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The newly established marketing team at a major state university was determined to increase undergraduate applications in the six weeks leading up to the admissions deadline. Basis’ powerful targeting tools were used to optimize their campaign toward the top-performing audiences in order to reach the university’s goals.
The university wanted to generate 900 completed applications before the admissions deadline. The campaign was divided between in-state and out-of-state students, based on the varying levels of value to the university. The goal was to achieve this application number through the targeted audience with a CPA under $255.
University applications are lengthy and detailed, making conversion tracking a challenge. Basis Technologies’ digital marketing team used retargeting and view-through conversions to stay in front of the target audience. Restrictions on targeting underage audiences also presented a challenge, as many potential applicants were underage. Basis tapped into the client’s CRM and the platform’s powerful DMP for first-party data. This data was then used to create look-a-like models to efficiently target the clearly defined demographic without losing impressions on restricted audiences.
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A premium cosmetics brand wanted to promote seven product lines, including one of limited-edition. Backed by research and competitor analysis, Basis Technologies recommended video and animated creative for this campaign as its engaging nature and scroll-stopping traction generates positive results for retail and eCommerce products.
Increase year-over-year return on ad spend (ROAS) within the consumer audience.
This 10-month long campaign was planned, and started, before COVID-19. Goals were set based on 2019 consumer behavior.
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Digital Marketing Specialist, Cosmetics Brand
"We customized creatives per placement to take advantage of the full-screen real estate of “Stories”. The text field was adjusted on other placements to deliver the message without truncation."
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At Centro, we know that keeping up with trade pubs and latest trends can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. To make that easier, we’ve compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy our latest list below!
Ads, Privacy, and Confusion [:06]
Privacy is coming to the internet, and cookies are going away. Many argue this is long overdue; those of us in advertising are challenged by what happens next. This post dives into how we don’t have much consensus on what online privacy actually means, and addresses how most of what’s on the table conflicts fundamentally with competition.
With Delta Variant and Rising COVID-19 Cases, Brands Recommit to Vaccination Campaigns [:03]
With only half of the U.S. population fully vaccinated and new variants spiking infection cases, brands like Axe body spray, Krispy Kreme and Expedia have reexamined their public health efforts and launched new campaigns. What happens when brands focus on the greater good and societal impact by providing positive encouragement to get vaccinated? Despite the polarization around vaccines, sales should follow.
Brands are Bringing Media In-House, But Not Without Roadblocks [:02]
Big names like Chase, Molson Coors, and Ally Financial have brought media functions in-house over the past couple of years. Transparency, cost-savings, and a super-powered marketing department are attractive to monster brands, as well as mid-sized and challenger brands. Training, talent, and technology are the differentiators that make this either a transformative decision or a bust.
Related: We’ve got all three Ts covered—check out the Total Economic Impact of In-Housing with Basis.
CPG Earnings Show Data-Infused Brands Who Are Upping Their Media Spending [:06]
The pandemic upended consumer buying habits, as well as the way brands market to consumers. Many of the world’s largest food and beverage brands' recent quarterly earnings showed two important themes:
Related: Mastercard plans to ditch the magnetic stripe.
eMarketer US B2B Ad Spend Growth [:02]
In 2020, US B2Bs overhauled their marketing and advertising as the coronavirus pandemic eliminated in-person channels. Digital ad spending—never a central part of B2B go-to market strategies—surged from $6.55 billion in 2019 to $8.68 billion in 2020, increasing 32.5% YoY.
Digital Fuels Ad Spend Rebound as it Secures a Bigger Market Share [:02]
Standard Media Index (SMI) showed an impressive 25% ad spend increase in 1H 2021 for national advertisers in the US, compared to 2020.
What’s up? Digital was the biggest gainer of all media, growing its share of total ad spend from 40% in 2019 to 51% in 2021.
What’s down? TV shrank from 51% to 43% over that two-year span. But TV is just becoming digital, right? The biggest gainers in the digital field over the two-year span, were video, audio, and social media.
CTV Has Expanded the Commercial Opportunities in the TV Landscape [:03]
The dramatic rise in connected TV (CTV) adoption—142 million US adults each week, a number accelerated by the pandemic—has ushered in new commercial models that are fragmenting the landscape in much the same way that the myriad viewing options are. Nielsen breaks it down across “TV” channels.
