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Looking for top programmatic advertising trends for 2024? Check out our post here.
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Digital advertising is recalibrating.
It seems like at every turn, there is something new, unpredictable and unfamiliar. Content platforms are adding commerce, and commerce platforms are adding content (and ads), all in an effort to boost revenue. Meanwhile, privacy enforcement is heating up, online platforms might lose essential legal protection, and consumer behavior continues to transform.
Amidst all that change, though, there is one reliable constant: programmatic, a medium that, at this point, touches pretty much every facet of digital marketing. Its penetration in digital display is forecast to reach a massive 91.1% in 2023 (up from 90.2% last year), and it’s growing in other maturing media formats, too—the likes of connected TV (CTV), digital out-of-home (DOOH), and digital audio.
Not that this is surprising. At a time when marketers are scrutinizing budgets and searching for operational efficiencies against economic headwinds and increased complexity, investing in programmatic makes perfect sense. And even despite the turbulence caused by the loss of the third-party identifiers upon which programmatic was built, the medium is standing its ground as advertisers embrace a raft of new, versatile, privacy-friendly targeting solutions.
By all indications, 2023 is set to be (yet another) dynamic year in programmatic advertising. Here, we’ll dive into seven programmatic trends that are set to shape the programmatic landscape and explore some of the ways advertisers can capitalize on those trends to power growth.
Our everyday lives are jampacked with technology—in 2022, the average US household was equipped with 22 connected devices—so it’s increasingly important for brands to serve up unified cross-channel experiences. Consumers today are watching TV while on their phones one minute, then listening to podcasts while working on their laptop the next—and they expect a seamless advertising experience across all of them.
Adjacent to that, brands have less and less time to win consumers’ attention. Gen Z and millennials, in particular, have grown up in the short-form video worlds of Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube—they won’t hesitate to skip past content and ads that don’t engage them from the get-go.
All this is to say: marketers have it tough.
To combat the challenges and complexities, marketers will need to nail the fundamentals. Powering programmatic media performance entails complicated processes, so advertisers should look to evaluate whether they’re taking advantage of the resources already at their fingertips. That means stewarding budgets responsibly, investing in campaign planning, maintaining media hygiene, optimizing optimizations, and, critically, embracing technology that breaks down silos and accelerates digital media execution. Adopting a passive position in these areas will only expose marketing organizations to crisis and lead to strategies defined more by fire drills than brand values and needs.
The macro trend within the TV landscape is clear—streamers are slowly dethroning linear TV:
Consumers are increasingly tuning into the biggest screen in their homes digitally. And, in the fight for their time and wallets, streaming platforms have been busy—finalizing mergers, securing content rights, and rolling out ad-supported tiers in pursuit of subscriber growth and diversified revenue streams.
Amid these forays into the world of advertising, the streaming platforms are placing an emphasis on how they’re enabling ads via intentional partnerships (think Fox and Magnite, Netflix and Microsoft, Roku and Nielsen, and NBCUniversal + iSpot). This is creating consolidation across a complex ecosystem, unifying some of the fragmentation and opening opportunities to execute digital TV investments more cost-effectively—and programmatically. Indeed, in 2022, 74.4% of CTV ad dollars flowed through programmatic pipes, and that number is expected to rise to 78.6% by 2024.
The development of programmatic in CTV naturally depends on how the various streaming providers want to monetize their vision for ad-supported environments. But programmatic affords vastly more flexibility than upfront or scatter markets, so where there is inventory available, it should continue to gobble up market share.
There’s no question that digital audio is growing in importance, commanding an increasing share of our day and engaging audiences in ways few channels can. It’s an absorbing, emotional, and different experience—and one that drives results (75% brand recall rate, anyone?). It’s also got reams of untapped growth potential. Podcasting advertising alone is estimated to be undervalued by as much as $40 billion relative to other channels. Clearly, it’s time for advertisers to get involved in this opportunity.
The numbers around digital audio make for some compelling reading: Podcasts are projected to account for 5.1% of total time spent with digital media in 2023 (up from 4.7% in 2022). Music streaming has increased 27.5% from three years ago and averaged 1 hour 56 minutes in daily listening time in H1 2022. The penetration for digital audio is currently 78.5% of internet users. And that’s just scratching the surface.
The programmatic share of digital audio ad spending continues to deepen and is estimated to hit 23.2% this year. In times when audiences can be oversaturated with visual advertising, audio offers a great way to diversify programmatic budgets, evolve omnichannel strategies, and reach a highly targetable (and mobile) audience in a brand-safe environment. Those that embrace this medium as a soundboard for creativity and lean into expanding consumer listening habits will likely set themselves up to cut through some of the marketing noise in 2023 and beyond.
If you’re looking for innovation, you may want to get up and get out of the house.
Indeed, some 47% of US agency and ad execs think digital out-of-home (DOOH) is developing the most innovative ad opportunities, behind only social media and mobile. And with TV and radio audiences fragmenting under the force of digital, DOOH is helping advertisers fill the one-to-many void.
Traditionally, DOOH media owners have sold their inventory via time-limited packages that promise a minimum share of voice or number of playouts, essentially guaranteeing budgets per campaign. But as more and more screens pop up across cities worldwide, programmatic DOOH is prospering. Back in 2020, only 6.9% of DOOH ad spending in the US was transacted programmatically, but that share is forecast to rise to 22.6% this year, then 29.0% in 2024.
It’s quite profound growth, and it’s easy to understand the drivers behind it. By tapping into a range of real-time data such as live sports scores, weather fluctuations, traffic updates, or local in-store retail discounts, advertisers can create dynamic messaging and capture the attention of large, relevant audiences. Programmatic DOOH also opens the door to unique creative through full motion video, social media engagement, syncing and touch screen interactivity, augmented reality, QR codes, and more.
