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5 Things to Learn from Google’s New Project Magi

Google’s Project Magi has caused a lot of stir in the tech world since its announcement in 2023. An entire team is working on what will essentially be a new AI-powered search engine and “demonstrate Google’s ambitions to reimagine the search experience.”

The development will profoundly shift how Google creates search experiences — but the shift will impact more than just users. With a wealth of exciting new capabilities announced even at these early stages, Project Magi can create incredible opportunities for advertisers who take advantage of its features. Here’s what to know about Project Magi as we head into 2024.

What Project Magi Means for Paid Media

Google is undeniably the most preferred search engine in the world: 92.26% of global searches taking place on the platform. The changes that Project Magi brings to the engine won’t just impact Google users but all of the brands that advertise to them with paid media. Here are some of the ways Project Magi will affect the industry landscape:

1. Voice search is the future

With the prevalence of voice-activated smart speakers, virtual assistants, and smartphones, voice search already comprises over 20% of searches on Google. Project Magi’s AI will make voice search front and center of the search experience, making voice search even more popular.

Brands that optimize their content for voice search now can gain a significant advantage by ensuring their content ranks higher in the voice search landscape.

2. Tailored search will demand tailored content

One of the most exciting aspects of Project Magi is its ability to understand user intent and the context of their searches, allowing it to find content that best satisfies those needs — even if it’s not stuffed with relevant SEO keywords.

This change requires brands to shift their focus from keyword optimization to crafting content that genuinely answers the specific search questions their target audience is asking.

3. Images will become a bigger part of the search experience

In Project Magi, images are expected to take on a more prominent role in the search experience than traditional Google search. To succeed in this new landscape, brands must prioritize creating media-rich content and optimize their images for SEO, ensuring that they capture attention and align with the search algorithms’ evolving criteria for relevance and engagement.

4. Search will become a storefront

Project Magi aims to redefine search by transforming it into a virtual storefront. Early reports suggest that users will even have the ability to complete transactions directly within the search results without visiting a seller’s website. This could have massive ramifications on the ecommerce landscape by shifting attention from website visits. Marketers will also need to adapt to these changes and focus on new KPIs pertaining search conversion rates.

5. Project Magi will evolve into a new search engine

Project Magi isn’t just a Google product; it is anticipated to evolve into a completely new search engine that could replace the Google we are familiar with today. This monumental update wouldn’t just change user experience, it would redefine the rules of online visibility. Brands must prepare for significant changes to SEO best practices if they want to remain relevant in this new ecosystem.

Making the Most of Project Magi

Project Magi could usher in a new era for search engine marketing, with unprecedented opportunities for brands to connect with potential consumers. However, it’s critical to leverage the expert guidance and help of marketing pros with a track record of leveraging innovation in their strategies.

Want to get ahead of the changes coming from Project Magi? Get in touch to learn more about how Power Marketing can help.
6 Tips and Strategies for Creating a Modern OOH Campaign

Billboards, transit ads, digital screens, and other out-of-home (OOH) advertising formats can shape our world as much as architecture, providing a valuable opportunity for brand exposure in high-traffic areas. As long as consumers have to venture out into public, OOH advertising will remain a relevant part of any marketing strategy — regardless of the greater modern focus on social media and other digital channels.

However, as technology has advanced and audience tastes become more sophisticated and refined, the billboards and display campaigns that worked a decade ago — or even a few years ago — may no longer garner attention. Modern OOH campaigns require a timely and well-designed aesthetic, innovation, and the latest technology, offering numerous opportunities to marketers that properly take advantage. Here are six insights on how to create a modern OOH campaign.

1. Take Advantage of the New Generation of Digital Billboards

Technology for digital displays has become so advanced and impressive that many billboards have gone viral on social media, attracting brand attention and the advertising medium itself. Some have such an innovative approach to interactivity that they border on augmented reality (AR). The latest generation of displays even enables dynamic and interactive content, allowing audiences to engage directly.

