Let’s discuss the now fashionable term Brandformance – media-targeted marketing. As it turned out, we had been building it in the agency for five years. At newage. we call it Comprehensive Analysis, and we have a methodology for working with it. What it includes:
- Quality control of advertising placement.
- Display metrics analysis.
- Reaction to advertising.
- Agile approach.
The main KPI of the media is to be visible to the advertiser so that the ad can be seen by the user. Until we understand that the person saw the creative, there is no point in analyzing further. If we talk about media indicators, they are standard: coverage, target audience coverage, screenings, etc. Media indicators, we also include brand elevators.
Brand Lift is a free Google study for video campaigns. Up to 10,000 users are selected from your target audience, up to 5,000 who watched the video, and up to 5,000 who did not. Between three hours and three days after viewing, users are asked to answer one or two questions. Then the results are compared.
The Agile approach is to have time to analyze the data and draw the right conclusions. Not a month later, but do it on the first or fifth day and optimize campaigns.
Today we will talk more about the reaction to advertising. What were the next steps taken by the person who saw her, on the website or in the application?
There is post-view data and cross-device data. What do they mean? Let’s say, sitting at work, you saw in the tape an interview with a person you are interested in. In the office, of course, you will not watch it, but do it at home. Before the interview, you are shown an advertisement – for example, the phone you want to buy. No matter how relevant the video is, you will miss it. After all, you want to watch the interview. Let’s say you click on an ad and it opens in the next tab. You will return to it later when you have time.
The important thing here is that users see the ad, but do not click on it. Post-view and cross-device data allows you to track what the person who contacted the ad did on your site. Post-view data is based on cookie mapping.
Now an example regarding the cross-device. For example, a man was riding in the subway, and he saw a phone ad on his smartphone. At home, he opened the computer and took a closer look at the specifications. Then in his spare time he went to the site again from his work computer and ordered a phone. The cross-device can combine this data.
If the share of post-click is large enough during the transition, then it decreases down the funnel – there are no conversions. This is a common story. After all, we catch the user at the most inopportune moment. For example, he watches the weather online. Even if he clicks on the ad, he will not convert.
There are different tools for analyzing the two types of this data. We have been actively using Campaign Manager for a year and a half. One of its main advantages is that it allows you to get cross-device data based on Google account data. And we are the only agency that has received Campaign Manager certification.
We collect a lot of data, combine it from different sources and analyze it. Automation like the slide below helps us draw conclusions quickly. Yes, it costs resources, but it allows you to optimize the company in one day.
How Display Advertising Affects Traffic Sources
Of course, display advertising influences other sources of traffic. When we analyze paid traffic and whether a media campaign is launched or not, there is a difference. We have higher CTR, lower CPC, and higher conversion. Why does it affect you? When you see two products in the search results, you are more likely to click on the one that is heard.
Our task is to show how display advertising influences and why. Below is the easiest way to do this:
We analyze whether the user saw the advertisement before he entered the site, or did not see it at all, or saw it after. So we can compare how different these people are. There are many more options for analytics, but I specifically show a simplified version.
One of our clients is Bodo, a gift shop. During the holidays, he invests a lot in media advertising. Compare the conversion of people who did not contact ads and contacted them when switching from paid search:
With such data, you can calculate how much investment in those who saw ads justifies itself. As you can see, the main tools have grown. Prom.ua has the same picture. Low rates are only for paid search and organic. This is cool because we are not talking about single-player campaigns, but about permanent ones.
It happens that small clients have low rates. But we can decide what to do to improve them. After all, we already have a metric for evaluation.
BrandLift is a great way to measure the effectiveness of your ads. Read our article “What BrandLift is and How it Works”.
Platform And Targeting Optimization
This is what the analysis of transitions by segments looks like. Our client Citrus forbade showing the targeting that they have – so we just called them “Level”. Here, dividing the audience by instrument, we see a different reaction:
In the “Level 1” banner it works very cool. Next, add post-view and cross-device data.
Importantly, if your goal is to show media contact, never rely on CTR.
Now let’s line them up from the most efficient and down:
How to decide – should we focus on what works well, or should pump over what works poorly? This is the most important question. If there is a need for a short effect and the budget is limited, warm up a hot audience. If you can play long-term marketing, then do tests, change creatives, and bids to raise the values at least to the average.
Creative Performance
Let me give you two ads for headphones as an example. In the first, a well-known presenter tells how they are convenient for him when traveling. The second youth, with an emphasis on the visual and musical components. When I saw the first one, I thought that it would be more convertible due to the native presentation style. I was wrong.
It is challenging to know in advance which creative will work best. We even in the company sometimes make a bet. You just need to analyze the data.
Another example. Here it was predictable that the second and third banners entered. Because on others, it is generally not clear what is being advertised. The indicator here is not CTR, but the percentage of transitions. The person saw the ad and went to the advertiser’s website.
Duration Of Media Influence
The system records that a person has seen an ad and sets a timer when the user returns to the site. The bar you see is post-click data. This is how people come back to OLX. In just 15 days, there were 9% post-clicks and 91% post-views. This is unconventional, usually, users return within a week.
For example, the well-known brand Ajax measures app installation and first open conversions. Their buyer can make a decision in 50 days. The same, for example, with BMW – after all, cars are not bought immediately.
Read more about the effect of display advertising on the audience in the article “What Is The Impact Of Display Advertising And How To Measure It”.
Determining The Optimum Frequency
Let’s say people remember ads for 7 days, and we show them ads at a specific frequency. And this display frequency can be measured. The auditor gives a download of how many people we covered at frequencies 1, 2, 3, and 4. And how many returned from those who were so covered? Below is an example of “Rocket”. Here, too, the data has been changed. Only at the fourth frequency do we reach efficiency. That is, we can, for example, give a recommendation – let’s show 4+ times to a certain audience, and this will be optimal.
And here is “Allo”, in which frequency 1 was the most effective for a long time:
This is how the frequency looks like in formats. To analyze this quickly, we need the kind of automation I was talking about:
Fortunately, we in digital can track the user. We have found a method that digitizes media campaigns and can optimize them in time. Of course, we cannot guarantee that you will match the brand of elevators with the reaction to advertising. But you should at least analyze it.
