The digital advertising landscape has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. Privacy-conscious consumers, transformative regulations, and emerging technologies are converging to redefine how addressability — the ability to accurately reach a specific audience — functions in this new era. Addressability is a cornerstone of digital advertising, and its evolution presents both challenges and opportunities for publishers and advertisers alike.
The need for enhancing addressability is driven by a complex set of factors. More consumers are opting out of data sharing or disabling cookie-tracking, leading to a drastic reduction in the reach of traditional programmatic advertising. Nearly 70 percent of consumers are now unreachable through these conventional methods, creating an ‘addressability gap’ that publishers and advertisers are eager to bridge. The landscape is further complicated by privacy regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which mandate solutions that balance user privacy with advertisers’ needs.
Contributing to this intricate mix is the growing shift toward video and connected TV (CTV). These platforms have long operated in a cookie-less environment and are witnessing rising demand due to their engaging nature and broad reach. However, the attractiveness of these mediums to advertisers hinges on effective addressability, highlighting the urgent need for innovative audience identification and targeting methods.
The emergence of data enablers and collaborative initiatives
Data enablers like Experian are stepping up to meet this need. These companies are providing robust, privacy-compliant data resources to improve addressability. Experian’s unique approach to identification, the Living Unit ID (LUID), is a key tool in bridging the current gap in reach.
How Experian and Microsoft Advertising are redefining addressability
We recently expanded our collaboration with Microsoft, to make our extensive data resources available through Microsoft Advertising’s data marketplace. This collaborative initiative represents a significant move, offering a compelling model of how data enablers and buy-side and sell-side platforms can work together to redefine addressability.
The benefits of this arrangement extend to all stakeholders in the ecosystem. Advertisers using Microsoft Invest can now access Experian’s audience data. This not only enhances the granularity of their audience targeting but also broadens the reach of their campaigns. Experian’s identity spine also serves as a robust framework to extend the value and reach of advertisers’ first-party data.
For publishers, the accessibility of Experian data on Microsoft Advertising’s data marketplace opens the door to greater addressability in their inventory, enabling them to offer advertisers more addressable impressions. This then amplifies the value of their inventory, potentially increasing their overall yield. For advertisers, this integration facilitates access to highly relevant audiences while simplifying campaign setup and respecting user privacy.
We can help you carve a new path toward addressability
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital advertising, such collaborative efforts are becoming critical to ensure that advertising remains effective for brands, profitable for publishers, and respectful of consumer privacy. This model of cooperation and innovation is essential to navigate the challenges of a privacy-centric, cookie-less world and unlock the true potential of every media channel.
With collaborative initiatives and innovative solutions, the industry is set to transform these challenges into opportunities, carving a new path toward addressability that respects privacy and delivers value for all stakeholders. Connect with us to learn more about how you can access our data in Microsoft Advertising’s data marketplace.
To learn more about our partner Microsoft Advertising, visit their website.
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One of the biggest challenges marketers face when planning digital advertising campaigns is getting an adequate number of impressions that yields measurable results at the lowest possible cost. As agencies, operators and advertisers are increasingly challenged about media budget, it is more important than ever to plan campaigns that generate enough information at the lowest possible cost. Through our design, deployment and measurement of advertising on a variety of platforms, Experian has developed best practices when planning digital advertising campaigns. We share some of these here, to help marketers with future campaign planning to maximize marketing effectiveness at a minimal cost. Using Path to Purchase to Determine the Right Number of Touch Points The Path to Purchase Funnel provides a framework to determine the number of touchpoints required to turn a prospect into a buyer. There are various phases the consumer goes through at each contact, and these phases dictate the number of touch points (or ‘touches’) required to induce a purchase. In the table below, we’ve described what these phases are, and the number of touch points required for those phases. The required number of touches will vary greatly among marketers, who must consider the expected time for a prospect to make decisions, competition in the marketplace, the novelty of the offer, and the level of engagement of the audience. For example, 15-second or 30-second audio and video ads played during scheduled breaks in programming may require more repetition than an ad played at a moment of high engagement, such as when the user interacts with the app, or during a “pre-roll” advertisement view prior to streamed content. Determining the Target Number of Impressions Needed to Persuade The next step involves determining how many exposures will be required to get the impressions or touch points needed to satisfy the consumer’s path to purchase. Let’s say a marketer has decided that four impressions are enough to make the case for the consumer to purchase, and that the marketer plans to reach 1 million prospects during the campaign. Perhaps the most intuitive solution is to provide