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3 Reasons to Run Responsive Display Ads + New Features

ANDREW HARDER | March 5, 2019 | 77 views

Display ads can either fill white space like subpar motel art, or they can be a powerful means of discovering or reaching your target audience. Google’s rollout of the Responsive display ad format (RDAs) in 2018 was an effort to give advertisers more creative options, as well as increase the reach and value of display advertising. If you are late to the party or have been hesitant to test RDAs, here are 3 reasons why every advertiser should give RDAs a try.

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SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING

What is Retargeting and How to Use it to Drive Your Growth

Article | July 6, 2022

What is retargeting and why do you need it? Well, because it’s easier than ever to lose a sale online. Think of it like this: you successfully drive a potential customer to your site with great content or social media engagement. But then their phone rings. Or they have to take a quick meeting. Their child calls their name. They look up at the TV and forget to return. Or one of a million other potential distractions in our fast-paced world get in the way. They could be lost forever. Or — you could use retargeting to get them back to your site. That’s what we’ll cover in the sections that follow. You’ll learn what retargeting entails, why your business should be using it, which platforms to do it on, and best practices to maximize ROI. Let’s get started. Quick Takeaways Only 2% of web users convert on their first visit to a website. Retargeted web visitors convert at a 70% higher rate. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social platforms are effective places to use retargeting. Retargeting ads are most effective when they incentivize, are personalized, and/or leverage high-value content. What is retargeting? So what exactly is retargeting? In short, it’s the process of monitoring the behavior of your web visitors so you can drive them back to your site later. It’s done by adding code to your website that tracks user actions by placing cookies in their browsers. You can then use that information to show them targeted ads when they’re elsewhere on the internet. Those requests you get to “accept all cookies” when you visit a new website? It’s retargeting in action. Brands are asking your permission to track what you’re doing so they can show you ads that are relevant to you. Today 87% of marketers use site retargeting to attract potential customers back to their website. Given that only 2% (!) of web visitors convert on their first visit to any site, it’s a smart strategy for brands to capture low-hanging fruit in their web traffic and avoid losing prospects who will likely convert with a little bit of encouragement. Let’s look at 3 reasons why retargeting should be part of your digital marketing strategy and the benefits your brand will experience from doing it. Why Retargeting Needs to Be Part of Your Strategy Consumers actually like retargeted ads The consensus view of retargeted ads has always been tainted with a little bit of uncertainty about their use of individual consumer data. And there’s no doubt about it — consumers do worry about their online privacy. At the same time, however, they are also more aware than ever that brands are using their information to advertise to them and target their buying preferences. And they still browse and buy online at a rapidly increasing rate. Here’s what it comes down to: retargeting doesn’t turn consumers off as long as it’s done ethically (AKA you’re only retargeting people when it actually makes sense and they’ve agreed to your privacy policy). In fact, recent research has found that 25% of consumers say they actually enjoy seeing retargeted ads. And while a quarter of consumers may not seem encouraging, actual consumer behavior suggests that number is quite a bit higher. Here’s what the numbers tell us: Retargeted ads earn a click-through rate 10x higher than regular display ads Retargeted website visitors are 70% more likely to convert 3 out of 4 consumers notice retargeted ads when they see them It’s helpful to think about this in the context of your own life, too. We all see ads for products and brands we’ve briefly visited without buying from. But rather than get annoyed, our interest is usually sparked again. We may click on the ad to look at it again and rethink whatever reasoning we had before for not buying. We may follow the brand on social media for updates. Retargeting is a massive opportunity for brands to cut down on lost sales by reminding consumers why they were interested in the first place and incentivizing them to come back and make a purchase. Where to Retarget Google and YouTube Google and YouTube are the two most visited websites in the world, with a casual combined 85 billion monthly views (nbd). You can target ads on these massive platforms with Google Ads on the Google Display Network. Most consumers are doing their brand and product research using Google search. What better place, then, to have your ads displayed to convince users to choose you? Facebook and Instagram Ads on the two platforms are both run under Facebook Ads Manager. You add the Facebook Pixel to your website’s code. When users take an action on your site (for example, adding to cart or making a purchase) the pixel is triggered and they’ll see retargeted ads on both Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the Facebook Pixel here. TikTok TikTok has exploded onto the scene over the past two years. It’s easy to assume this platform might be best for targeting younger audiences, but the truth is there are tons of audiences on TikTok that encompass a range of ages and interest areas. For example #MomTok — moms sharing tips, stories, and advice — is one of the most active corners of the app. #BusinessTok, #FitnessTok, and #BookTok are some of the other most popular hashtag-driven interest groups on the app. These are only a few examples. In other words: retargeting on TikTok is for every type of audience. You can get started at TikTok for Business. LinkedIn For B2B companies or brands targeting a more corporate or professional audience, LinkedIn could be an ideal platform for your retargeting efforts. You can add the LinkedIn Insight Tag to your website to begin tracking your visitors and serving them ads on the LinkedIn platform. 3 Retargeting Best Practices Incentivize The thing about web visitors you retarget is that they have shown interest in your brand already, but for some reason they weren’t motivated to make a purchase (or maybe they did but haven’t been back to make another one). The way to convince them? Offering incentives. Consider this: you see a pair of shoes you love. You almost buy them but you think “Well, they’re just a little too pricey. I’m going to pass.” A few days later you see those shoes you love, except they’re being offered at a discount. Your main argument for not buying the shoes is gone. You’re much more likely to go back and make the purchase. Incentivizing your retargeting audiences is worthwhile because you eliminate one of the biggest roadblocks to purchase: concerns about price. Personalize Like all other kinds of online experiences, consumers want their retargeted ads to be personalized to their preferences. Nearly 80% of consumers say personally relevant ad content from brands increases their purchase intent. Adding simple phrases that are unique to a person’s experience with your brand (i.e. “You left this item in your cart!” or “Based on your previous purchase, we think you’d love this!”) can be what makes your ad stand out to your audience. Leverage Content Content drives more organic traffic than any other method of digital marketing. That said, targeted ads are the highest-converting of all methods. Why not combine the two for maximum ROI? Consider the types of content your web visitors interact with and/or what content created by your brand would be most relevant to them. Promote it through your ads, emphasizing how it can help users solve problems, learn something new, or accomplish an important goal. Content that can be effectively marketed through retargeting ads include: Blog articles How-to guides Checklists Webinars and video demos Ebooks and whitepapers

