance, advertisers can optimize out of poor-performing sizes or versions. As a best practice, each creative should have delivered at least 10,000 impressions before determining whether it should be shut off. In addition, advertisers should consider uploading a different creative type or style in the same size if a particular ad size is doing well.
Through analyzing data provider and tactic performance, advertisers can strategically redistribute their budget to prioritize top-performing entities while also exploring the availability of additional data segments offered by these high-performing data providers.
Advertisers can identify if a particular exchange is hurting performance and remove it accordingly. It’s important to note that this should only be done on campaigns running for a few months or with a large budget (at least 10,000 impressions per exchange). Don't be afraid to make a change and see what happens. If removing an exchange doesn’t produce the desired results, you can always add the exchange again.
Whether an advertiser is implementing a minor or major optimization, there are some best practices to keep in mind:
In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, mastering the art of optimization is essential for advertisers to unleash the full potential of their campaigns, connect with their target audiences, and drive strong performance. By using these strategies and best practices, advertising teams can optimize their campaigns in an intentional and data-driven way to maximize return on ad spend.
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Hungry for even more knowledge about campaign optimization? Check out our optimization learning path on AdTech Academy!
The following is adapted from Basis Technologies’ guide, Cannabis Advertising in the Roaring 2020’s. For even more cannabis advertising-related insights and statistics, download the guide today.
"Of course I know how to roll a joint.”
If you had to guess which celebrity is responsible for the above quote, would you choose A) Snoop Dogg, B) Seth Rogen, or C) Martha Stewart?
If you guessed C, you’re correct! Stewart, the legendary chef and entrepreneur, has publicly shared her forays into cannabis, serving as a strategic advisor for marijuana firm Canopy Growth and even launching her own CBD product line.
Stewart’s use of cannabis may seem surprising precisely because of who she is: a wealthy, female baby boomer who gives off major mom vibes. But research shows that Martha’s demographics are actually representative of a significant portion of cannabis consumers.
The fragmented nature of the cannabis landscape means that there’s limited data on consumer characteristics and behaviors. As the substance has become increasingly mainstream thanks to more and more states legalizing its use, all kinds of folks outside of the “stoner dude” stereotype have chosen to indulge.
Want to learn more about what demographics are consuming cannabis and how to market to them? Check out the following five cannabis consumer personas:
Women represent one of the largest untapped cannabis audience segments—and their consumption is booming. In fact, 37% of US women report consuming cannabis, and 28% say they use it at least once a month. Even more, from early 2020 to late 2021, cannabis sales to women increased by 55%. Some of the most common reasons women report using cannabis include to reduce anxiety, to help with sleep, and to relieve pain.
That said, stigmas around women consuming cannabis linger. As a result, there’s an opportunity for brands to help break down these stigmas via education, which will also help them form meaningful connections with female consumers.
Another big audience segment is the over 65 crowd, which represents one of the United States’ fastest-growing groups of cannabis users: The number of monthly users in this age group increased by 96% from 2017 to 2021.
Messaging focused on normalizing cannabis use for boomers—such as this campaign that sought to break down “war-on-drugs misperceptions”—can be particularly impactful. Still, many marketers struggle to reach this audience because they spend less time online. Utilizing traditional ad formats to educate boomers about how cannabis and CBD can fight the side effects of aging is one viable tack marketers can take to capture their attention.
Millennials are major consumers of cannabis—in fact, 39% of millennial users report consuming cannabis multiple times a day. And most millennials tend to use marijuana socially, with 62% reporting that they consider themselves “primarily or only recreational” users. Another common feature of the millennial audience is an interest in social justice and activism. Some brands have used marketing to both raise awareness of the racist history of cannabis regulation and capture the attention of socially-aware groups like millennials and Gen Z.
While people in the US have historically understood cannabis as an intoxicating substance, that perception is changing. It has been almost 30 years since California became the first state to legalize medicinal cannabis, after all! If you’re still not convinced, check this out: A 2023 study from the American Medical Association found that medical cannabis treatment resulted in “significant improvements” to survey participants’ “health-related quality of life” and that these improvements were “largely sustained over time.”
