Contents
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- Introduction
Programmatic display
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- Why programmatic?
- Programmatic vs GDN
- Elixirr Digital’s programmatic process
- An integrated technology platform
- Retargeting with programmatic
- Why display retargeting is effective
- Compelling creatives
- Ad creatives for programmatic
Native display
- Why native?
- Native advertising formats
- Native display statistics
- Programmatic and native combined
- Elixirr Digital’s display team
- Case studies
Thanks to A.I. and machine learning, display marketers have the ability to serve quality, hyper-targeted ads more efficiently than ever before.
By utilising dynamic creative optimisation, enhanced targeting algorithms, and smart bidding strategies, your audience can experience relevant, valuable ads in the right place at the right time.
This guide will help you understand the roles that programmatic and native advertising play in the display advertising arena.
In this guide, you’ll discover:
- What programmatic display is & how it works
- What native advertising is & how it works
- Different ad creatives & formats
- How to use programmatic for native ads
- Our approach to programmatic & native display
eMarketer predicts that programmatic display will make up nearly 89% of the UK’s digital ad spend in 2020
Programmatic has transformed the display advertising arena.
Automated buying
AI automated bidding of ad placements on a user by user basis makes programmatic quick to deploy and adapt.
Data-driven targeting
Hyper-targeted to specific demographics, locations, and viewing times – based on real time data.
Enhanced optimisation
Programmatic combines design, data, and media buying to deliver the right ads at the right moment to drive efficiency with every impression.
“By 2020, almost 90% of display spending will be accounted for by programmatic” – eMarketer, 2019
When it comes to display, advertisers have a lot of choice.
Though the Google Display Network (GDN) is a quick and simple solution for advertisers already working with Google Ads, it’s not the best choice for running large scale campaigns over multiple channels.
Reach
Out of roughly 644 million active websites on the net, GDN reaches 2 million of them. But programmatic demand-side platforms (DSPs) are connected to all major ad networks and exchanges – including GDN.
Targeting
The targeting parameters of DSPs are far superior to those available on GDN. DSPs can target thousands of broad and niche audiences based on demographics and online behaviour.
Creatives
While GDN is limited to just serving standard banner ads, DSPs can serve a wide variety of creatives, including banners, videos, audio and native content.
In a nutshell
DSPs feature advanced buying capabilities, access to premium exchanges, and broader reach than GDN.
At Elixirr Digital, we make sure your ads have the opportunity to be seen by real people — wherever they are.
Step 1 | Brief
Obtain as much information as we can about audiences, campaign objectives, creative desires and budget. This allows us to respond with the best possible proposal.
Step 2 | Build Media Plan/Campaign
Establish what data is available from first, second and third party sources to build a media plan, with clear KPIs that will meet the objectives laid out in the initial briefing stage.
Step 3 | Build Creative
Based on client requirements and available assets, we will build the campaign creative. This could include imagery, banner ads, and other rich media such as video.
Step 4 | Sign Off
Once the media plan and creative is built, the client will make any final changes to the plan and sign off the campaign. Once approved, the campaign will go live according to the plan.
Step 5 | Optimisation & Reporting
Once up and running, we continuously monitor the campaign every few days and collate weekly reports and updates on optimisation progress.
Step 6 | Evaluation and further planning
At the end of each campaign, we produce a report which covers all angles of performance, plus what considerations and findings will be fed into other digital channels.
We use an integrated technology platform for programmatic advertising to provide a seamless, flexible, and highly effective cross-channel experience.
Display is no longer just about brand awareness – it can fulfil all touch points across the user journey.
What changes? The targeting options, the creative and the message.
Retargeting is one of the most effective advertising strategies around.
Implementing a personalised approach to retargeting means showing the right ad, at the right time based on where your customers are in their buying journey.
Programmatic retargeting optimises user experience with tailored ads directed at customers depending on where they’re at in the marketing funnel.
Programmatic retargeting can provide:
- Enhanced efficiency
- Improved ROI
- Increased ROAS
- Greater insight into display performance
“Website visitors who are retargeted with display ads are 70% more likely to convert.” – Invesp
It’s important to remember that what you show to users is just as important as how you get it there.
You must show your audience the kind of ad that’s likely to achieve your objective – be it a banner ad, video, or a piece of content. Your ad creative is the aspect that gets the job done once the platform finds the user.
For acquisition campaigns, your creatives must be strong enough to draw a click.
For brand awareness campaigns, they should be memorable enough to leave an impression.
Use multiple ad variations. Mix up colours, designs, and CTAs. This way, you can learn what your audience will and won’t respond to.
With the consumer journey less linear than ever, brands must ensure a variety of creative formats to reach audiences wherever they are.
Native ads match the look, feel, and function of the platform on which they appear.
Nestled seamlessly among surrounding content, native ads can effectively combat ad fatigue and banner blindness.
Because native ads don’t look like ads, users are more inclined to view them and consider them as endorsed content, that’s why CTR tends to be much higher.
How do native ads work?
Native ads work because they engage users without disrupting their online experience, as banner ads are sometimes accused off.
Most native ads are content-based because they are meant to provide valuable, relevant information, as opposed to a “hard sell”.
Native ads can come in many forms. The key is choosing the format that best suits your brand’s products or services.
Three of the most popular types of native ad formats are sponsored content, in-image ads, and recommendation widgets.
Here at Elixirr Digital, we also work with:
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- Search and promotional listings
- Social platform ads
- Custom formats
Wondering whether native display advertising is worth it? Check out these stats and decide for yourself.
Fast-growing format
In 2019, native ads made up roughly 66% of display ad spend in the UK. [eMarketer]
Predicted success
Native advertising is predicted to drive 74% of all ad revenue by 2021. [Business Insider]
Content is king
70% of people would rather learn about products through content, rather than through traditional advertising techniques. [Customer Content Council]
Positive interaction
85% of internet users don’t feel that their browsing experience is hindered by native ads. [HubShout]
100% of Elixirr Digital’s display advertising specialists are highly experienced with native display campaigns.
Thanks to its three main advantages, programmatic can be utilised to further enhance native display.
1. Automated, real time bidding
We only buy placements that are relevant to the user’s journey and positively contribute to the campaign’s conversion lift.
2. Effective targeting
We can make sure that we target users with the right placements, on the right devices, at the right time of day.
3. Audience insights
Programmatic reporting insights allow us to be more attentive with our updates and optimisations for better campaign delivery.
Using programmatic to deliver native ads means that we can avoid broadcasting adverts out to a generic audience on reach-based platforms. Instead, we can deliver carefully-considered campaigns based on the pre-defined KPIs (e.g. click-through rate, leads or purchases).
Let’s talk about how display advertising can boost your business.
Our dynamic team of display specialists can help you deliver a solid display strategy that suits your budget and your business goals.
Want to find out how users emotionally react to your existing creatives?
Get in touch today for a FREE creative review with our brand new, cutting-edge biometric testing kit!
Discover how we’ve helped some of our other clients get the most out of display advertising.
Further
case studies can be found here.
