Advertiser Campaign Management
Article | July 19, 2022
As content creators continue to influence brand and product discovery, Pinterest has partnered with Rakuten Advertising on new ways to monetize the platform.
On July 27th, Pinterest launched shoppable Idea Pins to allow creators to earn commissions through affiliate programs across networks including Rakuten Advertising and ShopStyle Collective. This partnership creates seamless opportunities for brands to reach, engage and convert consumers throughout their entire shopping journey.
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Advertiser Campaign Management
Article | August 12, 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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Advertiser Platforms
Article | August 2, 2022
Creating ad campaigns is a gamble. As advertisers, you are never sure if it was optimized enough, have no idea which micro-targets it resonates with the most, and it could take up to a year to determine the campaign’s sales impact. Market trends change by then. However, AI-powered ad creative can turn things around for you. You will know exactly what aspects of the ad resonate with your target demographic.
“It’s a welcome change for creatives, who find it empowering because they can think more broadly, experiment more, and learn faster,” says David Olesnevich, Head of Product at IBM Watson Advertising
“It’s a welcome change for creatives, who find it empowering because they can think more broadly, experiment more, and learn faster,” says David Olesnevich, Head of Product at IBM Watson Advertising
Let us take a look at what an AI-powered creative can do for your ad campaign:
Instant Optimization
AI-powered creative can be optimized instantly, not just for display ads but also for OTT video ads. You don’t need to spend extra time or resources to scale your optimization efforts.
Multiple Variations
Elements in AI creative can be varied and combined with music tracks, sound effects, voice-overs, scripts, video clips and sequences, hero shots, text overlays, end cards, and calls-to-action.
Easy Scaling
AI-powered creative ad campaigns are easy to scale across sectors for micro-targets defined by demographics, psychographics, life stage, customer journey stage, purchase behavior, and other KPIs like video completion, app installs, site visits, form-filling, purchases/conversions.
Enhanced Targeting
This technology can target your desired demographic based on message resonance. Consumer characteristics that respond to different message element combinations can help create persona profiles.
Brand advertisers like you need to prepare themselves for a cookie-less future with Google phasing out third-party cookies by 2023. Additionally, you need to also take into account Apple ending the IDFA (ID for Advertising). Figuring out micro-targets will get tougher because of these factors. You will have to harness solutions that respect consumer privacy without depending on the traditional advertising identifiers that will no longer remain.
Creative Professionals Can Better Maximize Client ROI
AI-powered creative is a modular and smarter way to develop ads. It takes the guesswork out of advertising with more actionable information to enhance brand campaigns and how they deliver a higher ROI.
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Advertiser Platforms
Article | May 20, 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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