Related: Our recent blog post where we explore the key digital video advertising trends.
How Companies are Working to Move Beyond the Traditional TV Ad Format [:05]
The :30 spot may be on its way out. New innovative formats that provide both a better consumer experience and a better vehicle for brand messages are becoming the new normal. Everything from a lighter ad load to less disruptive experiences are coming to your screens.
Related: Nielsen losing their MRC accreditation.
Publishers Rethink their Value to Stave Off Subscription Fatigue Among New Paying Readers [:04]
In 2020, subscription revenue for publishers grew 16%, and around 1/5 of American adults now pay for at least one online news outlet. Publishers are investing in personnel, from designers to growth marketers, to grow and retain their subscription base. Another key area is around investing in editorial coverage for better content.
WTF is the Metaverse? [:07]
Over the past year, executives and creatives in the gaming and tech industries have breathed life into the Metaverse concept, framing massive multiplayer games such as Fortnite: Battle Royale, Roblox and Minecraft as precursors to an expansive digital world that combines the fictional Metaverse with a real world that has become increasingly digitized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Related: Have an Oculus check our Facebook Workrooms here. Also related: Not fully sold? You are not alone.
Bad News: Selling the Story of Disinformation [:25]
Sometimes it seems like no matter where you are on the internet, you encounter the toxic byproducts of modernity—hate speech, foreign interference, trolling, fake news, lies about the origins of pandemics, etc. Disinformation is not new, but the rise and spread has been accelerated by technology and big tech companies, along with political players. This is a long read, but it's worth a look from outside the advertising industry.
Video advertising is promotional content that plays before, during, or after streaming content. It can also run as a standalone when it's placed natively within content.
With streaming video consumption on the rise, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing similar trends within marketing investments. TV ad spend will decline 15% this year, while digital video continues to capture additional dollars with an expected 11.3% increase by the end of 2020. This exponential growth is expected to continue with video ad spend doubling it’s current levels by 2024, reaching $69.4 billion.
As digital video increases, so do the variety of formats to choose from. The chosen type will depend on asset availability, objective you’re aiming to accomplish, and platform.
While there are a wide array of video formats available, they predominantly fall within two main categories:
A variety of video lengths are possible. However, it’s important to align video length with your chosen platform and objective.
Video has historically played a larger role in the awareness and consideration phases of the consumer journey. However, it is an integral part of the marketing funnel, contributing to lower funnel metrics. Your video strategy and the formats you choose will be tailored based on the objective you’re trying to achieve:
With the increasingly blurred lines between digital and traditional, digital allows for a one-stop shop for video inventory transactions Video inventory can be purchased digitally to run across a variety of devices and platforms:
It can also be transacted through a variety of means, depending on the priority objective. See the table below for an overview:
| Campaign Type | Inventory | Objectives |
| Programmatic | Open Exchange | Efficient CPMs Enhanced targeting Ample scale Inventory variety Minimal inventory control |
| Private Marketplace | Premium CPMs Enhanced targeting Ample scale Inventory variety Increased inventory control |
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| Direct | Site/Partner Direct | Premium CPMs Potential targeting limitations High inventory control & transparency |
A non-profit organization committed to improving the health of mothers and babies through research, community services, education & advocacy needed to raise brand awareness to educate the public about the cause and inspire people to take action.
Basis Technologies’ managed services team developed a robust search strategy designed to connect ads with a highly targeted audience who are actively researching. The strategy was led with an “always-on” all-year-round approach and supplemented with event-specific nationwide and local campaigns to stay top of mind and generate as many donations as possible. Both strategies' key performance indicators (KPIs) focused on donation revenue and a $1 or less cost-per-dollar raised (CPDR). As a Google Premier Partner, the Basis Technologies team has a direct line to Google that comes with data, advanced optimizations, and more. They leveraged their partnership to provide continuous optimizations and increased performance.
Basis Technologies provided the expertise and buying power that resulted in 8,542 donation conversions generating $748,433 in donation revenue with an effective $0.40 CPDR. Their success is attributed, in part, by continuously reviewing measurement reports and optimizing keywords in real-time that improve results and reduce costs.
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Video advertising used to be so simple: there were three major networks, you placed your TV ad in front of tens of millions of people during primetime and...well, yeah, that was pretty much it.