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RETARGETING

Combat Video Ad Fatigue with Audio Advertising

Article | July 20, 2022

As a marketer, your goal is to create ads that stick in the minds of your audience. You devote extra time and resources to creating memorable graphics, engaging CTAs, and interesting copy that works. You also buy just the right ad spots. But, what happens when your potential customer scrolls right past your ad? Your costly video ad never creates a difference and your campaign fails. Combat this video ad fatigue with audio advertising to effectively influence your target demographic. After the audio content boom driven by podcasts, audio advertising is rising and becoming marketers’ new favorite. Nielsen Catalina Solutions’ 12-month-long study of audio ads on Spotify versus video and display ads found that audio ads were up to 25% more effective than other ad formats. Mostly, audio ads are delivered through podcasts. We’ll dive into this shortly. First let’s look at how audio advertising can influence the buying decisions of your target audience: Audio Advertising: Superpowers Explained Audio advertising uses a broad content category such as background scores, jingles, and branded content apart from audio ads. By fusing audio ads into audio experiences such as ad-supported music streaming or podcasts, marketers can position relevant products and services in front of customers. Here are more of its advantages: Audio Ads Offer Immersive Experience A study done by Lightwave and iHeartMedia showed that one of the biggest benefits of audio advertising was its ability to connect with the audience on a deeper level. Remembering catchy jingles is also a part of this connection. Audio ads communicate emotions, capture the attention of the listeners within seconds and engage them enough to paint a picture in their minds. They achieve this without a big budget or production crew. A strong script and an audio booth are all you need to create an immersive audio ad. They Have a Greater Reach Primarily, audio ads are delivered through podcasts because they can be easily categorized and are widely consumed. According to Statista, almost 60% of all U.S. consumers older than 12 listen to podcasts. Interestingly, 70% podcast listeners do not multi-task while listening to a podcast, so you are catering to alert listeners who might end up retaining your ad (Edison Research). Apart from podcasts, audio ads are also run in locations such as radio, music, and news streams. They Are Insightful and Creative Marketers can use 3D and 8D audio to create soundscapes that offer an immersive experience. Additionally, audio ads create a 1-to-1 relationship. With the help of programmatic advertising, they also collect many layers of data that provide buying insights. Integrating audio ads with voice assistants is a creative approach to entice customers while being interactive. Nars Cosmetics UK used Spotify to offer its customers voice commerce. Upon hearing the ad on Spotify, they could order samples and set up delivery using their smart speakers. Smart Speakers Are Changing the Game Smart speakers are contributing to screen-less moments in American homes. This means your video ad campaigns won’t get the kind of response you expect, but your audio ads just might. The Edison Infinite Dial report found that there is an average of 2.3 smart speakers in each home in the U.S. This number shows that a wide range of people use voice search and will listen to audio ads as a result. Summing It Up Audio advertising drives engagement and conversion through immersive storytelling, catchy jingles, and longer ad retention. It can be a great addition to your digital marketing strategy and refine the way you influence your audience’s buying decisions.

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DISPLAY ADVERTISING

Power up Your Mobile Ad Campaigns with These Four Tricks

Article | July 8, 2022

Did you know that there are over three billion smartphone users globally? While browsing through varied content, they see ads relevant to things they explore in their downloaded apps and games. In addition, they receive offers through SMS and see banner ads on websites they visit. These ads are a part of mobile ad campaigns specifically targeting a certain demographic. Some examples of mobile ads include carousel ads, image and text ads on Facebook, Snapchat filters and ads, video ads on YouTube, notifications from downloaded apps, ads that play between videos or games, and Instagram Story ads. Why are advertisers so keen on utilizing mobile ad campaigns? Mobile Ad Campaigns Speak the Revenue Language Marketers understand the power and impact of mobile phones on users’ lives. As a result, U.S. marketers spent a record 120 billion U.S. dollars on mobile promotion in 2020. (Statista). Mobile ad campaigns can achieve tremendous results and bring in revenue for you by creating a connection with the user through personalization and by catering to all kinds of online audience on-the-go. “The mobile device has become our communications hub, our diary, our entertainment portal, our primary source of media consumption, our wallet and our gateway to real-time information tailored to our needs. The revolution is now!” - Nihal Mehta, Founding General Partner at Eniac Ventures Mobile Advertising Covers All the Bases Companies engage in mobile advertising for objectives like lead generation, customer retention through new offers, brand engagement activities like contests, and creating awareness about a product or a service. Mobile ads are the preferred channel for advertising because: They are cost-effective Allow geo-targeting Get a quick response Can be easily tracked Let us look at all the tricks that can help you optimize your mobile ad campaigns. Grab the Users’ Attention Imagine mobile users aggressively scrolling on their phones. Your ad should make them stop and grab their attention enough to make them read it. The goals of your ad campaigns should be clear. If you are looking to redirect the user to your website or want them to click on the ad, your campaign execution should align with these goals. Adding Value Through Your Messaging Pushing your message effectively to the user can ensure the success of your campaign. Your text should be crisp and sharp, interesting yet simple to comprehend. Use popular phrases or buzz words to create a connection with the users. Don’t Underestimate Visual Appeal Visual appeal plays a vital role in the way users react to ads. The image size of your ad, the moving flow, and the options for interacting with the ads can impact your ad’s performance. Ensure that you never interrupt your user’s reading flow when they are browsing and that the visuals of your ad are pleasant and appealing to the eye. Remember, Brevity is the Soul of Wit The content of your ad should be impressive enough to make the users engage with it. Users will respond to clear copy, visuals and your message’s simplicity. Furthermore, make sure that your landing pages are bug-free, load quickly and relate to your display ad so that the users can form a tangible connection between them. Wrapping It Up Mobile advertising helps brands remain connected to their customers around the clock while on the move. It is a personalized and flexible type of advertising that can help advertisers understand the lifestyle of targeted customers to offer them just what they need.