While undoubtedly a nascent medium, DOOH is gaining traction through its versatility and ability to successfully drive brand awareness—solidifying itself as a fixture in marketers’ omnichannel media mix.
Google may well have pushed back the deprecation of third-party cookies from Chrome until 2024, but advertisers should understand that between 50 and 60% of signal fidelity from third-party identifiers has already been lost through the actions of other platforms and browsers (such as Firefox, Safari, and Brave). In other words: we’re living in the cookieless future right now.
This, coupled with expanding regulations and stricter enforcement of existing data protection laws (eyes on you, Sephora and Kochava!), necessitates immediate privacy-forward action from stakeholders across the entire advertising ecosystem. Everyone has a role to play: Adtech itself needs to help activate tactics, consult on solutions, and facilitate partnerships; publishers must create a positive CX to empower quality data capture; and brands should be implementing compliance frameworks and advanced data management systems.
What does this mean for targeting and measurement in programmatic? In short: we’re still very much in the innovation and trial stage. New proposals are entering the market all the time and existing solutions that have taken a back seat for a while are garnering renewed attention (hello, contextual targeting!) Eventually, once publishers and advertisers have run their tests, the industry will likely coalesce around a small selection of agile and scalable options. But the point here is don’t sit around and wait for the problem to go away. The time to act is today!
Over the past two years, brands of all sorts have been launching retail media networks (RMNs), opening new real estate for ad placements and promising the proliferation of their privileged first-party data. The revenue success of Amazon has awoken others to the opportunity, with Walmart, Target, and Kroger getting particularly active in ramping their retail network and advertising capabilities. CVS, Walgreens, Dollar General, Ulta Beauty, Petco, eBay, Lowe’s, The Home Depot, Marriott, and Dick’s Sporting Goods (to name just a few) have also gotten into the game.
The growth of RMNs in the US could equate to $45.05 billion in ad spending in 2023, and the ripple effect of this evolution is significant. The ability to match unique customer IDs and ad impressions to SKU sales—all in a privacy-protected way—is compressing the marketing funnel and creating a paradigm shift in digital advertising not seen since...well, the rise of programmatic! All signs suggest the space is likely to scale, and with retailers inking deals with publishers, DSPs, and SSPs that want in on the action, the implications could be far-reaching across programmatic and beyond.
They’re still in their early days, but RMNs are certainly something to watch carefully and leverage accordingly.
It’s been a tumultuous time for social networks—so much so that The Atlantic recently questioned whether the age of social media is indeed ending. The growing levels of social ad spending would indicate not, but there are undoubtedly some interesting, shifting dynamics at play.
In 2022, we saw:
TikTok has been a shining light, but even this golden child of social media should watch its back with emerging competitors like BeReal gaining traction. The key to the future of social is essentially Gen Z—the changing of the social guard is founded upon this generation embracing a social experience rooted in more interaction, entertainment, and authentic communication. Sixty percent of US teens also report that feeling “welcome and safe” is more important than a space to speak freely online.
2023 will be a year for recalibration in social circles as the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter look for new ways to kick-start their businesses. Marketers should look to the younger cohorts for a glimpse into where they should be making sound social investments.
The advertising industry is poised to undergo a digital sea change in the year ahead. And the micro world of programmatic will be in the thick of it. Defining and reaching audiences, what those audiences care about, the channels and tactics employed, and how performance is measured—it’s all changing. Marketers who can stay agile and nail the basics will be in the best position to navigate all the headwinds the industry is running into, and perhaps even turn them into tailwinds!
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Want more tips and tricks to navigate the year ahead? Check out all our 2023 trends content designed to help you stay ahead of the curve.
The end of the year: It’s a time for reflection, planning, and…presents. Lots of presents. Preferably, presents we actually like, and will use, instead of stashing them in our regifting closets for the next holiday season (what, you don’t have a regifting closet?)
So, in the spirit of the season, we wanted to give our readers a little something that should fire on all those aforementioned cylinders. Not only is our gift to you useful for both reflection and planning, but it’s also categorically impossible to store in a closet, because it’s digital. We know, so on brand!
Now, without further ado, please accept this humble offering of 22 think pieces, explainers, and news stories that helped capture the past year in digital marketing. The best part? Regifting this list is not only allowed—it’s encouraged!
2022 was a landmark year for consumer privacy. We saw a slew of new regulations introduced and passed across the globe, increasingly strident data privacy crackdowns from regulators, and yet another delay of third-party cookie deprecation in Google’s Chrome browser. Here’s what to read to make sense of it all:
Advertisers may soon have to confront a new challenge in the realm of data privacy: “digital sovereignty.” But with the global digital economy built on a foundation of free-flowing data, could this concept break the digital supply chain and inhibit a seamless customer experience?
Privacy regulations are tightening, third-party cookies are (eventually?) going away, aaaaaand it appears the advertising industry is largely underprepared. At least, that’s what new research from the IAB’s State of Data 2022 (Part II) reveals. Here, Adweek breaks down the biggest takeaways from the report, as well as what marketers can do to close the “gulf in preparedness.”
Data privacy regulators are not playing around: In September alone, Zillow, Expedia, Chewy.com, and Lowe’s were all fined for alleged data privacy breaches. In response, marketers are reevaluating their data practices and partnerships with renewed urgency—but that’s easier said than done, thanks to collection and sharing processes that are many-layered and difficult to audit.
Privacy changes pushed by Apple and Google have made first-party data all the more important. But one side effect of this shift is that it tilts the playing field towards large digital ecosystems like Google, TikTok, Amazon, and Pinterest, who can easily gather information on their millions of users.
The American Data Protection and Privacy Act, which has been sent to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote, would pre-empt state data privacy regulation if passed. Here are three big things advertisers should know about this piece of legislation.
After Google’s announcement that it will delay third-party cookie deprecation to 2024, ad execs put the “pro” in procrastination. It’s understandable given everything on marketers’ plates right now, but the trend doesn’t speak well to our industry’s future-proofing abilities.
