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Of all the industries and specialties out there, marketing has become one of the most fluid over the past few decades. Once upon a time, a "marketer" went from door-to-door, selling vacuum cleaners and household products. He/she knew customers' names and understood how to appeal to their needs because his/her survival was founded on the principle of creating relationships that mattered. As the Internet evolved, spam mail and email blasts slowly became the way companies communicated their offerings with the public at large.
Today, however, consumers' expectations have changed. Now, we live in a society where technology has transformed how we interact and connect with one another—from social media to advertising. Consumers expect personalized messages, and if they don't get them, they're likely to move to the next company. What does this mean for your business? If you're not talking to your customers like they're individuals with unique interests and needs, chances are, they won't take the time to engage with your brand/company.
Personalized advertising attracts shoppers in languages that speak directly to their needs. Thanks to the onset of big data and amazing analytical tools, you can now leverage your customers' behaviors unlike ever before. When used correctly, this data will enable you to create a connection between your brand and customers that wouldn't have otherwise been possible.
For example, think about your Netflix dashboard—the algorithms display the titles you've watched recently and what kind of programs and movies will most likely interest you. Your dashboard is personalized to Y-O-U.
That's how programmatic advertising works in the business world.
It's all about getting to know your customer on personal levels. When humans are at the helm, they can't necessarily know you're looking for XYZ product at 3 a.m., and they can't efficiently understand that the reason person A found you is because he or she made B and C decisions.
Programmatic advertising can understand these attributes. In fact, it’s built for this. Programmatic advertising enables you to pick apart large databases, such that you're talking to people in target markets who dwell in particular places in your sales funnel. You create messages that are meant for a particular group of people, and the robots do the rest. Your customer is wowed by your attentiveness, and you're not paying overtime for people to oversee your marketing endeavors at odd hours. Everybody wins.
Marketers have relied on traditional methods of buying ad space and testing content for years, but programmatic advertising changes the game.
Here's a look at two predominant ways programmatic beats old-school methods of content creation and digital marketing:
Centro is your place for personalized programmatic advertising. We're using automation to revolutionize the way companies talk to consumers. Learn more about Programmatic Advertising with Centro.
We’ve already covered the basics of DSPs for marketers and publishers. Here’s what you should know about display ad buying within a DSP!
Ultimately, it comes down to supplementing what you’re already doing on a display network with real-time bidding on a DSP. Display networks only scratch the surface of what a DSP can do – in terms of scale/reach, variety of inventory, audience targeting, and real-time optimization. If you want to make the most of your digital media dollars, you should be utilizing a DSP as a complementary display buying solution.
Let’s start by defining scale and reach. Scale is the number of sites, and reach is the number of impressions available. You can’t target an audience if you can’t find or access them. DSPs like Basis’ DSP give you access to over 40 billion daily impressions across all devices and channels.
Think of DSPs and display networks as swimming pools. The pool boy at the DSP swimming pool lets you bring in a bunch of fun toys – things like pizza rafts and basketball and one of those floatation devices where you can stash your beer – but the display network pool boy only lets you use their floaties, and you can’t bring any toys in from the outside. It’s a bummer of a time and everyone at the DSP pool party is having more fun.
Display networks are built on their own inventory, while DSPs are more agnostic and offer more extension options.
Speaking of inventory, with DSPs, it comes down to variety beyond just banner ads and in-stream video. You can buy across multiple devices – desktop, mobile devices, tablets. You can buy pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll, even native. You can find your audience and show them your ads anywhere on the web.
And, finally, if we’re talking about DSP targeting benefits, the number of optimization levers you can pull to target are exhaustive. With a DSP, you can test over 20 different tactics from keyword contextual targeting to site lists, to auto-optimized predictive targeting, to different forms of retargeting. Using a DSP also allows for using both first and third-party data to target.
DSPs offer comprehensive targeting, inventory, and ad formats, all centralized in one place.
Learn more about Programmatic Advertising with Centro.
