In sports, every team wants to score goals, yet only a small percentage of their shots are actually converted into goals. In the advertising world, goals are unfortunately rather similar – not all companies are effective at accomplishing goals, which can lead to problems later on down the line. One of the reasons so many campaigns wind up being a swing and a miss is because the goals themselves are not always clearly defined in advance. When you add programmatic technology to the mix, initiatives only get more complicated as many people are still not intimately familiar with what these tools can be used to accomplish.
Fortunately, goal setting is a problem that can and should be addressed, just like a slap shot can be improved in hockey. The first step toward a successful programmatic advertising campaign is being able to set clear goals, and in order to do that, firms must understand what they can do with their programmatic campaigns.
Four common goals of programmatic initiatives
So, what can brands do with their programmatic ad campaigns? Here are a few common objectives often set by companies as they go about their initiatives:
1. Bolster exposure: This is the classic online ad campaign – brands want their creative display units shown on publishers’ media, whether it is a website, a social media page or an email newsletter to get their products and services in front of as many people as possible. They will not necessarily buy an item or take any follow-up action, but the seed has been planted for the future. The next time they have a need the advertising brand can solve, they know where to go.
2. Generate sales: Cha-ching! Many display ads encourage prospects to make direct purchases – these units may even offer an incentive to the viewer to encourage them to make a purchase now instead of later. With the holidays upon us, it would not be unusual to see many brands (particularly retailers) leveraging programmatic campaigns to garner some holiday sales. Perhaps an email publisher is running a holiday gift guide and mentions the advertiser’s product – this would be the perfect place to insert an ad designed to generate a sale.
3. Acquire information: Information makes the world go round, and brands need to know as much about prospects as possible. This helps them inform product design, create better ad campaigns and address other mission-critical tasks. Fortunately, programmatic campaigns are ideal for helping companies garner this vital data. Brands could offer prospects something of value – such as a white paper download – to submit their data via display ad campaigns.
4. Get people to a website: Companies’ websites often serve as the backbone to their broader initiatives – from there, brands can deliver content, make sales, communicate with prospects or collect their information. However, they need to get to the website before any of this can happen. Fortunately, there is an ad for that – programmatic campaigns are perfect for promoting websites through display ads. As long as the page is of interest to the prospect, they are sure to click the link.
Programmatic campaigns: A multi-step process
While establishing goals is an important first step in launching a successful ad campaign with programmatic technology, it is crucial to note that it is only a single step. Programmatic technology is complex and many brands are still trying to figure it out. This is why we have taken it upon ourselves to answer some of the bigger questions regarding programmatic technology – check out our latest report for more information!