More recently, installations like The Sphere in Las Vegas have created never-before-possible advertising opportunities that combine immersive experiences and cutting-edge technology to captivate audiences in ways that traditional OOH cannot.

2. Invest in High-Quality Creative

In advertising, having advanced digital signage alone is not enough to draw attention to an ad. The key lies in effective and creative design. It is crucial to hire talented creatives for OOH campaigns, whether for digital signage or traditional billboards. These creatives play a vital role in crafting eye-catching visuals and compelling copy that successfully convey a brand’s message. This ensures the campaign stands out in a highly competitive public landscape, where capturing attention is essential for success.

Being able to tailor campaigns to fit the specific features of each OOH format and understanding of consumer psychology can greatly influence the campaign’s success, ultimately boosting brand recognition and engagement.

3. Use Programmatic Advertising to Maximize ROI

During the pandemic, a revolutionary new technology emerged that lets big data follow consumers into the real world through OOH. It allows for automated ad spot purchasing and management, particularly in digital OOH (DOOH), reducing campaign delivery times and enabling advertisers to react quickly to changing conditions.

The expansion of programmatic DOOH capabilities is completely upending the longstanding perception that OOH is inflexible and static by leveraging real-time data for optimal impressions. Early adopters are well-positioned to harness the technology’s potential for improved targeting, personalization, and campaign performance.

4. Measure Engagement

Tracking ad engagements helps advertisers understand the impact, reach, and effectiveness of their messaging, allowing for data-driven optimizations, better allocation of resources, and informed decision-making for future campaigns. Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest challenges of OOH campaigns. Where possible, set up sensors to monitor foot traffic around the ad, or look for spikes in website traffic after an ad goes live.

Taking a more data-driven approach to OOH advertising ensures efforts are delivering the desired results and meeting marketing objectives.

5. Drive Viewers Into the Funnel

Incorporating hashtags, website URLs, and QR codes into OOH advertisements are crucial tactics for bridging the gap between offline and online ad engagement. Including these elements dramatically expands the reach of an ad while providing a measurable way to collect leads, track conversions, and analyze the effectiveness of a campaign.

6. Utilize Location to Boost Relevance

Another way for OOH advertisers to drive consumers into the funnel is to harness tech like beacons, GPS, and mobile apps to deliver location-based messages to smartphones when users are near their OOH ads.

This approach seamlessly connects the physical world of OOH with the digital realm so advertisers can capture immediate consumer attention and drive actions like visiting a store, downloading an app, or making a purchase, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Make the Most of OOH with Power Marketing

OOH advertising is a legacy medium, but still presents many unique challenges to brands. If you’re wondering how to create a modern OOH campaign, the best answer is to partner with an innovative and experienced agency that excels at this type of advertising. A high-tech agency can maximize the impact of each campaign, utilizing technology and data-driven strategies that help OOH complement digital marketing efforts.
Power Marketing has decades of experience in traditional and digital advertising, and excels at creating seamless experiences between both mediums. Get in touch with our tea m to learn more about our many award-winning services.
The Reports of Streaming’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Thanks to HBO Max’s rebrand and Netflix finally cracking down on password-sharing, this year’s news headlines would have anyone believe that streaming’s best days are behind — and streaming advertising along with it.

Yet, the data paints a different picture. Streaming continues to see expansive, industry-wide growth despite the occasional hiccup. In other words, streaming marketing remains a strong opportunity for marketers, especially those with insights into building successful strategies.

What does the data show?

Streaming services like Disney+, HBO, and Netflix may have stumbled in the last two years after massive pandemic gains, but all that has changed this year. In Q3 of 2023, Netflix subscribers grew by 8.76 million, totaling a whopping 247 million. In a letter to shareholders, the company wrote, “Adoption of our ads plan continues to grow — with ads plan membership up almost 70% quarter-over-quarter — and 30% of sign-ups in our ads countries are, on average, to our ads plan, with more work to do to scale this business.”