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ADVERTISER PLATFORMS

Podcast Advertising: A Promising Avenue for Result-oriented B2B Ad Campaigns

Article | May 19, 2022

Marketers in the B2B domain have a multi-channel approach to marketing because they target companies as buying groups. B2B marketers are leveraging podcast advertising with the help of advertisers, creators, and publishers for brand building and generating leads. They leverage up-and-coming avenues of advertising, most of which are a part of digital media channels. One such avenue is podcast advertising. Podcast advertising is emerging as one of the fastest-growing digital media channels for advertising. It is estimated to grow to more than $2.13 billion in 2022, according to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC. But, what is driving this growth? Engagement. People are finding podcasts more engaging than ever. Consequently, the demand for podcast ads across all categories is growing. Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI): The Rise of Automated Ad Tech Dynamic ad insertion is a form of programmatic advertising that uses first or third-party data. This data comes from the device playing a podcast, a device user agent, the device’s IP address, and what episode is requested, to serve ads to a target demographic. The ad server of the podcast hosting platform decides which ads should be stitched into a particular podcast episode. If done well, the audience will never know the difference between a dynamically inserted ad and a baked-in ad, which is a permanent part of the audio of the podcast. Podcast hosting platforms, advertisers, and publishers adopted DAI because it helps brands win contextual relevance and efficiency through granular advertising opportunities. Through custom audio ads that appeal to the target audience, dynamic or seasonal geo-targeted ads, measurable variables, and performance data, DAI gives advertisers good control over podcast ad campaigns. This control allows them to tailor the campaigns based on the marketers’ demands. DAI is evolving and has great potential in transcription-based targeting using AI and machine learning. It also has greater creative interactivity to make audio ads engaging through voice interactivity, personalization, and mobile phone engagement. A podcast advertising example using DAI would be a brand creating multiple versions of pre-recorded audio ads that are served to target audiences on any podcast that meets the campaign criteria. Podcast Advertising Anchors Digital Marketers for Effective Outreach Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer 2017 report found that:  24% of people between the ages of 18 and 54 listen to podcasts monthly  Listeners are almost evenly split between men and women  Listeners tend to be affluent, mainly educated consumers  In the 25-54 age bracket, monthly listening has grown year over year for the past four years These stats demonstrate the growing market for podcast advertising and a very stable demographic that B2B marketers would want to target. Marketers rely more on podcast advertisers and platforms to tap into the potential of podcasts as a media channel. Here are some of the ways in which podcast advertising can enhance B2B marketing plans and bring in more conversions: Listener behavior expansion− By understanding what kinds of podcasts the target audience listens to, marketers can create ads that appeal to them, and advertisers can help them get the perfect spot for the ad campaign to make it more successful. Pivoting messaging is easier− Using different voiceovers, marketers can deliver the same message but elicit a different reaction from their target audience. Recycling old ad files is also a viable option to save time and resources. Human connection− Hyper-personalized targeted ads relevant to the podcast content create a human connection with the audience and can influence their opinion about a brand. Personal influence− Podcast hosts create a personal influence on the listeners so they keep tuning in to the podcast and even listen to the episodes again after a period. Ads on such podcasts receive stronger engagement and response. Additionally, hosts can also relay brand messages to listeners and influence their buying decisions. Regional marketing− Podcasts are a great way to connect with a target demographic residing in a certain geographical area. Geo-targeting is a boon for region-specific marketing endeavors. Effective storytelling− Podcasts can fuse autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) for immersive storytelling to impress listeners. The continuity and power of an engaging narration keeps the listeners subscribed and attached, ensuring that any kind of advertising on such podcasts can reach a wider audience. Advertisers Are Helping B2B Marketers Generate Revenue According to a forecast by IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), podcast advertising revenue will exceed $4 billion by 2024. Marketers are dependent on advertisers to tap into the podcast advertising potential to generate revenue in the following ways: Demand Generation An estimated 62 million Americans (Source: Edison Research) listen to podcasts, and this number is expected to grow. An interview by a product expert on an industry-relevant podcast can help get leads without wasting any budget on creating awareness, making it cost-effective. It’s no wonder LinkedIn and HubSpot have started their own podcast networks to host business and career-related content. Brand Building & Customer Retention Apart from using podcasts to generate leads, it can also help with brand building. Sponsoring a popular and relevant podcast episode can create a brand’s reputation and trust. It can also help retain existing customers as sponsorships demonstrate a continuous commitment to industry growth and development. Ad Effectiveness 75% of podcast listeners were happy with the purchase they had made from podcast ads (A Study by Voices, the #1 voice marketplace). This goes to show that podcast advertising brings out expected results and conversions without compromising the customer experience or opinion. Podcast as a Medium for Thought Leadership Podcasts are a great medium for B2B thought leadership. They are a free space to express expert industry opinion, talk about the current industry trends, address the pain points of the customers, discuss tech advancements, and create a personal connection with the listeners. Tailored thought leadership content can fuel brand engagement and bring in leads that convert because of brand trust. Feedback gathered through interactive content can help B2B marketers create personalized marketing plans to align their goals with ad campaigns better. Podcast Ads: Taking the First Step Before you step into the world of podcast advertising, make sure you consider aspects like target demographic, podcast ad pricing, industry/brand relevant podcasts, ad purchasing, the reputation of the podcast advertising network, and podcast advertising platforms. Policygenius, a New York-based insurance agency, invested early in podcast advertising through Ad Results Media, an ad agency. Policygenius achieved its ROI goals, and its media spending increased by 10x in two years. You can buy podcast ads directly, through a podcast advertising network, or programmatically. To track the success of your ads, use KPIs like unique listeners, ranking and reviews, subscribers, social sharing, and episode-by-episode metrics. Wrapping It Up Podcasts can be a great advertising avenue for B2B companies to influence their buying groups and create new customers. Its monumental growth as a media channel and its ad revenue over the past couple of years indicate that it is here to stay and should be harnessed for a wider reach and bigger sales numbers. FAQ What is the role of podcast advertising networks? A podcast advertising network is a full-service podcast advertising solution that maintains podcast ad inventory and manages ad campaigns for marketers. How is podcast advertising different from traditional advertising methods? Podcast advertising uses automated ad tech to create dynamic ad campaigns across relevant podcasts, while traditional advertising methods focus on print ads, outdoor billboards, and cable television. Which are some popular podcast advertising platforms? Some popular podcast advertising platforms are Midroll, AdvertiseCast, PodGrid, and Archer Avenue.

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SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING

Creating Great Ads: CX Should Surpass Technology in Priority

Article | July 6, 2022

What is retargeting and why do you need it? Well, because it’s easier than ever to lose a sale online. Think of it like this: you successfully drive a potential customer to your site with great content or social media engagement. But then their phone rings. Or they have to take a quick meeting. Their child calls their name. They look up at the TV and forget to return. Or one of a million other potential distractions in our fast-paced world get in the way. They could be lost forever. Or — you could use retargeting to get them back to your site. That’s what we’ll cover in the sections that follow. You’ll learn what retargeting entails, why your business should be using it, which platforms to do it on, and best practices to maximize ROI. Let’s get started. Quick Takeaways Only 2% of web users convert on their first visit to a website. Retargeted web visitors convert at a 70% higher rate. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social platforms are effective places to use retargeting. Retargeting ads are most effective when they incentivize, are personalized, and/or leverage high-value content. What is retargeting? So what exactly is retargeting? In short, it’s the process of monitoring the behavior of your web visitors so you can drive them back to your site later. It’s done by adding code to your website that tracks user actions by placing cookies in their browsers. You can then use that information to show them targeted ads when they’re elsewhere on the internet. Those requests you get to “accept all cookies” when you visit a new website? It’s retargeting in action. Brands are asking your permission to track what you’re doing so they can show you ads that are relevant to you. Today 87% of marketers use site retargeting to attract potential customers back to their website. Given that only 2% (!) of web visitors convert on their first visit to any site, it’s a smart strategy for brands to capture low-hanging fruit in their web traffic and avoid losing prospects who will likely convert with a little bit of encouragement. Let’s look at 3 reasons why retargeting should be part of your digital marketing strategy and the benefits your brand will experience from doing it. Why Retargeting Needs to Be Part of Your Strategy Consumers actually like retargeted ads The consensus view of retargeted ads has always been tainted with a little bit of uncertainty about their use of individual consumer data. And there’s no doubt about it — consumers do worry about their online privacy. At the same time, however, they are also more aware than ever that brands are using their information to advertise to them and target their buying preferences. And they still browse and buy online at a rapidly increasing rate. Here’s what it comes down to: retargeting doesn’t turn consumers off as long as it’s done ethically (AKA you’re only retargeting people when it actually makes sense and they’ve agreed to your privacy policy). In fact, recent research has found that 25% of consumers say they actually enjoy seeing retargeted ads. And while a quarter of consumers may not seem encouraging, actual consumer behavior suggests that number is quite a bit higher. Here’s what the numbers tell us: Retargeted ads earn a click-through rate 10x higher than regular display ads Retargeted website visitors are 70% more likely to convert 3 out of 4 consumers notice retargeted ads when they see them It’s helpful to think about this in the context of your own life, too. We all see ads for products and brands we’ve briefly visited without buying from. But rather than get annoyed, our interest is usually sparked again. We may click on the ad to look at it again and rethink whatever reasoning we had before for not buying. We may follow the brand on social media for updates. Retargeting is a massive opportunity for brands to cut down on lost sales by reminding consumers why they were interested in the first place and incentivizing them to come back and make a purchase. Where to Retarget Google and YouTube Google and YouTube are the two most visited websites in the world, with a casual combined 85 billion monthly views (nbd). You can target ads on these massive platforms with Google Ads on the Google Display Network. Most consumers are doing their brand and product research using Google search. What better place, then, to have your ads displayed to convince users to choose you? Facebook and Instagram Ads on the two platforms are both run under Facebook Ads Manager. You add the Facebook Pixel to your website’s code. When users take an action on your site (for example, adding to cart or making a purchase) the pixel is triggered and they’ll see retargeted ads on both Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the Facebook Pixel here. TikTok TikTok has exploded onto the scene over the past two years. It’s easy to assume this platform might be best for targeting younger audiences, but the truth is there are tons of audiences on TikTok that encompass a range of ages and interest areas. For example #MomTok — moms sharing tips, stories, and advice — is one of the most active corners of the app. #BusinessTok, #FitnessTok, and #BookTok are some of the other most popular hashtag-driven interest groups on the app. These are only a few examples. In other words: retargeting on TikTok is for every type of audience. You can get started at TikTok for Business. LinkedIn For B2B companies or brands targeting a more corporate or professional audience, LinkedIn could be an ideal platform for your retargeting efforts. You can add the LinkedIn Insight Tag to your website to begin tracking your visitors and serving them ads on the LinkedIn platform. 3 Retargeting Best Practices Incentivize The thing about web visitors you retarget is that they have shown interest in your brand already, but for some reason they weren’t motivated to make a purchase (or maybe they did but haven’t been back to make another one). The way to convince them? Offering incentives. Consider this: you see a pair of shoes you love. You almost buy them but you think “Well, they’re just a little too pricey. I’m going to pass.” A few days later you see those shoes you love, except they’re being offered at a discount. Your main argument for not buying the shoes is gone. You’re much more likely to go back and make the purchase. Incentivizing your retargeting audiences is worthwhile because you eliminate one of the biggest roadblocks to purchase: concerns about price. Personalize Like all other kinds of online experiences, consumers want their retargeted ads to be personalized to their preferences. Nearly 80% of consumers say personally relevant ad content from brands increases their purchase intent. Adding simple phrases that are unique to a person’s experience with your brand (i.e. “You left this item in your cart!” or “Based on your previous purchase, we think you’d love this!”) can be what makes your ad stand out to your audience. Leverage Content Content drives more organic traffic than any other method of digital marketing. That said, targeted ads are the highest-converting of all methods. Why not combine the two for maximum ROI? Consider the types of content your web visitors interact with and/or what content created by your brand would be most relevant to them. Promote it through your ads, emphasizing how it can help users solve problems, learn something new, or accomplish an important goal. Content that can be effectively marketed through retargeting ads include: Blog articles How-to guides Checklists Webinars and video demos Ebooks and whitepapers

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RETARGETING

Contextual Targeting: Why is It Important?

Article | July 20, 2022

As a marketer, your goal is to create ads that stick in the minds of your audience. You devote extra time and resources to creating memorable graphics, engaging CTAs, and interesting copy that works. You also buy just the right ad spots. But, what happens when your potential customer scrolls right past your ad? Your costly video ad never creates a difference and your campaign fails. Combat this video ad fatigue with audio advertising to effectively influence your target demographic. After the audio content boom driven by podcasts, audio advertising is rising and becoming marketers’ new favorite. Nielsen Catalina Solutions’ 12-month-long study of audio ads on Spotify versus video and display ads found that audio ads were up to 25% more effective than other ad formats. Mostly, audio ads are delivered through podcasts. We’ll dive into this shortly. First let’s look at how audio advertising can influence the buying decisions of your target audience: Audio Advertising: Superpowers Explained Audio advertising uses a broad content category such as background scores, jingles, and branded content apart from audio ads. By fusing audio ads into audio experiences such as ad-supported music streaming or podcasts, marketers can position relevant products and services in front of customers. Here are more of its advantages: Audio Ads Offer Immersive Experience A study done by Lightwave and iHeartMedia showed that one of the biggest benefits of audio advertising was its ability to connect with the audience on a deeper level. Remembering catchy jingles is also a part of this connection. Audio ads communicate emotions, capture the attention of the listeners within seconds and engage them enough to paint a picture in their minds. They achieve this without a big budget or production crew. A strong script and an audio booth are all you need to create an immersive audio ad. They Have a Greater Reach Primarily, audio ads are delivered through podcasts because they can be easily categorized and are widely consumed. According to Statista, almost 60% of all U.S. consumers older than 12 listen to podcasts. Interestingly, 70% podcast listeners do not multi-task while listening to a podcast, so you are catering to alert listeners who might end up retaining your ad (Edison Research). Apart from podcasts, audio ads are also run in locations such as radio, music, and news streams. They Are Insightful and Creative Marketers can use 3D and 8D audio to create soundscapes that offer an immersive experience. Additionally, audio ads create a 1-to-1 relationship. With the help of programmatic advertising, they also collect many layers of data that provide buying insights. Integrating audio ads with voice assistants is a creative approach to entice customers while being interactive. Nars Cosmetics UK used Spotify to offer its customers voice commerce. Upon hearing the ad on Spotify, they could order samples and set up delivery using their smart speakers. Smart Speakers Are Changing the Game Smart speakers are contributing to screen-less moments in American homes. This means your video ad campaigns won’t get the kind of response you expect, but your audio ads just might. The Edison Infinite Dial report found that there is an average of 2.3 smart speakers in each home in the U.S. This number shows that a wide range of people use voice search and will listen to audio ads as a result. Summing It Up Audio advertising drives engagement and conversion through immersive storytelling, catchy jingles, and longer ad retention. It can be a great addition to your digital marketing strategy and refine the way you influence your audience’s buying decisions.