Hello! Courtney Livingston here, Senior Product Designer at Centro. I hope you're finding fun and interesting ways to stay connected with friends, family, co-workers, and your communities in these strange times.
I'm here to share what I've learned about optimizing virtual meetings with your team when working remotely. Here are my top tips!
Before scheduling a meeting, add a high-level agenda and what you hope to get out of the meeting. This allows others to prepare ahead of time with questions, talking points, or artifacts that may be beneficial for the discussion. If you didn’t schedule the meeting, familiarize yourself with the agenda and goals so you can fully participate.
Without being in the same physical space, you miss out on running into people in the kitchen or grabbing an impromptu coffee. So plan for that time in your meetings and throughout the day.
I have this tattooed on my forearm as a general reminder, but it works for meetings too. If you are taking the time to be part of a meeting, really be there. I flip my phone over or put it in another room to keep myself from mindlessly opening and scrolling. Join on time or let your colleagues know if you are running late.
I’ve seen many people at Centro, and around the world, taking part in virtual lunches and happy hours. Try adding in one of those to your team’s schedule.
Sometimes the wifi is spotty or you are still connected to a Bluetooth headset in another room. No one wants to feel like they are the ones holding up a meeting, so have compassion for yourself and others when technical difficulties arise, because they will and probably already have.
“Have someone lead and direct the conversation as much as possible. If it's a 'stand' meeting, specifically ask someone to go next, so that everyone doesn't try to speak at the same time.” – Ben Smith
“Muting your phone or computer is your best friend. This shouldn't be any different than in the office. No one wants to hear your roommates/dogs/dishwasher.” – Christine Lundell
“Have fun! Take a moment to ask how everyone is doing. Share any difficulties you are having—your team is there to help.” – David Lempp
Interested in joining our team? Check out our careers page.
Native advertising is an integral component of display advertising. In fact, eMarketer estimates that by the end of 2020, advertisers will devote almost two-thirds of their display budgets to native ads.
Here’s why native advertising is important, and how to run it with Basis:
Native ads allow brands to fit into, rather than interrupt, the audience experience. According to Sharethrough, consumers look at native ads 52% more frequently than display ads.
Premium content drives engagement—click here to learn why content is still king when it comes to native ads.
By blending messaging with content, brands can drive higher levels of engagement as well as viewability.
How to Run Native Advertising with Basis
Basis offers an integrated native activation process as well as access to the major exchanges and native inventory sources.
Users can begin the process by creating a line item within Basis DSP and then opening the creative hub. After selecting “native” as the creative type, the native builder will appear.
All you need is a headline, body image, icon/logo, and a click-through URL to kick off. These images can be sourced from almost anywhere in a brand’s portfolio, including their website, product galleries, and social media. As you source creative, remember to lean on visuals rather than text within the image itself.
Users can also input image and script tracking URLs to ensure that performance for native is trackable, whether across the DSP itself or through a 3rd party ad server.
As necessary creative and tracking materials are finalized, Basis also offers a seamless solution to identify where to message your audience. Users have the option to explore both the open exchange & private marketplace deals to identify the best fit for scale and performance, as well as objective.
Using the private marketplace library, users can determine how best to activate their native messaging. Deals range from content vertical (sports, arts & entertainment) to demographic (gender, age) to provide as much opportunity as possible to reach an audience. Learn more about when to run native ads here.
Brands can also serve native messaging across the open exchange to supplement or complement a private marketplace activation. This inventory can be beneficial in testing out new exchanges or expanding reach in a limited geography. It can also address scaling sponsored content campaigns, one of the key challenges outlined by eMarketer in their 2019 report.
With those simple parameters completed, brands can easily begin messaging their audience with native ads. From start to finish, Basis makes native advertising easy.
Learn more about Native Advertising with Centro.
Covid-19 has changed our world, and the economy is experiencing unprecedented change across all industries. In our Industries in Flux miniseries, we'll address how specific verticals are pivoting in real-time to adapt. Each week, we’ll focus on a different industry, and share strategies based on consumer trends and changes in media consumption.