While traditional advertising formats like linear TV, radio, and newspaper have historically been on the decline, new data shows marketers predicting that traditional ad spend will increase in the years ahead thanks to benefits like breaking through digital clutter, tapping into consumer trust, and avoiding third-party cookies.
This past year was so dramatic for Big Tech, it could have been a soap opera. Here are a few of the biggest events and ideas to come out of a year in which lawmakers took some significant swings in service of keeping tech giants like Facebook and Google in check:
Meta’s housing advertising system has been under fire for discriminating against Facebook users based on demographics like race and gender. In June, they reached a settlement with the Justice Department that will compel the social giant to address algorithmic discrimination—a landmark decision for digital advertising regulation.
European lawmakers approved two new pieces of sweeping digital regulation, paving the way for clashes between regulators and the world’s biggest tech companies over how those rules should be applied.
In the past decade, newspaper ad revenue has dropped by an astonishing 50% as advertisers shifted their dollars to the internet. This Q&A explores some of the novel proposals aimed at propping up the news industry—including a “journalism tax” on digital ads.
Social media’s golden child continues to dazzle users and advertisers alike. Here’s what you should know:
TikTok has changed the way people search, buy, watch, communicate, and advertise. Not too bad for a platform once written off as a “silly video-dance fad!” So, how did it grow so dominant, and what are the consequences of that dominance? This in-depth piece touches on all the details.
In this op-ed, George Sharpe argues that as TikTok comes closer to surpassing Facebook’s viewership, viewers will come to prefer “non-perfect video” over produced, polished media. The era of the Instagram filter is coming to an end, and advertisers would do well to consider the cultural shift towards TikTok-style, “real-life” video.
It makes sense that the DTC MVP would encroach upon the territory of social platforms like YouTube and Instagram…but Google, too?! According to the New York Times, many Gen Z TikTokers are now using TikTok as their primary search engine—and that may be kind of a red flag, given that one-fifth of the platform’s search results have been found to contain misinformation.
What a year for connected TV advertising and digital video as a whole! These were a few of the biggest pieces of news in the streaming arena:
All eyes were on Netflix when their ad-supported tier launched on November 3. Though their COO and chief product officer told investors there has been “very strong” demand for ad inventory leading up to the launch, only time will tell if the platform will be able to give advertisers what they want.
Hut, hut…hike! In an effort to expand their streaming audiences, Apple, Amazon, and Google are competing for the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket (with Apple the current frontrunner). See what Big Tech’s dominance of live sports could mean for media companies, leagues, and streamers.
It wasn’t the first time monthly streaming exceeded broadcast in terms of viewership, but it was the first time that streaming also surpassed cable. The downturn in both sports programming and new content on traditional television likely contributed to the shift. Just another day in the rise of OTT and CTV…
The economy. Climate change. In-game advertising. Misinformation. Overwhelmed yet? Never fear—these articles will get you up to speed on all the other big topics 2022 threw our way:
As brands continue to grapple with inflation and economic uncertainty, more and more of them are having to raise prices just to stay afloat. How are marketers approaching inflation-borne challenges? Here, the New York Times explores the “new playbook” for weathering the storm.
Plenty of marketers have worked with their company and/or client on campaigns focused on climate change, but what about the impact of the ads themselves? Between greenwashing, funding climate misinformation, and the media creation process itself, advertising-related emissions have reportedly increased by 11% since 2019—leading some agency leaders to call this moment a “wake-up call.”
As hype around advertising in the metaverse builds, many brands seem to have forgotten all about gaming—a channel that’s intimately connected to the metaverse, but largely untapped (plus, it actually, you know…exists?) This deep dive covers all the bases on how to tap into gaming’s vast and diverse audience.
In the wake of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover—and the subsequent blue checkmark debacle in which several brands were impersonated on Twitter—online misinformation is top of mind for digital advertisers. New research, outlined here, shows how consumers feel about mis- and disinformation, and how they think brands should address it.
As advertisers pull money out of Twitter due to aforementioned brand safety concerns, where exactly are those dollars going? While some marketers are reallocating spend to social platforms like Snapchat and TikTok, others are saving them for a rainy day (we are in an economic downturn, after all). What’s certain? Media organizations are making their plays for advertisers’ newly available cash.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA)’s effort to audit the US programmatic advertising industry has been rife with complications and controversy (and understandably so, given the nature of programmatic advertising itself). Here, peek behind the curtain into the ANA’s attempt to give marketers some transparency into their programmatic budgets.
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Did you like our present? Did you?! If you didn’t, we’ll be so sad we might just go hide in our regifting closet…
If you did, we’ve got another to share: Each month, our team of digital marketers rounds up the all the best news, tips, and insights from around the adtech industry, and delivers them straight to marketers’ inboxes. Want in on the fun? Sign up for Basis Scout today!
Raise your hand if it feels absurd that we’re deep in the throes of December. Wasn’t August, like, last week?
Now, raise your hand if 2022 has felt like it’s dragged on endlessly.
Regardless of which boat you’re in, there’s no avoiding the fact that the new year is rapidly approaching. And with it? New Year’s resolutions.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, in just a few days’ time your social feeds are sure to be filled with folks setting goals, resolving to change, and finally committing to practicing that new hobby.
And while it’s undoubtedly best to set goals, evaluate, and improve on a regular basis, it can be nice to use the new year as a chance for reflection and goal setting. To help digital marketers looking to do just that, we sat down and thought through some resolutions that are sure to bring success in the new year. Here are our top four:
With Google having repeatedly delayed the deprecation of third-party cookies, it’s easy to feel like advertisers have all the time in the world before the cookieless future becomes the cookieless present. And with challenges like economic uncertainty, inflation, and burnout plaguing our industry, today’s advertisers already have a lot on their plates. Why throw exploring cookieless solutions into the mix now?
Well, to start, the 86% of Americans saying data privacy is a growing concern for them aren’t demanding change…tomorrow. And as advertisers know, transitioning away from third-party cookies isn’t done with a snap of a finger: It’s a process, not an event. It’s going to take time for marketers to identify and transition into the mix of privacy-friendly solutions that works best for them.
There are many effective tools and tactics out there to help prepare for a cookieless world, such as contextual targeting, geotargeting, and leaning more heavily on first-party data to personalize ad experiences. That said, none is a perfect, silver bullet solution. Each will require testing, tweaking, and evaluating to decide how and where it serves a marketing campaign best. And that testing will be far more difficult without the safety net of third-party cookies to fall back on, which is available to advertisers testing these solutions today.
Moral of the story? Marketers who start the process in 2023 will have a major advantage over their competitors who wait until third-party cookies are off the table. So, look out for “2024 you” by diving in and embracing progress over perfection.
Every advertiser knows that trustworthy data and solid data analyses are critical to campaign success. Data enables advertisers to understand current and prospective customer bases, create personalized advertising experiences for their audiences, and pull constructive insights from each campaign.
But as a result of the many point solutions marketers must use to navigate the complexity of today’s media landscape, our entire industry struggles with poor quality data and a lack of data consolidation. As the digital ecosystem continues to evolve and grow in complexity, marketers must prioritize data quality and consolidation to stay on top of the game. And, as we transition away from third-party cookies, marketing orgs must bolster their first-party data collection systems and find ways to leverage that data for all it’s worth.
Ready to make 2023 the year you become a data rockstar? To consolidate your data, consider a universal reporting system so you can spend less time pulling and standardizing reports and more time digging into the data itself. To boost the quality of your data, consider investing in resources like a data analyst (or team of analysts) or a customer data platform (CDPs). And if you’ve yet to start making the most of your first-party data? Explore and test the many ways it can be utilized to target and personalize ads in a privacy-friendly way.
Today’s digital world looks a lot different from that of twenty years ago. It’s sometimes difficult to remember a world before iPhones, Hulu binge sessions, and podcasts (though many of us lived through those days).
People today interact with digital media across many different platforms and channels, and their habits are ever-evolving. Marketers need to have their finger on the pulse of consumers’ digital behaviors, so that they can reach them when and where they’re spending the most time. This is especially important for advertisers looking to connect with younger generations, like Gen Z and millennials.
And two channels that are commanding an increasing share of consumer time and interest? Connected TV and digital audio. For marketers who have yet to embrace these new(ish) and increasingly popular channels, here are a few quick stats to know about each:
Connected TV:
Digital Audio:
For advertisers who have yet to embrace or explore these channels, 2023 presents a great opportunity to do so. This could look like incorporating live sports advertising into your omnichannel campaign, tapping into specific and highly engaged audiences via podcast advertising, or playing with cross-device targeting with CTV ads to reach viewers where they’re watching their favorite shows. By incorporating these increasingly popular channels, advertisers can better connect with consumers where they’re spending time.
Turbulent, rough, unpredictable, raging dumpster fire—these are just a few of the terms we’ve heard used to describe the past few years (and aptly so). The world has gone through (and continues to go through) a lot, and, on top of more universal challenges, the advertising industry is facing its own shifts. Amidst ever-evolving consumer sentiments, the deprecation of third-party cookies, increased government regulation, economy-driven shifts, and many other unpredictable factors, advertisers might be left wanting to scream into the void to MAKE IT ALL SLOW DOWN.
But here’s the thing: change is inevitable. And though there are many things that marketers can’t control, they can control their perspective when change occurs. Rather than wallowing in the land of “woe is me,” advertisers can use cognitive reframing to adjust their perspectives. For those unfamiliar with the practice, reframing includes identifying your current viewpoint, naming its challenges or shortcomings, and choosing to shift into a more beneficial way of thinking. For example, disappointment over a tighter budget (ahem, inflation…) could be reframed as an opportunity to identify which of your marketing investments really pull their weight, and which can be reallocated. This practice can help advertisers approach times of uncertainty and instability in a proactive and positive way.
“Alright, we get it. Challenges = opportunities. Now what?” you might wonder. Our recommendation? Revisit the basics. During times of uncertainty, it can be helpful to lean into proven solutions and tools, rather than searching for a magic (and elusive) fix-all hack. For those eager to start the new year on a solid foundation, this could include making a renewed effort to track shifts in consumer behavior, setting up systems to regularly pull insights from that data, and then using those insights to make data-driven strategic decisions. Though there are many factors that are uncontrollable and unpredictable, using proven strategies can empower advertisers during uncertain times.
We hope at least one of these resolutions resonated with you, and that you’re excited about using it to kick 2023 off with a bang. But please: Don’t strive for all four of our recommendations—you’ll become far too powerful!
The year ahead is sure to bring changes, challenges, and opportunities for those in the digital advertising industry. Want to learn more about how marketers can prepare for and capitalize on these shifts? In our latest report, we take a deep dive into the trends that will shape digital advertising in the year to come and how advertisers can make the most of it.
The following is adapted from Basis Technologies’ guide, Meeting the Moment with Advertising Automation. To get even more advertising automation-related insights and statistics, download the guide today.
“Give consumers a thoughtful, tailored advertising experience and they will buy more, develop more loyalty, and share their positive engagement with others.” A simple concept in theory, yet one that's extremely difficult to execute.
Delivering a great customer experience depends on a range of factors, including speed, convenience, consistency, and approachability. The big one, though, is the human touch—creating real connections by making technology feel more human and meeting people in their moment, where they are, and on an individual level. In a word: personalization.
Personalization can take many shapes and forms, and digital advertisers can tap into a range of personalization tactics that can run throughout the entire journey to purchase. In today's campaigns, brands are compelled to move beyond a blanket targeting approach and instead create content that caters to their audience’s unique experiences and meets them on their preferred channel. And consumers are increasingly demanding it: 73% of all buyers (including both B2B and B2C) say they expect companies to understand their unique needs, while just over half (56%) expect offers to always be personalized.
When done manually, omnichannel personalization strategies can be incredibly cost sapping and time consuming, relying on a host of disparate platforms. This model was once the only one available, but it’s inadequate for an era where marketers need the ability to easily modify and customize creative assets with audience-specific language, calls-to-action, real-time messaging, visuals, and products. Further exacerbating these challenges is consumers’ recent reevaluation of businesses’ roles in society, with stakeholder capitalism becoming an increasingly major factor in purchasing decisions. Modern consumers want more than just personalized experiences—they want empathetic and authentic ones, with 62% saying they feel an emotional connection to the brands they buy from the most.
Marketers who are looking to successfully incorporate personalized moments into their advertising experiences—and find the greater flexibility, efficiency, and scalability required to implement them—need three things: a strategy to streamline planning, technology to effortlessly control campaigns, and data-driven measurement. Fortunately, there is one existing solution that offers all that (and more): digital advertising automation.
Across every industry, from automotive to education, financial services to retail, technological developments in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning have enabled advertisers to create more personalized content while leaving antiquated manual techniques behind. Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) systems activated by advanced data management infrastructure can automatically build thousands of digital ads that vary in real-time for product-based retargeting, creative personalization, audience segmentation, and customer journey enhancement. By adopting this workflow automation, media buyers have more time to focus on these types of strategies and ensure they are crafting messaging that better targets unique segments. The end results: more conversions, loyalty, and revenue.
Geo-targeting campaigns
Feed-based product campaigns
Sequential storytelling
Behavioral prospecting
Geo-targeting campaigns
Contextual targeting
Sequential storytelling
Behavioral prospecting
The very meaning of the term personalization has evolved quite a bit over the last decade. Indeed, until relatively recently, the concept of personalizing content equated to simply inserting someone’s first name in an email or basic push notification.
However, personalization today is a different animal—much more complex, much more challenging, and much more pervasive. To get it right, and at scale, advertisers need to first get their data house in order before layering on top various automation functionalities that can empower them to go from rigid linear storytelling to something markedly more dynamic and engaging.
Want to learn more about advertising automation? Check out our guide and see why automation is essential to the future success and long-term growth of the media buying industry.
In the world of digital media, there are many different channels and tactics available to advertisers today. Each brings their own value and opportunity, as well as complexities. Two of the most commonly used channels are programmatic display advertising and paid search advertising. Advertisers often focus their efforts and budgets here, as both channels are well established, with a history of proven results.
According to eMarketer, paid search ad spending is expected to continue growing in coming years. Paid search is estimated to make up 29.5% of overall digital ad spending in 2023, and over $136 billion dollars in the U.S. alone by 2026.
It’s important to note, however, that the rate of entry for net new advertisers to this channel is quite low. Rather, most advertisers are established in the paid search space and continue to find real value in performance as evidenced by advertisers’ continued investment.
How is search sustaining YoY growth? Paid search continues to evolve along with the digital media industry as a whole. The last two decades have brought forth many advances in paid search—including updates to ad formats and layouts, targeting tactics, and capabilities.
One of the most recent enhancements is the power of machine learning through expanded bidding strategies, audience-based targeting, and responsive search ad formats. The introduction of machine learning in paid search has proven to be extremely valuable and allows for personalization and relevance at scale.
You may be thinking to yourself, "Audience-based targeting and machine learning must be similar to programmatic display." And you’re right—they are! Both channels are based on real-time bidding and go well beyond the KPI of driving traffic.
Instead, they drive performance with remarketing and look-a-like targeting. Additionally, both can scale. If you’re an advertiser with a limited budget, consider the targeting definitions—audiences, geography, or keywords—to ensure the budget aligns with the demand.
While there are similarities between programmatic display advertising and paid search, understanding the difference between the two and when it makes sense to use one and/or the other, can lead to more robust, strategic, and successful media plans.
Programmatic display advertising and paid search are inherently different in how they operate. Display advertising provides the opportunity to cast a wide net, proactively reaching people across the web, in more of a "push" approach. Display advertising is often thought of as the go-to media channel for building brand awareness, and usually considered an upper-funnel tactic. Impressions hold high value.
Paid search, on the other hand, uses a "pull" approach, with consumers searching for your product or service directly. Paid search is driven by intent only and plays a key role in targeting hand-raisers, requiring advertisers only pay for clicks. For this reason, clicks hold more value than impressions. This key difference is the driving force behind the power of paid search and the value it brings to advertisers.
Knowing that paid search operates as a pull approach, it is unique in the way that advertisers can reach an audience in the moments that matter most: ideally, when a user is raising their hand to inquire further about a product or service.
Despite the common misconception that paid search is solely a low-funnel tactic, with the right strategy and campaign set-up, advertisers can reach an audience at any stage of the consumer journey or media funnel. Whether a consumer is just beginning their research using non-branded keywords, or already ready to convert and using a branded keyword, a strategic, well-built paid search account can create touchpoints throughout the entire consumer journey.
Paid search drives results for various campaign objectives, or KPIs. Whether the goal is to generate leads, sales, phone calls, in-store visits, or other custom actions, the immediacy of results and the opportunity to optimize quickly is extremely valuable in paid search.
Advertisers may notice results within hours after launch and (depending on scale) may begin making optimizations early on, in order to drive efficiencies. Testing strategies are easily deployed within paid search campaigns to better understand several factors that drive campaign performance.
Advertisers are likely to test ad copy, bidding strategies, audience search trends (days of the week or hours of the day), and more. Paid search is not a set-it-and-forget-it channel. Instead, it requires ongoing optimizations, which in turn provide strong results.
While paid search is not as wide-reaching as display advertising, it allows advertisers the opportunity to maximize their returns by utilizing a combination of machine learning and human intelligence to reach audiences. Studies show that programmatic display advertising, partnered with paid search, provides powerful results and an overall performance lift.
Marketers commonly lean on attribution tools to measure how clicks from search and display advertising work together to drive performance and compare effectiveness across both channels. Tools such as Skai, Google’s Search Ads 360, or even Facebook’s Attribution Measurement Tool help de-duplicate conversions across search, display, and other ad platforms.
At Basis Technologies, we don’t recommend using one channel over the other. Tweak your strategy and shared learnings between the two, particularly around audiences and messaging—and you’ll have the optimal tool to drive success!
Learn more about Display Advertising with Basis Technologies
Ah, 2022. Who were we before you came along? Naïve to the digital advertising regulation you’d introduce, ignorant to how Elon Musk would buy and change Twitter, utterly unprepared for how TikTok could make a 37-year old song a top 10 hit.
You’ve changed us, 2022, and we know that your impact will reach far beyond the moment when the ball touches the ground in Times Square this New Year’s Eve. To that end, we wanted to pay our respects by taking a look at the content our readers found most useful as you unfolded. After all, you gave digital marketers quite a lot to think about.
Without further ado, here are our readers’ top ten favorite articles from the past year. Pay attention, 2022: Their selections undoubtedly say something about you!
As the most digitally savvy generation yet matures into adulthood, it’s more important than ever for marketers to understand what makes them tick. Here, learn where Gen Z technology and media use stand today, and see how those habits are predicted to evolve in coming years.
From the rise of CTV and audio to a renewed emphasis on creative, nearly all of the programmatic trends that defined 2022 show no sign of slowing in the years to come. This piece outlines seven of those trends in detail.
Boy, oh boy, was 2022 a big year for digital advertising regulation. Check out this article to get a recap on all the most important developments, plus an explanation of how the latest legislation impacts advertising and marketing professionals.
Connected TV was all the rage in 2022, with ad spend growing by 23% from 2021. To help advertisers navigate the fragmented landscape, this piece offers tips for managing CTV campaigns from start to finish. (PS: Want even more CTV insights? Check out our ultimate guide to CTV advertising!)
“Metaverse”: it was so close to being the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year, but in the end, it just wasn’t a match for “goblin mode”. Maybe next year, metaverse! In the meantime, this piece delves into three of the most popular advertising approaches marketers are adopting in the metaverse space right now.
Again, Google?! The tech giant’s decision to delay third-party cookie deprecation in Chrome to 2024 was one of the biggest news stories of this year. Here’s our POV on what the delay means for digital advertisers.
As you listen to your 2022 Spotify Wrapped playlist, read this to learn all about the rise of audio advertising—what makes the channel so unique, why it’s booming, and what benefits it can bring to your campaigns.
We know we’re preaching to the choir here, but today’s marketing landscape is…a lot. So much so that marketers are using an average of nine different platforms to run a typical campaign! Here, learn about the factors causing media complexity, and get to know the solutions that are poised to usher in a better future for everyone working in the marketing space.
Did we mention that managing marketing campaigns has never been so complex? This piece breaks down why simply adding more and more point solutions to your tech stack only serves to further complicate things, and how omnichannel advertising platforms offer a sustainable solution.
The 2022 midterms were a whirlwind of unprecedented spend and branching out into new(er) channels like CTV and influencer marketing. Here, we explore the top takeaways from Basis Technologies’ annual political advertising survey.
Live sports viewing has changed dramatically in recent years. How can digital advertisers effectively reach and connect with sports fans in this new, disparate landscape? Read this for all the answers.
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To all our 2022 readers: Thanks for spending your time with us this past year! It’s our pleasure to provide digital marketing insights, best practices, and thought leadership to help you crush your marketing goals.
Want to make keeping on top of digital marketing news and trends even easier? Sign up for Basis Scout, a monthly newsletter highlighting new and essential content for digital marketing and advertising professionals.
What rhymes with “one two three” and is making big waves in the advertising industry?
Why, CTV, of course!
It feels like there wasn’t a single week in 2022 when connected TV (CTV) wasn’t in the news: from Amazon acquiring Thursday Night Football rights, to Netflix and Disney+ rolling out ad-supported tiers, to streaming viewership overtaking broadcast and cable in July, and more.
So, what’s with all the hubbub? Does the channel really offer that great of an opportunity?
In short: yes. With more and more people turning to CTV devices for their digital video content (nearly two-thirds of the US population this year), it makes sense that advertisers are upping their spend.
For marketers looking to make the most of this channel, there’s a lot to consider. Luckily, there’s also a ton of resources specifically designed to help you make sense of it all—and this list is the perfect place to start.
Ready to “skip intro” and get to the good stuff? Here we go:
Looking for the lowdown on connected TV advertising basics? Consider this your one-stop shop for all the fundamentals.
CPV and CPCV and VCR—oh my! Just as CTV advertising has exploded over the last few years, so too has the number of terms and acronyms used to describe the channel. For folks who want to both walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to connected TV advertising, this one’s for you.
We all know that CTV viewership is skyrocketing, with ad spend following in kind—but what are the tangible advantages when it comes to leveraging CTV in a campaign? Here, we break down four key benefits of connected TV advertising.
Are over-the-top (OTT) and CTV advertising the same? Is CTV only good for reaching Gen Zers? For those confused by all the information out there—not to mention, misinformation—this post is here to help.
If you’ve moved beyond the basics and are looking to dive into the nitty gritty of CTV advertising, this piece offers the 411 on best practices and strategies to optimize your CTV campaign from start to finish.
CTV advertising is booming, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its challenges (we’re looking at you, fragmentation!). Here, learn how advertisers can navigate the complexity of the CTV landscape.