This changing general understanding of the uses of cannabis has created a big opportunity for brands to educate potential recreational consumers who are interested in using the product as part of their wellness routines—for instance, to promote relaxation, improve sleep, or relieve stress. The caveat is that marketers cannot assert that recreational products can diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease, per the FDA’s guidelines (learn more about cannabis advertising regulations here).
All the above groups—and many more—contain potential newcomer consumers. And, research shows that first-time cannabis consumers often dive into their new habit with gusto: 50% report consuming it five or more times per week, and 22% say they use it multiple times per day. Cannabis brands of all sorts can benefit by using marketing to educate and destigmatize cannabis for the US public. MedMen’s “Forget Stoner” campaign, which featured entrepreneurs, designers, and even police officers, is a good example of how brands can extend a hand to folks who may not have considered cannabis as "for them."
The cannabis opportunity is clear: In the US, the market was valued at $7.7 billion in 2020, and is forecast to reach $40 billion in 2030 (coincidence that that’s an increase of almost exactly 420%? We think not!).
To succeed in this emerging landscape, marketers must do their research, stay agile, and think outside the box. Those bold enough to embrace the industry’s complexity are bound to find some of their most rewarding and successful work ahead of them in the cannabis space.
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To learn more about how the cannabis landscape has evolved, how marketers can navigate cannabis advertising regulations, and how to set your campaigns apart, check out our cannabis advertising guide, Cannabis Marketing in the Roaring 2020’s.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/16/23 - 6/22/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
This post was written by a human, but by 2030? Who knows: A new report from Forrester predicts that artificial intelligence will lead to the loss of 33,000 US advertising agency jobs by the end of the decade. This article takes a look at some of the positions that may be most at risk.
It’s Cannes Lion season, when the ad industry’s best and brightest descend on the French Riviera to celebrate creativity, innovation, and (let’s be honest) go to some killer parties. Keep tabs on all of this year’s winners with this handy, regularly updated list.
It’s been quite a dramatic time for TV advertising, and the plot twists show no sign of slowing. This piece breaks down what’s going on with TV pricing and advertisers’ budgets, and what it all means for this year and beyond.
Despite many countries’ efforts to ban the app, TikTok remains a social and video (and even search!) powerhouse: It’s forecast to overtake YouTube in daily screen time, and 75% of US brands are planning to increase their spend on the channel this year. This piece takes a look at how brands can succeed on the platform.
On the heels of getting hit with yet another antitrust charge from the European Commission last week, Google is now facing a lawsuit from Gannett, the largest US newspaper chain, which alleges that Google is “trying to corner the market for online advertising by monopolizing ad technology.”
Economic uncertainty is presenting a silver lining for podcasts and programmatic advertisers alike: Pressured to maximize their media investments, buyers have pulled away from podcasts, pushing podcasters to open their inventory to programmatic transactions. As a result, advertisers are gaining access to more inventory at lower CPMs, while podcasters are monetizing unclaimed ad slots.
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Populated by chocolate giraffes, songs about corn, and skateboarders drinking cranberry juice to Fleetwood Mac, TikTok is an inherently ridiculous place.
As such, it’s easy to dismiss the platform as a passing trend that’s used exclusively by Gen Z. But by the numbers, TikTok may surprise you.
While Gen Z does represent 44.6% of the United States’ total TikTok users, US adults overall spend almost an hour on the platform each day—more than YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, or Instagram! That screen time is growing even faster than expected, creeping up on the likes of Netflix. And even under threat of a potential (but unlikely) ban, 75% of US brands are planning to increase their spend on the channel in the coming year.
Pleasantly surprised yet? That’s what TikTok is all about!
To reduce any unpleasant surprises as you test and learn on the platform, check out some “do’s” and “don’ts” for TikTok marketing below.
The age of the perfectly filtered Instagram post is over. Experts across the board agree that brands can’t afford inauthenticity. So, what exactly does authenticity look like? Across platforms, consumers want to buy from brands whose internal actions align with their external messaging.
On TikTok specifically, more than half of users say they feel closer to brands that publish unfiltered, human content on the platform. As TikTok itself puts it, “Creative that blends seamlessly into the platform's culture of authenticity and community-driven entertainment consistently outperforms repurposed or adaptive ads.”