Our final episode of of Industries in Flux features Centro's EVP of Media Services and Operations, April Weeks, and VP of Client and Media Services, Laura Perritte.
E-learning and online coursework strategies have become the new norm. Whether this is a temporary phenomenon or not, we know that the need for online coursework isn’t going away anytime soon. This webinar explores how educational institutions are adjusting to meet the changing needs of their students.
Launching your first programmatic ad campaign may seem like a tall mountain to climb. But with the right tools and processes in place, you’ll find yourself at the top in no time!
When starting to plan a programmatic campaign, break it up into the 3 Ps: Planning, Preparation, and Performance.
Planning is the most important step when it comes to programmatic. If you ventured to climb a mountain, but didn’t plan with a map or purchase the right equipment, you’d likely find yourself struggling to get anywhere.
This is also true when putting together a programmatic campaign—by taking some vital steps prior to setting up and launching a campaign, you’ll set yourself up to hit your campaign goals.
As with any digital campaign, first ask yourself what your objective is and what constitutes success. Do you have a target audience? Take notes on the available budget, creative assets, and geo-targeting to help guide what targeting tactics you’ll run.
Use historical performance as a benchmark when deciphering KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). If you haven’t run the campaign in the past, use this campaign to set a baseline benchmark for ongoing campaigns. Once you understand those primary goals, you can begin to decide on the best tactics that align with your campaign’s KPI.
When deciding on tactics, use a full funnel approach. Different tactics within the funnel generate varying results, but should work in cohesion to address all parts of the consumer purchase cycle—from awareness, to consideration, to purchase.
Targeting tactics like prospecting and hyperlocal sit in the upper funnel, or within brand awareness, whereas retargeting or look-alike modeling fit much lower in the funnel, between consideration and conversion.
If you’re running a direct response campaign, you may want to heavy-up your targeting to tactics that fit more lower funnel. But on a video completion campaign, you may focus more upper or mid-funnel on your tactic selections. Be sure to align your campaign’s dCPM with the types of targeting tactics you’ve selected.
Did you make a checklist to ensure you packed all the necessary equipment for your climb? Even with strategic planning, you need to prepare for success in your programmatic campaign.
Ensure that pixels are placed and firing properly prior to launch. Placing pixels early will not only give extra time for troubleshooting any issues on tracking, but it will also help to build retargeting audiences. This prevents running into spending issues upon launch.
Are you using an ad server? If so, make sure settings in the DSP mirror the attribution settings in the ad server to closely align conversion data.
Consider capturing converters so you can suppress this audience if the conversion is likely to not occur again. Converter audiences can also be used on future campaigns to serve different messaging to previous customers.
Planning and preparation have led you to the launch of your programmatic campaign—let’s call it your first ascent up the mountainside.
Programmatic advertising is a true data-driven approach—you’ll quickly find that it’s both an art and a science. Testing and learning are critical.
Once you launch your programmatic campaign, give it time to accrue data. This will allow the campaign to ramp up on spend and collect data points to help aid in optimizations.
Once enough data is collected, you can begin making minor and mid-tier optimizations—like adjusting daily budgets between targeting tactics—as well as top-performing or domain-level optimizations—like turning off low-performing sites or apps. Other optimizations, like deciphering a dayparting strategy or frequency capping, can also be made at this point.
Major optimizations like testing new tactics or data segments can begin with time. Even with auto optimizers, always keep an eye on performance and make manual tweaks to ensure campaign success.
Once you reach that mountaintop, make sure to celebrate your victory! Keep track of the journey you took to get there so you can apply that knowledge to future climbs.
Learn more about Programmatic Advertising with Centro.
At Centro, we know that keeping up with the trade pubs and latest trends can be tough and time-consuming. To make that easier, we’ve compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy our latest list below!
Mondelēz Shifts Investments to Paid Media to Capture Online Orders and US Snacking [:02]
In-store marketing has less impact when people are strictly shopping off lists or queuing up orders online. By focusing on media campaigns that can put products in consumers’ minds and on grocery lists, paid media channels are driving snack purchases for the global CPG company.