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DISPLAY ADVERTISING

6-second Video Ads: Delivering Key Messages & Driving Results

Article | July 8, 2022

Did you know that there are over three billion smartphone users globally? While browsing through varied content, they see ads relevant to things they explore in their downloaded apps and games. In addition, they receive offers through SMS and see banner ads on websites they visit. These ads are a part of mobile ad campaigns specifically targeting a certain demographic. Some examples of mobile ads include carousel ads, image and text ads on Facebook, Snapchat filters and ads, video ads on YouTube, notifications from downloaded apps, ads that play between videos or games, and Instagram Story ads. Why are advertisers so keen on utilizing mobile ad campaigns? Mobile Ad Campaigns Speak the Revenue Language Marketers understand the power and impact of mobile phones on users’ lives. As a result, U.S. marketers spent a record 120 billion U.S. dollars on mobile promotion in 2020. (Statista). Mobile ad campaigns can achieve tremendous results and bring in revenue for you by creating a connection with the user through personalization and by catering to all kinds of online audience on-the-go. “The mobile device has become our communications hub, our diary, our entertainment portal, our primary source of media consumption, our wallet and our gateway to real-time information tailored to our needs. The revolution is now!” - Nihal Mehta, Founding General Partner at Eniac Ventures Mobile Advertising Covers All the Bases Companies engage in mobile advertising for objectives like lead generation, customer retention through new offers, brand engagement activities like contests, and creating awareness about a product or a service. Mobile ads are the preferred channel for advertising because: They are cost-effective Allow geo-targeting Get a quick response Can be easily tracked Let us look at all the tricks that can help you optimize your mobile ad campaigns. Grab the Users’ Attention Imagine mobile users aggressively scrolling on their phones. Your ad should make them stop and grab their attention enough to make them read it. The goals of your ad campaigns should be clear. If you are looking to redirect the user to your website or want them to click on the ad, your campaign execution should align with these goals. Adding Value Through Your Messaging Pushing your message effectively to the user can ensure the success of your campaign. Your text should be crisp and sharp, interesting yet simple to comprehend. Use popular phrases or buzz words to create a connection with the users. Don’t Underestimate Visual Appeal Visual appeal plays a vital role in the way users react to ads. The image size of your ad, the moving flow, and the options for interacting with the ads can impact your ad’s performance. Ensure that you never interrupt your user’s reading flow when they are browsing and that the visuals of your ad are pleasant and appealing to the eye. Remember, Brevity is the Soul of Wit The content of your ad should be impressive enough to make the users engage with it. Users will respond to clear copy, visuals and your message’s simplicity. Furthermore, make sure that your landing pages are bug-free, load quickly and relate to your display ad so that the users can form a tangible connection between them. Wrapping It Up Mobile advertising helps brands remain connected to their customers around the clock while on the move. It is a personalized and flexible type of advertising that can help advertisers understand the lifestyle of targeted customers to offer them just what they need.

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Podcast Advertising: A Promising Avenue for Result-oriented B2B Ad Campaigns

Article | May 19, 2022

Marketers in the B2B domain have a multi-channel approach to marketing because they target companies as buying groups. B2B marketers are leveraging podcast advertising with the help of advertisers, creators, and publishers for brand building and generating leads. They leverage up-and-coming avenues of advertising, most of which are a part of digital media channels. One such avenue is podcast advertising. Podcast advertising is emerging as one of the fastest-growing digital media channels for advertising. It is estimated to grow to more than $2.13 billion in 2022, according to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC. But, what is driving this growth? Engagement. People are finding podcasts more engaging than ever. Consequently, the demand for podcast ads across all categories is growing. Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI): The Rise of Automated Ad Tech Dynamic ad insertion is a form of programmatic advertising that uses first or third-party data. This data comes from the device playing a podcast, a device user agent, the device’s IP address, and what episode is requested, to serve ads to a target demographic. The ad server of the podcast hosting platform decides which ads should be stitched into a particular podcast episode. If done well, the audience will never know the difference between a dynamically inserted ad and a baked-in ad, which is a permanent part of the audio of the podcast. Podcast hosting platforms, advertisers, and publishers adopted DAI because it helps brands win contextual relevance and efficiency through granular advertising opportunities. Through custom audio ads that appeal to the target audience, dynamic or seasonal geo-targeted ads, measurable variables, and performance data, DAI gives advertisers good control over podcast ad campaigns. This control allows them to tailor the campaigns based on the marketers’ demands. DAI is evolving and has great potential in transcription-based targeting using AI and machine learning. It also has greater creative interactivity to make audio ads engaging through voice interactivity, personalization, and mobile phone engagement. A podcast advertising example using DAI would be a brand creating multiple versions of pre-recorded audio ads that are served to target audiences on any podcast that meets the campaign criteria. Podcast Advertising Anchors Digital Marketers for Effective Outreach Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer 2017 report found that:  24% of people between the ages of 18 and 54 listen to podcasts monthly  Listeners are almost evenly split between men and women  Listeners tend to be affluent, mainly educated consumers  In the 25-54 age bracket, monthly listening has grown year over year for the past four years These stats demonstrate the growing market for podcast advertising and a very stable demographic that B2B marketers would want to target. Marketers rely more on podcast advertisers and platforms to tap into the potential of podcasts as a media channel. Here are some of the ways in which podcast advertising can enhance B2B marketing plans and bring in more conversions: Listener behavior expansion− By understanding what kinds of podcasts the target audience listens to, marketers can create ads that appeal to them, and advertisers can help them get the perfect spot for the ad campaign to make it more successful. Pivoting messaging is easier− Using different voiceovers, marketers can deliver the same message but elicit a different reaction from their target audience. Recycling old ad files is also a viable option to save time and resources. Human connection− Hyper-personalized targeted ads relevant to the podcast content create a human connection with the audience and can influence their opinion about a brand. Personal influence− Podcast hosts create a personal influence on the listeners so they keep tuning in to the podcast and even listen to the episodes again after a period. Ads on such podcasts receive stronger engagement and response. Additionally, hosts can also relay brand messages to listeners and influence their buying decisions. Regional marketing− Podcasts are a great way to connect with a target demographic residing in a certain geographical area. Geo-targeting is a boon for region-specific marketing endeavors. Effective storytelling− Podcasts can fuse autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) for immersive storytelling to impress listeners. The continuity and power of an engaging narration keeps the listeners subscribed and attached, ensuring that any kind of advertising on such podcasts can reach a wider audience. Advertisers Are Helping B2B Marketers Generate Revenue According to a forecast by IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), podcast advertising revenue will exceed $4 billion by 2024. Marketers are dependent on advertisers to tap into the podcast advertising potential to generate revenue in the following ways: Demand Generation An estimated 62 million Americans (Source: Edison Research) listen to podcasts, and this number is expected to grow. An interview by a product expert on an industry-relevant podcast can help get leads without wasting any budget on creating awareness, making it cost-effective. It’s no wonder LinkedIn and HubSpot have started their own podcast networks to host business and career-related content. Brand Building & Customer Retention Apart from using podcasts to generate leads, it can also help with brand building. Sponsoring a popular and relevant podcast episode can create a brand’s reputation and trust. It can also help retain existing customers as sponsorships demonstrate a continuous commitment to industry growth and development. Ad Effectiveness 75% of podcast listeners were happy with the purchase they had made from podcast ads (A Study by Voices, the #1 voice marketplace). This goes to show that podcast advertising brings out expected results and conversions without compromising the customer experience or opinion. Podcast as a Medium for Thought Leadership Podcasts are a great medium for B2B thought leadership. They are a free space to express expert industry opinion, talk about the current industry trends, address the pain points of the customers, discuss tech advancements, and create a personal connection with the listeners. Tailored thought leadership content can fuel brand engagement and bring in leads that convert because of brand trust. Feedback gathered through interactive content can help B2B marketers create personalized marketing plans to align their goals with ad campaigns better. Podcast Ads: Taking the First Step Before you step into the world of podcast advertising, make sure you consider aspects like target demographic, podcast ad pricing, industry/brand relevant podcasts, ad purchasing, the reputation of the podcast advertising network, and podcast advertising platforms. Policygenius, a New York-based insurance agency, invested early in podcast advertising through Ad Results Media, an ad agency. Policygenius achieved its ROI goals, and its media spending increased by 10x in two years. You can buy podcast ads directly, through a podcast advertising network, or programmatically. To track the success of your ads, use KPIs like unique listeners, ranking and reviews, subscribers, social sharing, and episode-by-episode metrics. Wrapping It Up Podcasts can be a great advertising avenue for B2B companies to influence their buying groups and create new customers. Its monumental growth as a media channel and its ad revenue over the past couple of years indicate that it is here to stay and should be harnessed for a wider reach and bigger sales numbers. FAQ What is the role of podcast advertising networks? A podcast advertising network is a full-service podcast advertising solution that maintains podcast ad inventory and manages ad campaigns for marketers. How is podcast advertising different from traditional advertising methods? Podcast advertising uses automated ad tech to create dynamic ad campaigns across relevant podcasts, while traditional advertising methods focus on print ads, outdoor billboards, and cable television. Which are some popular podcast advertising platforms? Some popular podcast advertising platforms are Midroll, AdvertiseCast, PodGrid, and Archer Avenue.