four impressions for each reached prospect, such that 4 million impressions would be served during the campaign. However, during a normal digital campaign, some prospects will have zero impressions while others will have many. Because of this, we recommend planning to reach a target fraction (typically 80%) of the audience to receive the required number of impressions for purchase. The following table shows the predicted percent of audience exposed by average number of impressions served. Factoring Advertising Half-Life into Impressions Required Advertisement decay, or the fading consumer memory that reduces ad effectiveness, should also be factored into determining the right number of impressions for a successful campaign. For example, if a campaign length is planned to be 6 weeks, but the half-life of the advertisement is only three weeks, then more impressions would be needed to attain the number of touches required for the path to purchase. When planning campaigns for our partners, we adjust the target mean exposure frequency by the square root of the proportion of campaign length over advertisement half-life. For example, assuming a 3-week half-life and a 6-week campaign, we should multiply our target 5.5MM impressions by to get 7.78MM impressions. In the table below, we’ve demonstrated several scenarios of varying advertisement half-life. Other Considerations During Post-Campaign Analysis Once the campaign is completed, Experian recommends analyzing the distribution of impression frequency to determine how closely the actual impression frequencies matched to what was predicted. If frequencies do not align with the predicted, check to see if these assumptions are met: Make sure that advertising impressions are independent of each other. If rules are in place such that a prior impression affects the likelihood of a subsequent impression, this can affect the impression frequency. Check that the entire targeted population is on the ad platform long enough to be available for targeting. Some campaigns may have been instructed to be deployed in phases, which could limit the number of impressions to be delivered. Confirm that exposures can only occur one at a time, so that the impressions are deployed at distinct time intervals, giving the consumer the opportunity to view the advertisement Planning a successful campaign is critical for a test-measure-learn environment for an agency, operator, platform or advertiser. While initial up-front costs can be expensive, the long-term value to the business is significantly greater if tests are designed and administered appropriately. As a result, spending a little extra time thinking about your consumer’s path to purchase, exposure frequency, and the half-life of your advertisement can pay significant dividends in developing your digital advertising strategy.
To our valued customers and partners,It’s been an exciting week here at Tapad! As announced in a press release this morning, Tapad is now a member of the Experian family. We’re thrilled to continue to grow as a leader in identity resolution under the umbrella of a global expert in data, analytics and technology. Tapad and Experian are deeply connected by our commitment to serving the needs of our customers; and with a focus on quality of the data we provide, we have a common goal for the future of identity in the advertising ecosystem. As part of this announcement, we wanted to assure you, our valued customer, that we remain deeply committed to serving you today just as we always have. Nothing will change in your daily operations with Tapad. Experian immediately recognized that the success and growth of Tapad was directly tied to the strength and depth of its team members. As such, the acquisition will not result in any changes to day-to-day contacts at Tapad, or processes with weekly graph deliveries and other product support. Experian’s faith and investment in Tapad’s future and the future of identity resolution underscores what we’ve always believed our products could achieve and that we will be able to continue serving brands, advertisers, publishers, and the advertising and marketing ecosystem for years to come. On a personal note, I am excited to be transitioning my role as Chief Operating Officer of Tapad to the General Manager position of a global business that’s achieved exponential growth over the past several years; culminating in this strategic acquisition that will no doubt bring even more value to our customers in the future. We remain committed to open communication and welcome any questions you may have. Thank you, Mark Connon | General Manager, Tapad
Addressable TV has been through a transformation in the past year. Streaming content has become the most coveted space for creators and advertisers with the rise of new apps and platforms; but the influx of stay-at-home orders around the country have shifted television viewership as we know it, and streaming apps are popping up in droves to take advantage. So, how can you? With no shortage of opportunities to advertise on addressable TV and CTV, how does it fit into the media mix? And furthermore, how can you attribute this household-level device into your overall strategy? Tying it all together Layering addressable TV within digital ad campaigns couldn’t be easier today — but applying the right targeting and cadence between all of your digital efforts; and tying them together in attribution takes the right kind of data. Marketers can use CTV identifiers coupled with other device identifiers available in The Tapad Graph to not only target impressions but also map addressable TVs within the consumer journey; and unify strategies between household decision makers to better personalize messaging. Let's get to work, together At Tapad, we provide actionable insights for marketers to deliver better ad experiences to their consumers through identity resolution. Interested in learning more? Contact us today at sales@tapad.com for a more personal conversation about your identity strategy. 1 The Trade Desk Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript, August 2020; 2 iSpot Report, via Deadline, July 2020; 3 Flixed.io, January 2020