Meanwhile, Peacock is also closing out the year with uplifting news — the streaming service announced it has reached 30 million paid subscribers. Disney+ reached 150 million subscribers by the end of Q4. Viewers aren’t abandoning streaming; they’re simply spreading out among services.

There’s more good news for marketers: average costs per thousand (CPMs) across Netflix, Disney+, Peacock, and Hulu are trending downward from $35.06 in Q4 2022 to $21.73 in Q4 2023.

4 Must-Know Streaming Marketing Strategies for 2024

Strategically Allocate Budgets in a Diversified Streaming Landscape

While it’s true that viewers are spreading their attention across various streaming services, allocating a significant portion of budgets to leading platforms like Netflix and Disney+ can still be a wise strategy. These platforms continue to dominate in terms of audience size, especially among key demographics such as young viewers.

However, try to also reserve campaign dollars for other streamers. By selectively investing in smaller or niche platforms that align with target demographics or content preferences, brands can capture the attention of audiences that explore beyond mainstream options.

This approach ensures a comprehensive and diverse strategy that leverages the strengths of both major players and emerging services in the streaming ecosystem.

Fine-Tune Targeting with Viewer Data

Drill down with audience insights to further target relevant subscriber groups — more precise ad placements ensure that ads reach the most receptive viewers within these platforms.

Keep these tips in mind:

Remain Flexible and Monitor Trends

As market fragmentation continues, keep adjusting targets instead of relying on stagnant assumptions. In this rapidly evolving landscape, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve by actively looking for new trends and undiscovered niches.

This means regularly analyzing viewer feedback, social media trends, and platform-specific analytics to gain a deeper understanding of the evolving preferences and habits of target audiences. Evaluating data constantly will also help marketers identify potentially viral content early on.

Explore Cross-Platform Partnerships

In today’s diverse streaming landscape, forging strategic partnerships with experts in cross-platform marketing is key to maximizing reach and impact. Partners can help launch campaigns that effectively span multiple streaming services, ensuring their message not only resonates across the entire streaming ecosystem, but also contributes to a unified and powerful brand presence that resonates with viewers regardless of where they are watching.

Streaming Into the Future

Streaming marketing’s supposed troubles make provocative fodder but rarely match data-based reality. While marketers must account for complexity from increased consumer choice and option paralysis, they mostly need to focus their budgets on where eyeballs concentrate: on one or two select mass services supplemented with targeted efforts aligned to specific hits generating buzz.

Ready to launch a winning streaming marketing ad campaign? A partner like Power Marketing will help greatly — with over 20 years of industry experience, we help companies launch streaming marketing ads that attract, engage, and convert, all while maximizing budgets. Reach out to get started.
What Marketers Should Know About the Difference Between Terrestrial and Streaming Audio
From catchy jingles to immersive storytelling, there’s a charm to audio ads that can bring a brand to life. As marketers explore this medium, they’ll soon encounter two options: terrestrial and streaming audio. But what’s the difference between the two?

Explore the nuances between terrestrial and streaming audio and, more importantly, discover how they can turbocharge a brand’s growth here.

What is terrestrial audio?

Terrestrial audio, or traditional radio, is the oldest form of electronic media. Using signals transmitted over the airwaves, terrestrial audio reaches listeners via AM/FM channels.

People often associate music with terrestrial radio, but it also encompasses talk shows, news, and local content. Unsurprisingly, its audience is often skewed toward an older, loyal demographic that values local content and will tune in during commutes or as background noise.

However, advertising on terrestrial audio comes with restrictions, such as strict time limits and adherence to FCC regulations.
Terrestrial Audio Best Practices

When using terrestrial audio, remember to:
- Have a local focus: Shape content to resonate with local audiences.
- Use a time-slot strategy: Capitalize on peak listening times, such as morning or evening commutes, for maximum impact.
- Create creative content: Keep ads engaging within the brief time allowed.
- Include a clear call to action: Direct listeners to specific products or services.
What is streaming audio?

Streaming audio, the modern counterpart to traditional radio, streams digital audio content via the internet — think Spotify, Apple Music, or online radio.

Unlike terrestrial audio, streaming audio offers a global reach and an audience of younger, tech-savvy listeners who often seek personalized content.

While streaming audio offers highly targeted advertising opportunities based on listener data, such as their interests, behaviors, and demographics, marketers may face challenges with ad blockers and subscription models that provide ad-free experiences.
Streaming Audio Best Practices

Effective strategies for streaming audio include:
- Data-driven targeting: Craft personalized ads using rich listener data gathered from streaming platforms’ user analytics and preferences.
- Interactive elements: Engage users with interactive ad features, like clickable links or voice-activated commands.
- Diverse content: Experiment with various content forms for greater impact, such as sponsored playlists, branded podcasts, or ad breaks in streaming services.
- Engagement tracking: Use analytics to refine the approach to advertising.
How to Leverage Both Terrestrial and Streaming Audio in Your Marketing Strategy

Blending terrestrial and streaming audio is key to maximizing a brand’s reach and impact.

After all, terrestrial audio offers local, broad-based reach, while streaming audio provides targeted, global exposure. Together, they ensure a comprehensive approach that caters to different age groups and lifestyles.

But how can marketers create seamless terrestrial and streaming audio strategies that will compel audiences to tune in instead of out?

Allocate budget strategically. Terrestrial audio can be more cost-effective for local campaigns, while streaming might require a higher investment for its targeting capabilities. Balance spending to get the best of both worlds.

Consistent branding, diverse messaging. Maintain consistent branding across both platforms but diversify messaging to suit the unique characteristics of each. The core message should be the same, but the delivery can vary.

Explore seasonal and event-based targeting. Use terrestrial audio for broad-reach campaigns during local events or holidays, and streaming audio for targeted campaigns during specific global events or seasons.

Amplify Your Marketing Success With Power Marketing

Whether through the traditional charm of terrestrial radio or the tailored appeal of streaming audio, consider launching a campaign that will resonate powerfully with diverse audiences.
Want help in bringing ads to life? Look no further than Power Marketing. Our expertise in terrestrial and streaming audio means we’ll turn up the volume of brands’ messages and fine-tune their strategies to perfection. Get in touch to learn more.
6 Questions to Ask Your Digital Agency About Programmatic Buying

With so many brands vying for consumer attention, people are overwhelmed by options and information, leaving little bandwidth for ads that aren’t immediately relevant. A 2023 survey found that 73% of consumers wanted fewer messages than they got in 2022, and 27% of those surveyed feel “bombarded” by the number of messages they receive. Marketers need to get incredibly precise about targeting to make a stronger impact and avoid contributing to consumers feeling overwhelmed.

Programmatic buying overcomes many of the issues by using data and algorithms to purchase ad space in real-time, allowing advertisers to target specific audiences and optimize ad placements. It’s crucial for efficiency, precision, and reaching the right audience at the right time, which improves campaign performance and ROI while reducing wasteful spending. However, it takes expert help to get programmatic buying strategy right. How can marketers find the right digital agency to manage their campaigns? Here’s what to look for.

6 Questions to Ask Digital Agencies About Programmatic Buying

1. What experience do you have with programmatic buying?

Recent years have brought significant expansion in programmatic advertising, including the new technologies, platforms, and regulations emerging on a continuous basis. One of the most important questions to ask a digital agency about programmatic buying is how familiar they are with the industry, because experienced digital agencies understand these nuances, possess in-depth knowledge of best practices, and can navigate the evolving landscape effectively. Agencies merely adding new capabilities to say they have it might lack the necessary expertise, leading to suboptimal results and wasted time and resources for their clients.

2. What technology do you use?

Knowing what type of technology stack a digital agency uses for programmatic buying, including the specific Demand-Side Platform (DSP) and Data Management Platform (DMP), is crucial because it directly impacts campaign performance, data targeting capabilities, and overall effectiveness. The choice of DSP and DMP determines how well an agency can align with their client’s campaign objectives and influence their ability to reach and engage the target audience.