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Instacart Announces New Shoppable Video and Display Advertising Products, Driving Inspiration, Discovery and Purchase

Instacart | May 30, 2022

Instacart today announced two new advertising solutions that bring together the best of inspirational storytelling and action: shoppable video ads and enhanced shoppable display ads. These new formats expand Instacart's ad product suite with inspiring experiences to give brands a more immersive way to storytell, engage and drive sales. Shoppable video and shoppable display enable CPG brands to shorten the user journey from awareness and product discovery directly to purchase – all within one rich media unit. Advertisers can now promote engaging, targeted, creative content to consumers as they shop from their favorite retailers on Instacart. Dove, Mondelēz International, PepsiCo and S.Pellegrino are among the first CPG brands to pilot Instacart's shoppable video and shoppable display products. "Advertisers choose Instacart because we've built a platform with high-intent consumers, unparalleled scale of retailers, and closed-looped measurement, all of which drives meaningful results for our brand partners," said Ali Miller, Vice President of Ads Product at Instacart. "We designed our new shoppable ad products to create more brand storytelling opportunities for CPGs, help them inspire and reach new and existing consumers, and ultimately drive sales in a singular unit. We see that these kinds of shoppable rich media experiences resonate with consumers as well, as we're bringing more discovery and inspiration to the online shopping experience. We're grateful to work with brand partners who have been excited to innovate with us and incubate these formats along the way to drive maximum impact." Instacart's new shoppable video ads will equip brands to combine the powerful storytelling capabilities of video creative with an in-line set of shoppable products to shorten the path from discovery to purchase. Advertisers will be able to fuel brand affinity with rich stories, motion and audio, and inspire bigger baskets with seamless add to cart functionality. Throughout the pilot, Instacart will test and learn alongside its CPG brand partners to determine best practices and inform what the shoppable video product looks like when it is available to all brands in Instacart's self-service portal, Ads Manager, later this year. Building on the early success of its inaugural display ads product, Instacart has created a new, iterative, shoppable display product to inspire basket building through discovery and purchase. This new shoppable display format is a CPG brand's contextual 'pop up shop' on Instacart and enables them to reach the right consumer at the right time to drive consideration and bigger baskets – without disrupting the shopping experience. The engaging new format features brand imagery coupled with direct add to cart functionality; brands are able to pin a bundle of items that inspires complementary purchases, innovation, and drives routine purchases. More than 40 CPG brands have piloted the shoppable display product, which will be generally available to all brand partners in Ads Manager later this summer. Dove first partnered with Instacart Ads in 2017 with sponsored product campaigns, and expanded as an early pioneer with shoppable display for their "Nourish Your Beauty" campaign. "Across all our Dove campaigns, we tell real, thoughtful stories of beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety, that our audience can authentically connect with and that inspire the next generation," said Leslie Miller, Marketing Director on Dove. "At the same time, we are constantly looking for innovative platforms to engage with our audience. Working with Instacart Ads has enabled us to try new tools that do just that. Testing Instacart's new shoppable display and shoppable video ads have equipped us to inspire even more people with our brand storytelling and seamlessly drive purchases as they shop on Instacart." "Partnering with Instacart helps us stay ahead of the curve when it comes to inspiring and engaging consumers along their shopping journey," said Emily Frankel, SVP, eCommerce Marketing Head at PepsiCo. "Partnering with Instacart helps us stay ahead of the curve when it comes to inspiring and engaging consumers along their shopping journey," said Emily Frankel, SVP, eCommerce Marketing Head at PepsiCo. "Multiple PepsiCo brands have joined the Instacart video and display pilots to test and learn. Shoppable display has proven to be an effective way to drive first-time purchase of our products via the Instacart platform, and while we're just getting started with shoppable video, we look forward to continuing our work to give consumers a compelling omnichannel experience." "We're thrilled to partner with Instacart. Online grocery shopping is critical to our long-term growth strategy and we are excited to create a richer experience for our consumers as they shop for our beloved brands." - Wesley Saraceni, Senior Director of Marketing Digital Commerce at Mondelēz International. Instacart's new shoppable video and shoppable display products expand the company's robust advertising tool kit and help CPG brands of all sizes deeply engage with consumers directly at the point of purchase. Now, advertisers have even more choices and touchpoints to inspire consumers throughout the entire shopping journey. The new shoppable video and display products, alongside the company's flagship sponsored product offering, brand pages and suite of display ad solutions, equip brands on Instacart with comprehensive full-funnel marketing capabilities to reach valuable consumers at the point of purchase and drive effective, measurable outcomes. Instacart today offers self-service and managed ad services for more than 5,000 CPG brands. Instacart also partners with industry-leading API partners that have built campaign management and optimization applications leveraging the Instacart Ads API. About Instacart Instacart is a leading retail enablement platform that works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. Today, Instacart partners with more than 800 national, regional and local retail brands to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 70,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Millions of busy people and families turn to Instacart to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and more than 600,000 Instacart shoppers pick, pack and deliver orders for customers on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power e-commerce, fulfillment, in-store, ads and insights for retailers across the U.S. and Canada. Hundreds of retailers partner with Instacart to power their e-commerce experiences across the Instacart App and their own white-label sites and solutions. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/.

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Pearl Media and Seaport Capital Acquire Lure

Pearl Media, Seaport Capital, Lure | May 02, 2022

Montclair-based Pearl Media partnered with Seaport Capital and acquired New York-based Lure Outdoor. With this acquisition, Lure outdoor has earned the reputation of a premier street-level Out of Home Media company in the US. Seaport Capital indulges in lower-middle markets and primarily invests in communication infrastructure and services, business and information services and media companies. LURE Outdoor's out-of-home (OOH) portfolio includes over 120 high-profile street-level mediums across New York City, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Los Angeles. As a result of the acquisition, Pearl will be able to deliver expanded reach to high-impact media within trendsetting hubs of significant cities. In addition, Pearl also focuses on providing clients with more targeted media buys through agreements with some of the most sought-after mixed-use developments and large format OOH assets in urban core downtown locations around the country. Pearl Media's roots can be found in the OOH advertising mix throughout the decade, and it has always adored OOH by transitioning it in different directions. "Pearl Media was born in OOH on the street level, pioneering the acceptance of Storefronts into the OOH media mix over a decade ago." said Joshua Cohen, CEO of Pearl Media. "Pearl Media was born in OOH on the street level, pioneering the acceptance of Storefronts into the OOH media mix over a decade ago. Today the business has grown in several directions, however we have never lost our love for the medium and we recognized LURE has done an amazing job building out this high-profile permitted inventory in some of the top neighborhoods and cities in the country. We could not be more thrilled about the opportunity in front of us to continue to build out this portfolio with the expanded team," said Joshua Cohen, CEO of Pearl Media. Lure Media is known for the larger-than-life OOH displays and is the first to develop "can't miss" eye-level Billboards and in-window displays. It has been creating bold and innovative campaigns for the last eight years. LURE's assets have helped businesses to break through the busiest, most attractive neighborhoods. "With shared values and a shared love for street-level OOH media, joining Pearl is the ideal next step for LURE to grow. We are excited to see Pearl's vision for the combined entity come to fruition", said Jonny Kaloudis, CEO of LURE.