Is the game showing on Peacock? Amazon? YouTube TV? ESPN+?? Ah, how the used-to-be simple act of watching sports has changed. This piece offers a deep dive into live sports advertising, especially within the context of the digital future.
In this webinar, Beachfront’s Head of Demand Sales, Katie Long, and Basis Technologies’ VP of Product Marketing, Britni Gallello, unpack what marketers need to know about CTV and how to harness its power.
This comprehensive guide dives into everything marketers need to know about CTV advertising: from best practices and strategies, to trends and forecasts, to key CTV KPIs, and more!
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Keeping a pulse on the latest developments in adtech—from CTV, to identity, to brand safety, and beyond—can be overwhelming. And while many marketers would love to have the time to browse the news each day to stay up to date, it’s simply not realistic for everyone.
If you’re looking for a way to stay in the know, while having time for everything else marketers have on their plates these days, check out Basis Scout. This monthly newsletter recaps the latest and greatest tips, insights, news, and trends in the advertising industry—so you don’t have to go searching.
(Blog cover image: What DALL-E 2 produced when given the prompt, “A beagle celebrating the New Year while reading its favorite stories on an iPad”.)
With 2023 fast approaching and 2022 slowly fading in the rearview, we wanted to take a look back at some of our favorite blog posts from the year that was! Read on to see just a taste of our advertising and marketing industry coverage from 2022—and check out the Basis blog to see all the rest!
Advertising Opportunities in the Metaverse
If we are to believe the hype (and the billions upon billions of investor dollars that are fueling the phenomenon) it appears the metaverse is well-positioned to become the “next big thing” in marketing and entertainment—even if, at this moment, it does not fully exist. For many brands, the sensible approach to the metaverse right now is to learn, observe, and wait for the concept to become more tangible, as it is still far too soon to know which investments will be viable in the long term. But for those looking to be early adopters in the space, there are a few initial metaverse solutions that indicate potential use cases for advertisers. Check out this post to learn all about how digital marketers can start tapping into them.
Climate Change and Sustainability Advertising: Tips, Dos, and Don’ts for Digital Marketers
Reports on the trajectory of climate change are growing ever more dire, with targeted carbon emissions goals looking increasingly out of reach barring swift and major regulatory and/or corporate changes. In the face of this, organizations continue to tout their climate pledges and roll out marketing campaigns—or, depending upon who you ask, PR stunts—demonstrating their commitment to environmentally-friendly values and practices. But many sustainability-minded consumers are making it clear that they aren’t buying what your brand is selling. And with consumers increasingly looking to corporations for leadership on the climate crisis, the old methods of green marketing just aren’t good enough. To help brands navigate this sensitive territory, this piece lays out some of the dos and don’ts of climate- and sustainability-focused advertising.
Why Contextual Targeting is Having a Moment in Digital Advertising
The forthcoming “cookie-pocalypse” threatens to wreak havoc across the advertising industry, and many marketers are responding like birds: either running around in panic like chickens, or pretending the crisis doesn’t exist and burying their heads in the sand, ostrich-style. Clearly, neither is sustainable, but are there any solutions out there that can help marketers get back to acting like humans? Oddly enough, the most practical one may be staring us right in the face: contextual targeting. And look, we get it: a lot of people are (quite understandably!) uninterested in hearing more about contextual targeting. It’s been around for a while and, candidly, it’s kind of boring. But in rare and exceptional instances such as this, old + boring doesn’t necessarily have to = bad. Just ask baseball fans, or anyone in the middle of a riveting game of Monopoly! Read this to learn all about contextual targeting, how it works, and why it’s a surprisingly great solution for today’s digital advertiser.
Everything You Need to Know About Programmatic In-Housing
Throughout programmatic advertising history, brands have largely entrusted its execution to agencies and trading desks. But today, in a world of unforgiving consumers and constantly shifting market dynamics, many brands are searching for an alternative to the traditional brand-agency model as they look to gain greater transparency into their media buys, more holistic control over their data, and greater assurance of compliance with privacy regulations. The result: programmatic in-housing. So, just how has the in-housing trend evolved to date? What forms can programmatic in-housing take? What are the benefits and challenges for brands? And what does the process really entail? This piece answers all these questions and more.
Listen Up! Here’s What the Podcast Boom Means for Digital Advertisers
People listen to podcasts everywhere. No, really: Recent data shows that most listening happens on smartphones, which means that listening can occur virtually anywhere: in the car, on a walk, at home, at work, on the way to a first date, hiding in the bathroom to avoid a terrible first date, in the 24-hour donut shop you always go to after a bad date...you get it. As such, podcast ads provide marketers with a captive audience—ripe for high engagement—at any time, and in any place. But despite the growing popularity of podcasts, podcast advertising is still an underutilized and undervalued opportunity. This piece examines how (and why) podcast advertising can help marketers cut through the noise—pun very much intended!
It’s been a rough couple of years, to say the least. As a leader at Basis Technologies, Lois Castillo, our Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, is constantly thinking about how to support our people in the context of global stress, trauma, and burnout. And she’s not the only one: Many leaders today are wondering how to support their workforces through times of turbulence, and how to broaden their leadership skills to support their employees who have experienced a tremendous amount of harm and hurt during these unprecedented times. It’s a journey we’re all on together, and there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. However, this piece is a great starting place, featuring few useful strategies Lois has learned in her time as a DEI leader.
Going Deep on Live Sports Advertising Opportunities
Tuning in to live sports used to be so simple—and we’re not even talking about 50+ years ago, when that meant “going to the game” or “turning on the radio.” As recently as the 2000s, when it came to sports broadcasts, there were the major networks, ESPN, an occasional game on one of the Turner channels, and that pretty much was it. Today, sports leagues are scattering their broadcast rights around like digital Johnny Appleseeds, adding to an already-complex CTV and streaming video environment and creating new challenges for advertisers and consumers alike. In light of these dramatic shifts, how can digital advertisers effectively reach and connect with sports fans? Read this to learn all about it.