Facebook’s Q1 Ad Demand Was Way Down Due to COVID – But It’s Starting To Stabilize [:03]
Facebook is far from immune from COVID, but it’s doing well, all things considered. While much of Facebook’s ad revenue is from small and medium-sized businesses, they also saw that for the first three weeks of April, ad revenue was flat year over year. Engagement also grew during shelter in place (though not confirmed much of it could be attributed to post 10 album/TV show/movie challenges).
COVID-19 Accelerates Digital Ordering at KFC, Taco Bell And Pizza Hut [:02]
Many quick service restaurants have only recently embraced online pickup and delivery with COVID-19 accelerating existing QSR trends around the use of technology to enable contactless delivery. Many brands have completely revamped their marketing messaging during the COVID-19 crisis.
Quarantine Creates New Opportunities For Video Makers [:01]
A recently released report outlines the most promising topics for opportunities for businesses to keep people entertained, pointing to the biggest opportunities as cooking, comedy, memes, games, and video games.
Digital Publishers Reveal Strategies For Growth [:04]
A new study breaks down the three-phase pattern for all participating publishers. First, you write great content to build an audience; next, you optimize your online experience to keep that audience. Only then can you really start to work on diversifying revenue.
Publishers Use Advertising Downturn to Perform Programmatic Housekeeping [:05]
Publishers are using the quarantine to catch up on programmatic housekeeping, like improving page-loading speeds on their sites, updating their ad tech stacks and refreshing their sales teams on the latest programmatic developments. (have you gotten Certified with Digital Media Essentials?)
Why Google’s Decision to Withhold Programmatic Data is Pushing Some Advertisers to Pull Ad Spending [:06]
As advertisers search for transparency, they’re demanding more from their ad tech partners. Google has long given advertisers a cause for concern. Marketers at P&G are looking to reduce the amount of money they put into Google’s ad exchange.
Foursquare And Factual Bet That The Future Of Location Data Is About More Than Advertising [:03]
Foursquare announced their merger with Factual. Together, Foursquare and Factual have more than $150 million in combined revenue, data derived from over 500 million devices worldwide and 400+ employees. The combined company will continue to use the Foursquare brand. The article highlights the rationale behind the deal, why the industry needs an independent location data provider and expectations around the future of location.
OTT-CTV Could Be A Potent Ad Force In 2020 Election [:03]
While presidential candidates increasingly lean on new media channels for communication around their campaigns, social media and CTV/OTT remain at the forefront for the 2020 election. Candidates continue to flock to social media, where ad platforms like Facebook had a massive impact on votes in 2016.
Projections around CTV/OTT usage reinforce and strengthen rationale for why political advertisers will want to spend there. eMarketer forecasts show OTT-CTV ad spend reaching $10 billion by 2021. Due to the social distancing and “stay at home” policies, streaming TV usage has been exceeding earlier 2020 projections.
TikTok announced a new partnership with their first API partner, Sprinklr, allowing in-feed video ads to be placed on TikTok. The customer experience platform will be integral for brands to create, manage and measure ad campaigns.
Covid-19 has changed our world, and the economy is experiencing unprecedented change across all industries. In our Industries in Flux miniseries, we'll address how specific verticals are pivoting in real-time to adapt. Each week, we’ll focus on a different industry, and share strategies based on consumer trends and changes in media consumption.
Part four of Industries in Flux features Centro's EVP of Media Services and Operations, April Weeks, and Senior Director of Client and Media Services, Jared Rosenbloom.
Consumption habits and buying mechanisms for consumers have changed overnight. This webinar explores how CPG advertisers should shift strategy to ensure they’re meeting their customers’ needs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world at unprecedented levels, and for most marketers, business as usual is a distant memory.
In this webinar, Dan Golden, President and Chief Search Artist at Centro partner Be Found Online, and Robert Kurtz, Senior Director of Paid Search at Centro, share best practices, case studies, and tactics you can employ to adapt both your SEM (search engine marketing) and your SEO (search engine optimization) in times of upheaval and change.
The webinar offers guidance on: