The New World of Programmatic: Contextual Targeting, First-party Data, and Video Ads
When the cookie crumbles, look to contextual targeting
It’s crunch time for the third-party cookie - and though there may have been a fair amount of warning, its nearing death is causing industry leaders no small amount of worry. Such a big upset to the status quo is bound to put marketing strategies in a tailspin, so it’s little surprise it tops the list of challenges leaders are facing in audience segment targeting this year, with 54% saying it's their biggest blocker. Almost tied for the top spot is identifying the right targets for campaigns at 53%. All of this shows there's serious concern about marketers' ability to serve the right message to the right audience at the right time.
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It's (first) party time for data-driven marketers
With the industry drifting towards the third-party cliff-edge, data-driven marketing leaders are under pressure to find a solution to plug the gap left in tracking and customer insight. Naturally, implementing a first-party data strategy has rocketed up their agendas, with applications in profile building, segmenting by predicted LTV and customer journey improvements all highlighted as key areas of focus.
Yet before first-party data gets a ringing endorsement as the industry's saviour, it must prove its ROI: 69% of our survey respondents say demonstrating economic impact is a major consideration before they go all in on a first party-driven media buying approach. This concern is also seen in the fact that 57% are deploying first party data to boost the returns on media buying right now.
Fraud risk a big blocker to the video boom
According to our research, not knowing which channel and format to choose is the biggest hurdle marketers face when kickstarting a video ad campaign, but there are more sinister obstacles undermining video's potential to drive revenue-generating customer action. The industry faces an ever-evolving risk landscape, with fraudsters often a few steps ahead in terms of the sophistication of their techniques.
The worsening situation is clearly evident in this startling result: 25% of the marketing leaders we spoke to say their organizations have been a victim or felt at greater risk of ad campaign fraud in the preceding 12 months. But there are signs leaders are taking more decisive action: 34% of our respondents said they'd be tackling the impact of misrepresenting display units over the next 18 months, while 22% will be focusing on more accurately measuring ad fraud across their campaigns.
Where to next?
Our industry is approaching a watershed moment: it is one in which the digital marketing practices responsible for generating so much value in the past decade will be phased out, ushering in a new commitment to context as a means to delivering the right message at the right time. That this takes place under a darkening cloud of heightened fraud risk should motivate industry leaders to action on mitigation too.
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