3. What services do you offer?

Knowing the full scope of services a digital agency offers, such as campaigns for display, video, native, mobile, and more, is vital to understanding the ability to tailor strategies to specific marketing objectives. Clients must choose an agency with a service portfolio that aligns with their goals and target audience to ensure a comprehensive and effective digital marketing strategy.

4. How do you collect and use data for audience targeting?

An agency’s data practices directly influence the precision and relevance of advertising campaigns, impacting the ability to reach the right audience, deliver personalized content, and optimize ad spend effectively. Clients need to ensure their agency complies with a growing number of federal, state, and international data privacy regulations, uses ethical data collection methods, and employs robust data analytics to refine targeting strategies.

5. Can you explain your approach to audience segmentation?

A digital agency’s data segmentation methodology determines how effectively they can tailor messaging and content to specific audiences. Properly segmented campaigns can increase revenue by 760%. To maximize ROI, clients should seek agencies with a robust and data-driven approach to audience segmentation to ensure their marketing efforts are focused on the right demographics, behaviors, and preferences.

6. How do you prevent and respond to ad fraud?

Ad fraud can be a major drain on budgets, distort performance metrics, and undermine the trustworthiness of campaigns. In 2023 alone, advertisers lost $84 billion of their spend to ad fraud. Clients should prioritize working with agencies with a defined ad fraud prevention strategy and employ measures to detect and mitigate fraudulent activities. This safeguards the client’s investments and ensures audiences see campaigns, strengthening overall brand recognition.

Power Marketing: A Leading Agency for Programmatic Buying

Programmatic buying is a complex ecosystem that requires a digital agency with the adaptability to emerging technologies and staying ahead of industry trends. With extensive experience in the field, Power Marketing stands out as early adopters of technology, evident in our proven track record of consistently delivering exceptional and reliable results to clients. Ready to learn more about our programmatic buying services? Get in touch with the team today.
The Best Marketing Stunts of 2023

Every year, marketers fiercely compete to win the hearts and minds of consumers, pushing their client brands to the forefront of the public eye in the hopes of driving sales. Time and again, we see there is no precise formula for achieving great marketing results — but as we saw in 2023, some exemplary campaigns can provide ample inspiration for others.

Let’s look at some of the best marketing 2023 had to offer, including wide-ranging campaigns of the past year that brought results, engagement, and sales for some daring and creative brands.

The Biggest, Loudest, and Best Marketing of 2023

Making a Product More Personal: Spotify Wrapped

A viral marketing sensation now in its seventh year, Spotify Wrapped represents so many things done right about how a brand connects with an audience. The music streaming platform stands out from its competitors by championing its use of data to drive more personalized selections With Wrapped, Spotify then gets to reutilize that very data to provide a unique portrait of users’ tastes from the previous year.

Again, Spotify Wrapped proved supremely successful and popular this past year. Shared millions of times across social media at the end of 2022, the marketing gambit has become so popular that people count down to its release in anticipation each year, referencing it like the music version of McDonald’s famous recurring McRib sandwich. By finding itself in this rarified territory for a massive brand, Spotify routinely sees itself not just on “Best Marketing of 2023” lists, but best of the decade.

An Unlikely (but Powerful) Partnership: Heinz Meets Absolut

Some of the biggest marketing wins result from out-of-the-box collaborations between disparate brands that somehow, someway, land with a splash with mass audiences. Such is the case with this past year’s Heinz/Absolut product partnership, which used the combined branding power to boost Heinz’s new pasta sauce lineup to creative effect.

The net result of the partnership campaign brought hundreds of millions of impressions, transforming from what was initially considered another April Fools marketing hoax into a truly wow-worthy stunt. Coupled with jaw-dropping design and expert media placement, the dual partnership benefits were a boon for both brands and a catalyst for major sales.