This is one of the most important tips for marketing on TikTok, as users love to pounce on messaging that strikes them as fake. Want an example? Check out this TikTok where Fenty Beauty partnered with beauty influencer @golloria to highlight the lack of darker shade options in makeup. The authenticity here comes from the fact that Fenty Beauty doesn’t just talk the talk—the brand offers a truly inclusive range of makeup shades, and partnered with a well-known influencer who was willing to use and promote their products.
On TikTok, you have to blend in to stand out. While the idea might sound complicated, marketers are well-versed in the practice of tailoring content to specific platforms (you wouldn’t run an audio ad on CTV, would you?)
In addition to the basics (video orientation, length, etc.) blending in on TikTok means making your brand’s content similar to the rest of the content users are interacting with on the platform. We’ve already covered one characteristic that’s important to blending in—authenticity—but there are others to be aware of.
Silliness is a big one (did we mention the songs about corn?) TikTok is an entertainment platform, after all! Challenges are also huge: upload a video that shows a specific action or dance accompanied by a hashtag, and if the content is captivating enough, TikTok users will copy your action and upload their own video along with the hashtag.
Granted, goofiness and viral challenges might not be your brand’s bag, and that’s OK! The point here is that marketers should have a solid understanding of what other content looks like on TikTok to inform the creation of their own.
Take, for example, the following video from Starface, a brand that sells star-shaped patches that heal acne. They partnered with influencers @cocoandbreezy to create a video that A) showcases their product, and B) features dancing (classic TikTok!) In addition to posting the video on its own page, Starface had @cocoandbreezy post another video to their page—a savvy move, as posts from influencers typically garner more engagement than those from brands.
Once you’ve spent some time perusing the wild, wild world of TikTok content, it’s time to dig into the platform’s advertising options.
In-feed ads are the standard and what might automatically come to mind when you think about TikTok advertising. These native ads look like organic TikTok videos and are added into a user’s feed as they scroll. However, TikTok also offers brand takeovers, TopView Ads, branded hashtag challenges, and even branded effects, which allow brands to create their own custom TikTok filters.
As with the above “blend in” recommendation, this is all about knowing the playing field. Take some time to read up on the different ad formats available within TikTok, and from there start strategizing about which ones are a good fit for both your audience and your product or service.
Need some #inspo? Check out the following video to see how Netflix used the branded effect feature to create a TikTok game promoting its Florida Man TV series.
Let’s kick off the “don’ts” with a no brainer: as with marketing strategy in general, it’s key to perform competitive audits to see what has and what hasn’t worked for the other players in your space. Since TikTok is more of a wild card than other advertising formats, competitive intelligence is especially important here. Perusing competitor feeds will also help you to identify what other industry influencers and personalities are doing.
The following video is a great example of how competitive analysis can spark ideas. Wendy’s created their own national holiday, #NationalRoastDay, and used it as an opportunity to invite tons of user generated content (UCG) from TikTokers who wanted the brand mascot to roast them.
TikTok is the home of viral challenges, and it can be tempting to participate in all of them (OK, maybe not all of them). TikTok is fickle: viral trends rise and fall, interests come and go, and sometimes it all seems to be happening too fast for a brand to thoughtfully weigh in.
But for all TikTok’s virtues, it’s still a social media platform—and when advertising on social, brand safety must be front-of-mind. With misinformation and disinformation proliferating on social platforms, it’s critical to perform a “brand safety check” on any new trend before joining in.
So, when you spot a trend or challenge you think would be perfect for your brand, take a few moments to get to know the premise, research the users who kicked it off, and spend some time with the content others are creating around it. Checking if the people, groups, or audiences behind the trend pose association-based risks is truly priceless, given the lasting consequences of hopping on the wrong bandwagon.
Because of these brand safety concerns, and because of how swiftly trends rise and fall on TikTok, it’s critical that marketers remain knowledgeable and nimble. Tools and tech can be a big help here—particularly those where marketers can track performance of their TikTok ads alongside the rest of their social, programmatic, site direct, and search spend. By accessing that kind of comprehensive and centralized reporting, marketers can make adjustments at any stage of a campaign—even midflight—to shift spend from one channel (or creative set) to another and ensure ad dollars are generating the highest possible ROAS.
Of course, there are some TikTok trends that show no signs of slowing—take ASMR, for example. This next video shows how Panda Express tapped into TikTok’s ASMR community thoughtfully and effectively, with a full video shoot and an influencer contract.
Finally, salesiness is a no-no on TikTok. Again: this is an entertainment platform! Plus, its giant user base is mostly made up of millennials, Gen Z, and the succeeding generation, Generation Alpha—users who are too digitally savvy not to scroll past anything that remotely looks like an ad.
Herein lies the challenge for many brands: while it can be fairly simple to repurpose an ad concept across display, CTV, and audio, repurposing that same concept on TikTok is a different beast.
On the flip side, TikTok offers a refreshing creative challenge for marketers, asking them to think about audience entertainment (and a nice potential boost in brand awareness) first, and CTAs second.
Here’s a great example from B2B brand Shopify on how to sidestep the sales and prioritize the entertainment:
There’s an awful lot to consider for brands branching out into TikTok, but the platform’s mantra for advertisers says it all: “Don’t make ads, make TikTok videos!” Those brands that approach their TikTok marketing strategies from the perspective of TikTok users—who seek entertaining, authentic, and unique content—will be well on their way to TikTok marketing success.
Want to learn more about how to make the most of TikTok? Get the latest insights straight from TikTok experts in our webinar, Seizing the TikTok Advertising Opportunity.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/9/23 - 6/15/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
Anyone else feeling a bit “you never know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” over Reddit the past few days? ICYMI, many of the platform’s communities have gone dark in response to the introduction of a fee for its once-free third-party API, and the drastic drop in traffic has cost Reddit’s marketers a lot of niche-but-valuable attention.
Google is in the doghouse with European regulators yet again, with Wednesday marking the tech behemoth’s fourth recent charge for violating European antitrust laws. This time, the European Commission is accusing Google of leveraging its dominance in digital advertising to undermine its competitors.
Are advertisers barking up the wrong tree when it comes to the privacy-first future? The piece outlines the true questions at the heart of our industry’s identity crisis and clarifies how advertisers can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
According to a recent report, digital ad spend is forecast to increase by 8.4% in 2023—but any concerns over “single-digit growth” should be considered in the context of the size and maturity of digital over the past decade and a half. Drivers of this growth, per the report, include retail media, connected TV, and digital out-of-home.
Authentic cultural representation matters—whether we’re talking about films, TV shows, advertisements, or any other kind of media. For brands looking for tips on how to do it right, the newest film in the Spider-Man franchise offers several important pointers.
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: data privacy.
Like Taylor Swift, third-party cookies have a big reputation. What percentage of consumers say that data privacy is a growing concern?
Click here for the answer and to—ahem—Swift-ly learn about an important solution for weathering the identity crisis using lessons from a certain pop star who’s current enjoying her Eras era.
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The death of third-party cookies has clients scrambling to ask their advertising partners: “How do we replace cookies?”
Makes sense, right? Not quite! The market is loudly, clearly, and repeatedly telling us (through new privacy legislation and otherwise) that they don’t like cookies. Finding a cookie replacement is just replacing a problem with a slightly different problem.
The question we should be asking is, “How can we show advertisers that their advertising dollars are working—without cookies?”
First, let’s recap why cookies are important. Cookies serve two critical functions:
It’s number two that has media planners worried. How can advertisers show that their digital advertising works and that their digital spend is worthwhile?
Twenty-five years ago, if you wanted to advertise, you placed ads in the newspaper or on TV. But advertisers had no way of knowing whether their ads worked. Sales might have gone up after an ad campaign, but it was impossible to directly connect an ad to a specific customer’s purchase.
The internet (and cookies) changed that. Now, it's at least theoretically possible to track a consumer from ad to purchase. This ability to measure ad effectiveness is a central feature of modern digital advertising.