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IAS Achieves MRC Accreditation for Integrated Third-Party Measurement on Facebook

Integral Ad Science, Media Rating Council | November 09, 2021

Delivers much-needed transparency for advertisers across their social media buying SINGAPORE, November 8, 2021 -- Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS), a global leader in digital media quality, today announced that it has been accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for impression and viewability measurement and reporting of display and video ads across Facebook and Instagram. With the continued growth of social advertising, this latest accreditation underscores the valued measurement that IAS offers advertisers across the world’s largest digital platforms including Facebook. “We’re proud to achieve this important MRC accreditation for our Facebook integrated measurement,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO, IAS. “Marketers rely on IAS and our advanced technology to drive much-needed transparency along with greater outcomes for their Facebook campaigns. We continue to prioritize our customers’ needs in our role as a leading provider of digital media quality across all social platforms.” IAS helps customers make every ad impression count through its global measurement capabilities, and this new MRC accreditation represents the latest way IAS is bringing greater transparency to the industry. This accreditation covers IAS’s measurement of display and video ads served in the Facebook Newsfeed on desktop and mobile web, as well as those served in both the Facebook and Instagram mobile apps. With integrated third-party measurement from IAS on Facebook and Instagram, advertisers gain a clearer understanding of their ad investment and performance, with greater control to optimize their campaigns toward viewable inventory. IAS achieved this most recent MRC accreditation following an intensive audit to verify that its data and measurement procedures, controls, disclosures, and reporting meet the required industry standards for validity, reliability, and effectiveness. “Accreditation of IAS as compliant with MRC’s Viewable Impression Standards for its integrated viewability measurement and reporting of display and video inventory on Facebook and Instagram is an important achievement that will help bring marketers the transparency they need to better evaluate ad spend on these critical platforms,” said George W. Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the MRC. “We congratulate IAS for its commitment to digital media quality and for meeting the rigorous standards necessary to attain this significant milestone.” Established in 2014, the MRC’s viewability standard helps ensure that brands only pay for quality ad inventory that has an opportunity to have been seen. IAS maintains MRC accreditations across its suite of services including display and video viewability for desktop, mobile web, and mobile in-app; invalid traffic for desktop, mobile web, and mobile in-app; and property level brand safety. About Integral Ad Science Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a global leader in digital media quality. IAS makes every impression count, ensuring that ads are viewable by real people, in safe and suitable environments, activating contextual targeting, and driving supply path optimization. Our mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality for the world’s leading brands, publishers, and platforms. We do this through data-driven technologies with actionable real-time signals and insight. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York, IAS works with thousands of top advertisers and premium publishers worldwide. For more information, visit integralads.com. About Media Rating Council (MRC) The MRC is a non-profit industry association established in 1963 composed of leading television, radio, print and Internet companies, as well as advertisers, advertising agencies and trade associations whose goal is to ensure measurement services that are valid, reliable and effective. Measurement services desiring MRC Accreditation are required to disclose to their customers all methodological aspects of their service; comply with the MRC Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research and other standards MRC produces; and submit to MRC-designed audits to authenticate and illuminate their procedures. In addition, the MRC membership actively pursues research issues they consider priorities in an effort to improve the quality of research in the marketplace. Currently more than 100 research products are audited by the MRC. Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

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Instacart Announces New Shoppable Video and Display Advertising Products, Driving Inspiration, Discovery and Purchase

Instacart | May 30, 2022

Instacart today announced two new advertising solutions that bring together the best of inspirational storytelling and action: shoppable video ads and enhanced shoppable display ads. These new formats expand Instacart's ad product suite with inspiring experiences to give brands a more immersive way to storytell, engage and drive sales. Shoppable video and shoppable display enable CPG brands to shorten the user journey from awareness and product discovery directly to purchase – all within one rich media unit. Advertisers can now promote engaging, targeted, creative content to consumers as they shop from their favorite retailers on Instacart. Dove, Mondelēz International, PepsiCo and S.Pellegrino are among the first CPG brands to pilot Instacart's shoppable video and shoppable display products. "Advertisers choose Instacart because we've built a platform with high-intent consumers, unparalleled scale of retailers, and closed-looped measurement, all of which drives meaningful results for our brand partners," said Ali Miller, Vice President of Ads Product at Instacart. "We designed our new shoppable ad products to create more brand storytelling opportunities for CPGs, help them inspire and reach new and existing consumers, and ultimately drive sales in a singular unit. We see that these kinds of shoppable rich media experiences resonate with consumers as well, as we're bringing more discovery and inspiration to the online shopping experience. We're grateful to work with brand partners who have been excited to innovate with us and incubate these formats along the way to drive maximum impact." Instacart's new shoppable video ads will equip brands to combine the powerful storytelling capabilities of video creative with an in-line set of shoppable products to shorten the path from discovery to purchase. Advertisers will be able to fuel brand affinity with rich stories, motion and audio, and inspire bigger baskets with seamless add to cart functionality. Throughout the pilot, Instacart will test and learn alongside its CPG brand partners to determine best practices and inform what the shoppable video product looks like when it is available to all brands in Instacart's self-service portal, Ads Manager, later this year. Building on the early success of its inaugural display ads product, Instacart has created a new, iterative, shoppable display product to inspire basket building through discovery and purchase. This new shoppable display format is a CPG brand's contextual 'pop up shop' on Instacart and enables them to reach the right consumer at the right time to drive consideration and bigger baskets – without disrupting the shopping experience. The engaging new format features brand imagery coupled with direct add to cart functionality; brands are able to pin a bundle of items that inspires complementary purchases, innovation, and drives routine purchases. More than 40 CPG brands have piloted the shoppable display product, which will be generally available to all brand partners in Ads Manager later this summer. Dove first partnered with Instacart Ads in 2017 with sponsored product campaigns, and expanded as an early pioneer with shoppable display for their "Nourish Your Beauty" campaign. "Across all our Dove campaigns, we tell real, thoughtful stories of beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety, that our audience can authentically connect with and that inspire the next generation," said Leslie Miller, Marketing Director on Dove. "At the same time, we are constantly looking for innovative platforms to engage with our audience. Working with Instacart Ads has enabled us to try new tools that do just that. Testing Instacart's new shoppable display and shoppable video ads have equipped us to inspire even more people with our brand storytelling and seamlessly drive purchases as they shop on Instacart." "Partnering with Instacart helps us stay ahead of the curve when it comes to inspiring and engaging consumers along their shopping journey," said Emily Frankel, SVP, eCommerce Marketing Head at PepsiCo. "Partnering with Instacart helps us stay ahead of the curve when it comes to inspiring and engaging consumers along their shopping journey," said Emily Frankel, SVP, eCommerce Marketing Head at PepsiCo. "Multiple PepsiCo brands have joined the Instacart video and display pilots to test and learn. Shoppable display has proven to be an effective way to drive first-time purchase of our products via the Instacart platform, and while we're just getting started with shoppable video, we look forward to continuing our work to give consumers a compelling omnichannel experience." "We're thrilled to partner with Instacart. Online grocery shopping is critical to our long-term growth strategy and we are excited to create a richer experience for our consumers as they shop for our beloved brands." - Wesley Saraceni, Senior Director of Marketing Digital Commerce at Mondelēz International. Instacart's new shoppable video and shoppable display products expand the company's robust advertising tool kit and help CPG brands of all sizes deeply engage with consumers directly at the point of purchase. Now, advertisers have even more choices and touchpoints to inspire consumers throughout the entire shopping journey. The new shoppable video and display products, alongside the company's flagship sponsored product offering, brand pages and suite of display ad solutions, equip brands on Instacart with comprehensive full-funnel marketing capabilities to reach valuable consumers at the point of purchase and drive effective, measurable outcomes. Instacart today offers self-service and managed ad services for more than 5,000 CPG brands. Instacart also partners with industry-leading API partners that have built campaign management and optimization applications leveraging the Instacart Ads API. About Instacart Instacart is a leading retail enablement platform that works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. Today, Instacart partners with more than 800 national, regional and local retail brands to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 70,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Millions of busy people and families turn to Instacart to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and more than 600,000 Instacart shoppers pick, pack and deliver orders for customers on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power e-commerce, fulfillment, in-store, ads and insights for retailers across the U.S. and Canada. Hundreds of retailers partner with Instacart to power their e-commerce experiences across the Instacart App and their own white-label sites and solutions. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/.

