Menu

Archives for January 2014

Native Ads: A Blessing or Curse?

by Leave a Comment

First, in case you have not heard, Native Advertising is creating and placing ads to match the content surrounding it, in that the users’ experience is not disrupted by the presence of the ad. Examples of Native Advertising online include PPC Ads on SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), Twitter’s promoted Tweets, and Facebook’s Sponsored Stories. In all three of these examples the ads look and act very similarly to the non-ad content on the page.

native ads
Example of A Native Search Ad which looks similar to an Organic Search Result

On One Hand, Native Ads are a Blessing

Since Native Ads do not stand out as ads from the surrounding content, it is less likely that users will ignore these ads, which is currently a problem with typical banner ads. This will in turn increase the interaction rate (i.e. Clicks and CTR) of these ads. This is a huge blessing to the online advertising, specifically display advertising, which has a very low average CTR over the years. Advertisers are hopeful that Native Ads could help revive display ads and spur on additional growth of online advertising.

On the Other Hand, Native Ads are a Curse

While resolving some problems, Native Ads are dangerously deceptive and could result is much worse problems.  These ads could easily be mistaken as content rather than a paid advertisement.  In the IAB Native Ad Playbook, they recommend that a disclosure is prominent so that users clearly know the difference between ads and content. In my opinion this distinction is a must. Online advertising is already fighting an uphill battle for users’ trust – Thank You Pop-ups, Pop-unders, and malware spreading via ad clicks. Now, if we as online advertisers begin to disguise our ads as content, the little trust we have regained will once again be lost.

Conclusion: Native Ads Good or Bad?

Native Ads have a huge upside and have already made a big impact to online advertising. As more websites build in spots for Native Ads, it becomes increasingly important to clarify the distinction between content and paid ads. As advertisers we decide whether native ads will be a blessing or a curse to online advertising. Personally, I think that marking Native Ads as paid advertising will not cause them to be ignored like other banner ads, and would still have the higher CTR. I think the potential of these ads is far greater than the down-side, and that the down-side can be completely avoided. We as advertisers need to use these ads wisely to reap the benefits, but not suffer the curse and loss users trust in online ads.

We would love to hear your thoughts and insights on Native Ads. Are Ads become too close to content? Is that a good or bad thing for PPC Advertising?

Sequential Messaging in Digital Advertising

by 5 Comments

Defining Sequential Messaging

If you’re a follower of @DaBrianMarket or @DanielLawsJr, you have most likely seen our past tweets about sequential messaging. Sequential Messaging is generally a technique where messages are recorded in a preset order and executed individually based on the each activation of a device (tablet, smartphone, etc.).

Sequential messaging has been a hot topic for us on Twitter.

So, What’s the big deal with sequential messaging?

Sequential Messaging has an opportunity to leverage the initial user interaction into a micro-conversion and target high quality leads. As an example, a shopper would click on a banner ad on a newspaper site for a new tablet. This action identifies the shopper as being interested in a new tablet and generates a series of sequential messages specific about the new tablet. The series of sequential messages could be on banners, emails, and perhaps in search engines. In some cases, the ad mix can be modified based on the shopper’s engagement with them.

What are the Future Possibilities of Sequential Messaging?

I think the future of sequential messaging is positive but contingent on the availability of technology to executive effective campaigns. I think there’s an opportunity to “connect the dots between digital advertising, TV advertising, mobile and gaming consoles.” It’s going to get easier to customize messages across devices with online tool-based logins, smart TVs, mobile devices, and gaming consoles offering more functionality and capabilities.

Take me for example. I’ve got a Samsung smart TV, Galaxy S4, Kindle, and more. My cell phone, which is connected to my Kindle, can change my TV channel. Thus, there’s no reason advertisers can’t create customized sequential messages across multiple devices. The capabilities of ad technology will be important to align with customer behaviors across multiple devices in order to customize the user’s overall experience with the brand. More specifically, it’s important that we obtain insights from sequential messaging to increase the effectiveness of marketing budgets and the ability to increase lead generation or sales.

What are the Challenges of Sequential Messaging in Digital Advertising?

In my opinion, one the main challenges will be measuring the effectiveness of sequential messaging in digital advertising and optimizing the process. In addition, the measurement of sequential messaging along with A/B or Multivariate testing across multiple devices. With the increasing importance on customer privacy, it will become increasingly challenging to track prospective customers, and with the recent Target data security breach, customers are becoming aware of the negative aspects of data collection and value their privacy. Furthermore, the tracking of sequential messaging will most likely require the tracking of customers’ unique logins as well as combining the data on their behaviors across multiple devices. Without educating customers on the benefits of doing so, it could be seen as intrusive and encounter a legal backlash from customers.

What about Measurement?

Last month in AdWeek, I read an article from Garett Sloane of Omnicom Digital which spoke of “sequential messaging as digital advertising’s next act.” I agree with Sloane’s point that sequential message could be the next step in digital advertising, but the execution requires powerful technology as well as perfect coordination. I think there will be a few businesses that look at sequential messaging as the next buzzword (right next to “big data”).

No matter the approach, it still needs to solve a business problem. Without measureable ad technology and the capabilities to collect the data, we’re going to have challenges measuring whether or not a message is resonating with the “right” customers. The right message, right person, and right time require the right analytical approach to improve the impact that sequential messaging has on delivering return-on-investment.

Is sequential messaging on your organization’s radar? Share your thoughts in the comments!