Now that cookies are going away, the digital ad world is scrambling to find replacements, such as unified IDs, and IP “fingerprinting.” But these replacements aren’t listening to what the market (and lawmakers) are telling us: People don’t like the intrusive nature of the cookie. A whopping 86% of US consumers say they are concerned about data privacy. That means we’ll need to do more than just find a cookie-like solution to the third-party cookie. We’ll need to embrace a new, privacy-friendly approach to digital advertising.
Advertisers, however, expect to see how their dollars work. They're accustomed to seeing the effectiveness of their ad spend, and aren’t going to easily give that up and go back to the days of TV and newspaper advertising.
As a result, there will be continued demand for cookie replacements in the short term. But if these replacements offend consumers in the same way cookies do, they won’t last long.
Which is why we should all be working to answer a different question: How can we show return on ad spend without cookies or other intrusive tracking methods? There are a number of alternatives out there—from contextual targeting, to better leveraging first-party data by creating targeting segments with your CRM or tapping into lookalike audiences. (We’ve got plenty of resources if you want to read all about the latest in privacy and identity—check them out!)
So, what does the long-term future of identity look like? There is no single answer to that question yet. But focusing on finding the answer will allow our industry to develop a privacy-friendly, consumer-first approach—instead of repeating the same mistakes of the past.
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Want to learn more about the future of identity? Check out our guide, Beyond Third-Party Cookies: Your Guide to Privacy-Friendly Advertising.
With regulatory bodies, browser developers, and operating system owners continuing to focus on user data collection and sharing, signal loss is inevitable.
Most of those conversations around adtech focus on a single direct impact area: the cookie-based audience targeting for demand side platforms (DSPs). But while the cookie conversation is among the loudest, there are other use cases impacted by identity changes, including frequency capping and attribution. The problem extends beyond DSPs to search and social buying platforms, affecting virtually all adtech providers.
What this means for the industry is a reimagining of how the impacted use-cases can be brought forward in a privacy-friendly manner. Audience targeting will continue, but with a significantly heavier reliance on contextual targeting than in the past. Where brands are well-positioned in capturing first-party data, most publishers are laggards; however, we expect publishers to begin to place higher importance on the capture and utilization of this data as the impact becomes more real. This presents an opportunity for companies that are well-positioned between the two to provide services that allow for greater fidelity in identifying overlapping populations to help guide the allocation of media spending from brands to publishers who speak to a higher population of the brands' desired audience for a particular campaign or initiative.
What can advertisers do to better prepare for the future of advertising? Download our guide to explore how you can overcoming the identity crisis.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/2/23 - 6/8/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
Elon Musk may insist that most of Twitter’s advertisers have returned, but the numbers appear to tell a different story: US ad revenue is down 59% from a year ago. It’s likely this decrease has been driven by factors like the increase in hate speech and problematic content on the platform, which recently led Ben and Jerry’s to stop paid advertising on the platform (a development that speaks to the larger problem at hand).
Twitter isn’t the only social giant losing ad spend: In response to turbulence both related to the economy and within the world of social media, some advertisers have shifted their spend away from platforms like Snap and Meta, leading to an uptick in spend in OOH and DOOH. This piece explores the latest numbers, as well as the reasons behind these trends.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled Apple VisionPro, its new AR/VR headset. While its advertising capabilities are yet to be known, one thing is for sure: The $3,499 price tag had conference attendees clutching their pearls, not grabbing their Apple Wallets.
In the wake of other cost-cutting strategies, including some major layoffs, Amazon reportedly plans to join the ad-tier streaming world, à la Netflix, Max, and Disney+. TV advertising is one fast-moving drama these days, no?!
We know, we know, the looming loss of third-party cookies and the implications of our industry’s larger identity crisis is a stressful topic. But you know what makes it less stressful? Taylor Swift. Yup. Here, forget your stress and enjoy a Billboard Hot 100-worthy love story between privacy-friendly advertising and advertising automation (it’s more romantic than it sounds, we promise!).
Show off your marketing chops with our question of the week. This week’s hot topic: CTA conversions.
True or false: It’s best practice to offer multiple choices to audiences when crafting a CTA (i.e., offering different levels of services or methods to sign up).
Get the answer, plus a deep dive into 15 best practices to increase CTA conversions, right here.
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