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Pearl Media and Seaport Capital Acquire Lure

Pearl Media, Seaport Capital, Lure | May 02, 2022

Montclair-based Pearl Media partnered with Seaport Capital and acquired New York-based Lure Outdoor. With this acquisition, Lure outdoor has earned the reputation of a premier street-level Out of Home Media company in the US. Seaport Capital indulges in lower-middle markets and primarily invests in communication infrastructure and services, business and information services and media companies. LURE Outdoor's out-of-home (OOH) portfolio includes over 120 high-profile street-level mediums across New York City, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Los Angeles. As a result of the acquisition, Pearl will be able to deliver expanded reach to high-impact media within trendsetting hubs of significant cities. In addition, Pearl also focuses on providing clients with more targeted media buys through agreements with some of the most sought-after mixed-use developments and large format OOH assets in urban core downtown locations around the country. Pearl Media's roots can be found in the OOH advertising mix throughout the decade, and it has always adored OOH by transitioning it in different directions. "Pearl Media was born in OOH on the street level, pioneering the acceptance of Storefronts into the OOH media mix over a decade ago." said Joshua Cohen, CEO of Pearl Media. "Pearl Media was born in OOH on the street level, pioneering the acceptance of Storefronts into the OOH media mix over a decade ago. Today the business has grown in several directions, however we have never lost our love for the medium and we recognized LURE has done an amazing job building out this high-profile permitted inventory in some of the top neighborhoods and cities in the country. We could not be more thrilled about the opportunity in front of us to continue to build out this portfolio with the expanded team," said Joshua Cohen, CEO of Pearl Media. Lure Media is known for the larger-than-life OOH displays and is the first to develop "can't miss" eye-level Billboards and in-window displays. It has been creating bold and innovative campaigns for the last eight years. LURE's assets have helped businesses to break through the busiest, most attractive neighborhoods. "With shared values and a shared love for street-level OOH media, joining Pearl is the ideal next step for LURE to grow. We are excited to see Pearl's vision for the combined entity come to fruition", said Jonny Kaloudis, CEO of LURE.

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IAS Achieves MRC Accreditation for Integrated Third-Party Measurement on Facebook

Integral Ad Science, Media Rating Council | November 09, 2021

Delivers much-needed transparency for advertisers across their social media buying SINGAPORE, November 8, 2021 -- Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS), a global leader in digital media quality, today announced that it has been accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for impression and viewability measurement and reporting of display and video ads across Facebook and Instagram. With the continued growth of social advertising, this latest accreditation underscores the valued measurement that IAS offers advertisers across the world’s largest digital platforms including Facebook. “We’re proud to achieve this important MRC accreditation for our Facebook integrated measurement,” said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO, IAS. “Marketers rely on IAS and our advanced technology to drive much-needed transparency along with greater outcomes for their Facebook campaigns. We continue to prioritize our customers’ needs in our role as a leading provider of digital media quality across all social platforms.” IAS helps customers make every ad impression count through its global measurement capabilities, and this new MRC accreditation represents the latest way IAS is bringing greater transparency to the industry. This accreditation covers IAS’s measurement of display and video ads served in the Facebook Newsfeed on desktop and mobile web, as well as those served in both the Facebook and Instagram mobile apps. With integrated third-party measurement from IAS on Facebook and Instagram, advertisers gain a clearer understanding of their ad investment and performance, with greater control to optimize their campaigns toward viewable inventory. IAS achieved this most recent MRC accreditation following an intensive audit to verify that its data and measurement procedures, controls, disclosures, and reporting meet the required industry standards for validity, reliability, and effectiveness. “Accreditation of IAS as compliant with MRC’s Viewable Impression Standards for its integrated viewability measurement and reporting of display and video inventory on Facebook and Instagram is an important achievement that will help bring marketers the transparency they need to better evaluate ad spend on these critical platforms,” said George W. Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the MRC. “We congratulate IAS for its commitment to digital media quality and for meeting the rigorous standards necessary to attain this significant milestone.” Established in 2014, the MRC’s viewability standard helps ensure that brands only pay for quality ad inventory that has an opportunity to have been seen. IAS maintains MRC accreditations across its suite of services including display and video viewability for desktop, mobile web, and mobile in-app; invalid traffic for desktop, mobile web, and mobile in-app; and property level brand safety. About Integral Ad Science Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a global leader in digital media quality. IAS makes every impression count, ensuring that ads are viewable by real people, in safe and suitable environments, activating contextual targeting, and driving supply path optimization. Our mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality for the world’s leading brands, publishers, and platforms. We do this through data-driven technologies with actionable real-time signals and insight. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York, IAS works with thousands of top advertisers and premium publishers worldwide. For more information, visit integralads.com. About Media Rating Council (MRC) The MRC is a non-profit industry association established in 1963 composed of leading television, radio, print and Internet companies, as well as advertisers, advertising agencies and trade associations whose goal is to ensure measurement services that are valid, reliable and effective. Measurement services desiring MRC Accreditation are required to disclose to their customers all methodological aspects of their service; comply with the MRC Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research and other standards MRC produces; and submit to MRC-designed audits to authenticate and illuminate their procedures. In addition, the MRC membership actively pursues research issues they consider priorities in an effort to improve the quality of research in the marketplace. Currently more than 100 research products are audited by the MRC. Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

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