Digital

As CPG companies look to eliminate waste in their advertising budgets, many are reluctant to sacrifice the efficiency afforded by programmatic ad buying, an algorithm that serves as a cheap cost per impression (CPM) means of reaching consumers. While it’s affordable, such an approach focuses solely on who views the ad and neglects to consider the likely mindset of the consumer at the time the ad is viewed. This may not be the most effective methodology. Marketers who instead mix in relevant context strategies can bolster sales lift and further increase return on investment (ROI) by up to 30 percent, according to a new IRI® marketing innovation report, “Cookies versus Context: How Contextually Relevant Advertising Drives Consumer Impact.”

By GonzaLo López Martí – Creative director, etc. / LMMiami.com

• Marketers have learned the hard way that their brand endorsers and spokespersons must be meticulously vetted.
• The adored football/basketball star of today could be in trouble tomorrow for kneeling during the National Anthem, ODing on a cocktail of blue woody pills & Medellín’s finest or embroiling himself in an illegal dog fighting ring.
• Conversely, we’ve also learned as of late that the public can not only be surprisingly forgiving but also utterly amnesiac.
• The breakneck speed of the 24-hour news & social media cycle does that to people.

It’s all CIOs can do to keep up with each new disruptive technology—blockchain, cognitive, digital reality—and incorporate them into specific organizational domains. But there’s a better way to understand and use today’s profound changes: to see these technological forces as complementary, working in harmony.

Stephen Phillips, CEO of ZappiStore, and Daren Poole, Global Brand Director Creative Development at Kantar Millward Brown, acknowledge that some marketers have doubts about testing digital ads but assert that testing not only improves performance now it helps build learning for the future. They give the example of RB which, working with Kantar Millward Brown and ZappiStore, rolled out a fully automated creative testing process allowing RB to test more content, more quickly and improve results at the same time.  by Nigel Hollis

In the latest episode of “Behind the Numbers,” eMarketer analyst Paul Verna talks about key events in the digital video industry, including programmatic video ad spending and original content.

Computers don’t cry during sad stories, but they can tell when we will.

Facebook and Google command most of the money now being funneled toward video advertising  There’s no doubt that content publishers are struggling with the ongoing dominance of the digital advertising ecosystem by Google and Facebook. And while the embrace of video content—and the higher ad revenues expected to attend the format—was bandied as a possible solution to their problem, the reality is that the duopoly has extended its dominion well into the realm of digital video.

Herb Scannell, the recently appointed CEO of mitú, announced a new long-form development, production and talent team to be led by accomplished creative executive David Ortiz.

Amid growing debate as to whether brands are overspending on digital media, Zenith research has found that the effectiveness of internet advertising has now caught up with digital adspend.

As TV viewers continue to spend more time watching video content via connected TVs and over-the-top (OTT) video services, advertisers want to make sure that they’re there, too. While programmatic access to such inventory is the exception today, it will ramp up over the next 12 to 24 months.

This set of interviews with top Chicago marketers on the topic of the challenges and opportunities of digital missed calling out the elephant in the room. Most digital campaigns lack what is required for them to be effective.  By Nigel Hollis

The practice of celebrity endorsements appears to be in trouble with at least one key demographic—millennials.

In response to brand safety concerns over the past six months, nearly six in 10 US CMOs surveyed in November 2017 said they’ve increased their spending on channels that can prove they are brand safe, and almost as many respondents said they’ve reviewed their agency relationships.

It’s no secret that in addition to traditional television, viewers also have access to a plethora of subscription video on demand content and virtual multi-channel providers. As the options for these streaming services have grown, so have the means by which viewers can view them on their TV screens.  Consumers, in turn, are taking action.

As more advertisers start to explore the benefits of connected TV and over-the-top (OTT) services, buyers and sellers are facing a slew of challenges. eMarketer’s Lauren Fisher spoke with Ryan Reed, director of innovation for TV and video at Lotame, about the major hurdles on both sides of the spectrum, including what’s holding up programmatic trading of connected TV and OTT inventory.

In the fifth and final episode of our “Critical Challenges” series, we dig into the topic of brand safety, featuring highlights from our one-to-one interviews with top marketing executives from around the world.

Digital marketers are being taken to the cleaners.  Roughly half of all digital campaigns use multiple data sources, according to a study out today by Forrester. That would include email.  But they lack clarity into data sources and what they are buying.

It’s no secret that in addition to traditional television, viewers also have access to a plethora of Subscription Video On Demand content and virtual multi-channel providers. As the options for these streaming services have grown, so have the means by which viewers can view them on their TV screens.

2017 has been the year that advertisers called out digital advertising as broken and sorely in need of repair. As stewards of the investment that funds the internet, these ad execs should be applauded for their insistence on better performance. That said, their focus has been on surface issues related to the ad experience, while a larger problem lies beneath.

First in a five-part series: eMarketer co-founder Geoff Ramsey sits down with top marketing executives from around the world to discuss the critical challenges they face and what they’re doing to address those challenges. Today’s topic: Digital transformation.