Today, however, is a different story. While good ol’ fashion television remains in the top spot for video consumption, digital video viewership is soaring. In fact, by 2023—just two years from now—digital video viewership in the US is expected to surpass time spent with TV for the first time in history. With Millennials and Gen Z increasingly cord-cutting (or cord-never-ing), the digital video revolution is only just beginning.
What does this mean for advertisers, and why should you think about expanding your digital video ad budget? Let’s take a closer look:
In short: because that’s where the eyeballs are. According to eMarketer, US adults will spend 2 hours and 29 minutes per day viewing digital video this year—up nine minutes from 2020. US digital video viewership has steadily risen in recent years, climbing from 229.7 million in 2018 to 244.4 million in 2020, and is projected to hit 260.5 million by 2024.
It’s not just younger people who are watching more and more video, either—it’s everyone. Out of 244.4 million digital video viewers in the US, 32.6 million are from Gen Z, 45.7 million are Millennials and 21.7 million are Gen X or older.
It’s also worth noting that the growth of digital video viewership is not limited to the United States—the numbers are also expected to grow in the UK (from 47.0 million in 2020 to 50.7 million by 2024) and Latin American countries like Argentina (from 26.3 million in 2020 to 27.7 million by 2024).
Everywhere, all the time, possibly even right behind you RIGHT NOW!
(Did we scare you? Sorry. We just get really excited about digital video!)
In the US, 58% of smartphone users say they use mobile to stream digital video content. Smart TVs are not far behind, with 53% of people tuning into platforms such as streaming services on their bigger screens.
On average, US adults watch 26 minutes of digital video a day on their desktops/laptops, 51 minutes a day on their mobile devices (such as smartphones or tablets) and one hour and 12 minutes per day on other connected devices such as connected TVs or gaming consoles.
Video’s triumphant rise will only grow in years ahead, as the introduction of new social media tools (such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories) and the unstoppable rise of video-on-demand services (such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others) continue to transform the way we create, view, and interact with video.
As you might expect, the abundance of free and subscription-based content distribution services and platforms—combined with skyrocketing viewership across a range of demographics—has created an extraordinary opportunity for marketers to engage their target markets.
Digital video ad spend in the US grew is expected to grow to a record-breaking $76.2 billion in 2022. By 2024, it will hit an astonishing $105.2 billion.
What about programmatic, you say? US programmatic TV ad spending is forecast to grow by 35.4% in 2021 to nearly $5.5 billion and is expected to hit $7.95 billion by 2023. By 2022, more than 10% of linear TV advertising will be transacted or fulfilled programmatically.
The market for digital video advertising is growing increasingly large—and increasingly programmatic. Want to dig deeper? Download our Video Unleashed guide to get tips for how to run a strategic video campaign, gain more digital video advertising insights, and a whole lot more.
The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a national not-for-profit trade organization, working with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.
The ABA partnered with Basis Technologies to help bring their in-store events campaign “Don’t Box Out Bookstores” into the digital space to extend their messaging and drive engagement. The event brought attention to convenience culture and its effect on independent bookstores across the country.
Basis Technologies' Media Strategy and Activation team developed a Twitter campaign that targeted journalists, activists, and book lovers that would support and spread the word. In parallel, the team geo-targeted readers within a ten-mile radius of any independent bookstores to help drive foot traffic.
The campaign generated national press across the country from publications such as The New York Times, LA Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, Forbes, Business Insider, Daily News, and more. The campaign even reached global heights with mentions in Europe, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Russia.
Business Impact:
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Marketing Manager, American Booksellers Association
"Before the campaign, 25% of independent bookstores were in danger of closing, and since the launch of the campaign, that number has drastically dropped to 5%."
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The COVID-19 pandemic served up a heavy hit to the food and beverage industry in 2020, but with vaccination rates rising, daily life is set to return to something more reflective of pre-COVID normalcy.
As we return to restaurants and the homes of friends and loved ones, food and beverage marketers will be wise to take steps to ensure their brands are poised to capitalize on the upswing. With what seems like endless options for reaching your audience online, Centro recommends trying the following strategies to strengthen your brand’s transition into the post-pandemic world.
You’ve heard it a thousand times: location, location, location. Food and Wine Magazine reports that 63% of respondents to a poll asking diners to list the factors they considered when choosing a dining establishment named location as a priority. In fact, location was third on the list, behind only health and safety ratings and price point. This means your customers are all around you.