The Weird, Wonderful World of Geotargeting and Location Targeting
What’s the weirdest museum you’ve ever been to? How about the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin? Or maybe you’re hoping to visit the Museum of Bad Art in Dedham, Massachusetts? And don’t forget the British Lawnmower Museum in Southport, England (not to be confused with the Reel Mower Museum in Bluff Point, New York). While quirky destinations like these are fun for townies and tourists alike, creative marketers can also benefit from understanding the significance of such local attractions—especially in today’s industry, which is slowly but surely transitioning toward more privacy-friendly methods of serving tailored messages to consumers. This post explores some of the different geo-based targeting strategies that can help advertisers connect with their audiences wherever they are.
How Advertisers Can Succeed During Uncertain Times
From interest rate hikes, to an impending recession, to supply chain shortages, new economic complexities are impacting consumers’ daily lives and shifting their behaviors. And when consumer behaviors change because of what’s happening in the world, so too must marketers. Advertisers who quickly lean into an altered marketplace set themselves apart from those who see themselves as victims of unmanageable change. This piece evaluates the ever-changing economic landscape, its implications for marketers, and tactics advertisers can use to adapt to all the new complexity.
4 Adtech Horrors to Avoid This Halloween (and Year-Round)
Horror movie fans, this one’s for you. Inspired by classic tropes from fright flicks, this post highlights four horrors that can jump scare marketers during the digital campaign process and provides some helpful tips on how to steer clear of them altogether. Just think of us as the friendly neighbors who, upon hearing that you’re thinking of purchasing a certain decrepit mansion that goes on the market every few years, refer you to a different realtor.
Media Complexity in the Marketing Landscape
Speaking of complexity: As if recruiting wasn’t enough of a problem on its own, complexity in digital marketing and media presents additional crises for brands, agencies, and publishers alike. Transparency, speed, and cost-efficiency are all hindered by a rapidly expanding list of channels, formats, technologies, and solutions—all of which require new skill sets, guidelines, rules, and standards for marketers to learn. To solve these colliding dilemmas of staffing, transparency, speed, and cost-efficiency, the advertising industry must better understand their underlying causes. This post dives into the factors causing this complexity, and explores some of the solutions poised to usher in a better future for everyone working in the marketing space.
TikTok by the Numbers: Stats and Facts for Digital Advertisers
The TikTok era of social advertising has arrived. The short-form video app has blown up the model of what a social network can be, and it is increasingly a must-buy for a growing number of advertisers. In this post, we explore the evolution of TikTok through a collection of stats and facts that we’ve curated just For You. We cover the good and the not so good as we try to paint a picture of how (and why) the platform has become social media’s golden child.
Four Pro Wrestlers Whose Day Jobs Needed Digital Advertising
In the mid-1990s, professional wrestling was filled with wrestlers whose characters were defined by their day jobs: a garbage man, a circus clown, and even a federal tax agent. Today, marketers in these real-life industries use digital advertising, not dropkicks, to improve their bottom lines and meet their business objectives. Kind of makes you wonder: If these wrestlers were around today, would this era of digital advertising help them to attract and earn enough business to stay out of the ring? Check out this one-of-a-kind post to learn about four former professional wrestlers whose “day jobs” would have benefited from today’s digital advertising ecosystem.
Connected TV: Fact and Fiction
With more and more people using connected TVs each year, it’s no surprise that ad spend has exploded in kind. Of course, as marketers strive to make the most of the connected TV advertising opportunity, it’s likely they’ll encounter an overwhelming amount of information and recommendations. But as the adage goes, you can’t trust everything you read—especially on the internet. So for all the advertisers who want to separate fact from fiction when it comes to connected TV: This (delightfully GIF-filled) piece is for you.
Brand Safety and Avoiding Controversy in Digital Advertising
Brand safety is, unsurprisingly, increasingly top-of-mind for advertisers everywhere, but it’s of particular importance to programmatic advertisers. The automated nature of programmatic media buying lends itself to situations where, if you aren’t careful, your brand could end up placing an ad next to some very, very controversial or undesired content. Want to steer clear of negative headlines? The post examines some of the ways digital marketers can protect their brands and avoid controversy.
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Be sure to bookmark the Basis blog to enjoy even more great adtech coverage in 2023! And while you’re getting ready for the new year, check out all of our 2023 trends content so you can stay ahead of the curve.
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 12/2/22 - 12/8/22 to stay ahead of the curve:
Please note: our Scouts will be off duty next week, but be sure to check back on 12/22 for the next edition!
Google threatens to kill off cookies, and AI threatens to end...Google? Newish AI platforms that generate conversational responses and epic (or sometimes not-so-epic) avatars seem to be the next step in a more automated future. This piece breaks down what’s going on behind the hype.
That’s right, we’re almost at the 2022 finish line! Burnt out and in need of some creative inspiration (or just want to enjoy some first-class video ads)? Look no further than this roundup of the year’s best work.
If only we could leave all the changes and challenges facing advertisers here in 2022...alas, next year promises both in droves. But where there is change, there is also opportunity. This report highlights those opportunities and clarifies how advertisers can best capitalize on their potential.
'Tis the season for endless Christmas cookies, decadent hot cocoa, and copious holiday feasts—but some advertising agencies are trimming down. This week, Magna and GroupM released their ad spend forecasts for 2022 and 2023 and, though they still predict growth in the year ahead, it’s lower than initially forecasted.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA)’s effort to audit the US programmatic advertising industry has been rife with complications and controversy (and understandably so, given the nature of programmatic advertising itself). Here, peek behind the curtain into the ANA’s attempt to give marketers some transparency into their programmatic budgets.
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