Tapping Into the Ultimate Influencer: Dunkin’ x Ben Affleck

How can a brand get in on a popular inside joke without spoiling the public’s fun? This was the challenge facing Dunkin’ when it sought to turn its unofficial viral ambassador, famed Hollywood icon Ben Affleck, into the Boston-centric face of its new campaign. After numerous paparazzi shots of Affleck picking up massive Dunkin orders, it felt like only a matter of time before the coffee brand took advantage.

Yet, too often a brand will overzealously embrace a public or viral joke and overdo it in their advertising. Through a subtle hand, witty writing, and full embracing of the joke on Affleck’s part, Dunkin’ landed itself a thoroughly enjoyable TV and OLV campaign. Whether they saw it coming, the popular coffee company landed a high-profile yet perfectly genuine brand ambassador — making it some of the best marketing of 2023 and something other brands only dream of.

A Landmark Campaign Takes Another Step: Dove Real Beauty

Since the campaign launched almost 20 years ago in 2004, “Real Beauty” from personal care brand Dove has been a case study in marketing excellence. Beyond just a push for beauty products and brand awareness, Real Beauty fearlessly pushes Dove into the conversation of self-acceptance, social media responsibility, and diversity.

Dove revived that effort to create some of the best marketing of 2023, taking on a modern reincarnation of the issues endemic to real beauty — social media filtering. Creating a Body Toxicity Index and providing tools for parents to better communicate healthy body image discussions with their kids, Dove repurposed a landmark campaign for a modern era.

Taking a Leap Forward With Your Marketing in 2024

The brands on this list took some big swings to create some of the best marketing 2023 had to offer. These campaigns also provide the perfect inspiration for marketing creative in 2024 — showing how a strong creative aimed at subverting customer expectations in delightful ways delivers the biggest response.

As your brand looks ahead to your next year’s marketing, use that innovative inspiration not as something to replicate, but as a framework for bringing your own campaigns to life — with the right partners by your side to make it happen.
Top 3 Digital Marketing Trends of 2024
Three years into a wildly unpredictable decade, marketers face an ever-increasing number of challenges in their day-to-day work. In 2023, they had to find strategies to maintain sales amid growing inflation, navigate their brands through complex social issues, and overcome growing competition for consumer attention — both from other brands and world events. Anticipating what’s coming and being ready for change are critical for succeeding now and in the foreseeable future.
As we enter 2024, the new year represents an opportunity to reboot and take advantage of insights and new technology with a fresh perspective. Here are the top digital marketing trends for 2024 to keep in mind.

1. Getting Hyper-Personal

As transactions and customer interactions become increasingly digitalized, marketers and customer service professionals gain more and more access to valuable data and insights that can improve ad targeting and customer experience — a strategy known as hyper-personalization.

According to Twilio, over 56% of customers in 2023 said they would become repeat buyers as a result of a personalized experience, and this sentiment is true across the globe. For example, an Indian payment processing company called Mobikwik doubled its user engagement and grew retention by 20% after creating a hyper-personalized welcome campaign that guided users through app features relevant to their profiles.

AI is finally developing enough to mainstream hyper-personalization, making it one of several major marketing trends of 2024 and allowing marketers to personalize messaging, increase accuracy of micro-targeting, and more. Twilio also found that 92% of marketers surveyed are using AI-driven personalization to increase business growth.

Action Items:
- Review data collection methods and data quality and find ways to improve processes.
- Analyze existing data to find new opportunities.
- Find ways to tie in marketing initiatives with personalized customer service.
- Research AI-powered marketing solutions to start deploying
  hyper-personalized campaigns in 2024.
2. The Rise of Voice Search

As smart speakers and voice-activated smart assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home become more popular, users are spending less time on traditional search engines like Google and Bing and more time finding information through voice search. This method uses speech recognition technology to convert spoken language into text, which is then processed by a search engine or virtual assistant.

As voice search becomes more prevalent, brands must adopt a new SEO approach. The voice and speech recognition technology market is expected to reach $26.8 billion by 2025. To keep up with marketing trends of 2024, marketers must increase their investment in this technology regardless of where they are in their voice search strategy.