Hyperlocal targeting can be a very effective tool for reaching your resident neighbors and those just passing through. Leveraging technology that is based on mobile phone GPS location data to target consumers who are physically present within a radius of your establishment, as opposed to the location their IP address is linked to, gives you an edge in reaching those who are nearby as they are making decisions about how to fill their bellies.
Leveraging a PMP, or Private Marketplace, gives marketers access to premium inventory that will appear adjacent to content that your target consumer is already interested in. As Didgiday explains, open ad exchanges are the public pools of the web where anyone can come take a dip, and PMP’s are the country clubs that allow select swimmers access to the pools with the palm tree fountain and swim-up bar.
How does it work? Publishers sell premium inventory to advertisers whose brands align with the user experience they want to provide their readers, allowing those advertisers the opportunity to reach a highly engaged audience with a greater level of interest in in their products.
Basis DSP provides access to over 2,000 PMPs, including those targeting users who seek out drinks, dining, entertainment, and lifestyle content. Travel-related PMPs put you on the radar of visitors who will be in your area soon, but would be missed by location targeting as they’re planning their trip from home.
Once you’ve chosen the ideal programmatic tactics to get in front of your audience, you’ll want to support those efforts with creative that draws them further in. The key to any good creative strategy is to be sure the tactics you’ve selected and the creative that will run against them are aligned. Tactics that focus on awareness are common among advertisers in the food and beverage vertical, and often utilize video creative.
Video is a great choice for any awareness campaign. Its visually captivating nature makes it effective at keeping attention longer than standard display creative. Programmatic video typically can run for six, fifteen, or thirty seconds. This allows for restaurant industry advertisers to showcase their kitchen’s work by featuring menu items they are most proud of, as well as the atmosphere diners would enjoy it in.
Video allows B2B advertisers selling everything from industrial kitchen equipment or linen laundry services to demonstrate the advantages they offer over competitors. Something to remember about video creative is that video completion rates are lower for longer videos. A good creative agency will be able to help you create video ads that leverage the attention that video creative draws in, but get the point across quickly.
Display creative is also effective when strategically paired to a programmatic tactic that aligns well with the content. For example, display is an effective means of advertising promotional offers to users who have already visited your website via a retargeting tactic. If you are using a tactic that seeks to bring new customers into a restaurant, featuring mouthwatering food photography in your creative is a great way to entice consumers to try something new.
Food and beverage marketers face a variety of challenges in 2021 as we reemerge from the pandemic—read more about how to help your marketing program recover from COVID-19 here.
This is the fourth in an 11-part series of blog posts that focus on Centro’s corporate guiding principles, and how those values show up in the workplace and in the lives of our people.
Recently, gold medal Olympian Simone Biles made headlines for her decision to withdraw from the Olympic games. Simone took the initiative to put herself and her mental health first before anything.
To reach greatness, everyone must take some time out to breathe. At Centro, our Reframe community group provides a safe space to rethink how we understand mental health conditions and discuss practices to manage them.
The Reframe mission statement goes hand in hand with one of Centro’s core principles, “breathe:”
“We work hard to build amazing products and achieve victory; however, we also recognize the importance of keeping life in perspective. Taking moments of stillness and breath allow us to consistently find peace and joy along the journey, as it’s an invaluable component to sustainable and lasting success.”
Reframe’s leaders, Kasia Sosin and Cody McGuire, host regular discussions to share experiences and speak to the ways in which culture and society impact how we view mental health.
“When a lot of people hear about mental health, they think depression, which isn’t always the case. Depression is a part of it, but there are other topics, such as anxiety, stress, and mindfulness. Reframe is meant to be a safe space to come and hear what other people are going through,” McGuire says.
According to Sosin, “another goal of Reframe is to break mental health into four quadrants: financial, physical, mental, and holiday (as company-wide holidays can feel different for everyone), and have a topic of wellness for each one. We also want to work to destigmatize mental health in the workplace.”
According to the CDC, poor mental health and stress can impact an employee’s performance, productivity, engagement, and communication with coworkers. Taking some time out of your day to just breathe can make all the difference for your quality of life.
In the future, Reframe plans to continue educating Centrons about mental health and mental health in the workplace.