Action Items:
- Begin optimizing keywords for natural language queries.
- Invest in local SEO (related to “near me” queries) to align with what most voice search users search for.
- Leverage the expertise of marketing agencies that specialize in voice search optimization.
3. Short-Form Content Is King

Screen time on apps like TikTok exploded during the pandemic lockdowns and hasn’t shifted much since the world reopened. Today, the average person spends 6 hours and 37 minutes in front of a screen each day. A significant portion of that is spent on social media watching short-form video content, including advertisements.

Apps like TikTok, with low CPM, are driving massive growth in ad revenue — with totals expected to reach $331 billion by 2027. With so much consumer attention focused on social media, advertisers must meet them where they are in this shorter format, making short-form content a definite marketing trend of 2024.

Action Items:
- Allocate more resources to creating short-form videos for TikTok that can also be used for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and other ads.
- Research the social media landscape to stay up to date on monthly and weekly trends — and opportunities for the brand to join them.
Get Ahead of Digital Marketing Trends in 2024

The digital marketing landscape is changing rapidly, and the speed of innovation will continue to accelerate through 2024. Make the most of the opportunities this year presents by partnering with a seasoned agency to make the most of ad spend. The team at Power Marketing has over two decades of experience optimizing campaign strategy. Get in touch to learn more about our services.
Defining the Best KPIs for Your Retail DSP
Consumer attention is today’s holy grail, but the fight to win it has never been more competitive. Fortunately, programmatic advertising is helping marketers cut through the noise around consumers with ultra-precise targeting and ad placement, so audiences are more likely to take notice and engage.

As a category, programmatic ad spend will make up 90% of digital display ad spend in the U.S. by the end of 2023, and only continue to grow. CPG brands must use programmatic advertising to tailor messages, stay competitive, and reach the best leads. Brands can maximize ROI on programmatic advertising by optimizing their demand side platform (DSP) against specific key performance indicators (KPIs). Read on to learn how brands can define the best KPIs for their retail DSP.

The Programmatic Advertising Success Metrics to Know

A DSP is a technology platform used by digital marketers to programmatically buy ads and manage their campaigns across various online channels. With a DSP, they can target specific audiences and optimize ad placements in real-time auctions through a centralized interface that maximizes efficiency and performance.

Ultimately, maximizing ROI with programmatic advertising is about understanding exactly which KPIs you’re trying to improve, and optimizing your DSP to focus on them. Here are six of the best KPIs for a retail DSP to measure:

Impressions
Impressions indicate how many times an ad was viewed by consumers. Monitoring impressions allows brands to evaluate the effectiveness of ad placements and adjust targeting to reach the right audience.

Clicks
Clicks represent user engagement with an ad. Clicks can be a sign of higher quality traffic, as users are actively interested in the offer or message they’re seeing.

Click-Thru Rate (CTR)
This KPI measures the ratio of clicks to impressions, and how effective it is in persuading users to take action. CTR helps assess the performance of different ad creatives and messages, and can even guide A/B testing and creative optimization.

Detailed Page Views
Detailed page views go beyond clicks and measure how many users engaged further by visiting multiple pages on a website or app. Users who explore multiple pages are often more likely to convert, making this KPI a strong indicator of conversion potential and one of the best KPIs for a retail DSP.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
This KPI measures the revenue generated relative to the advertising spend. It directly reflects the financial impact of a programmatic ad campaign.

Total Sales
Total sales quantify the direct impact of a programmatic advertising campaign on sales revenue. Tracking total sales helps attribute conversions to specific advertising channels or campaigns, allowing you to allocate budget effectively.

Maximizing Your Best KPIs for Retail DSP

With these KPIs in mind, marketers must take additional steps to optimize their retail DSP. Here’s how brands can maximize results from the best KPIs for a retail DSP:
- Define General Goals
  Begin by defining specific, measurable, and achievable campaign objectives. Is the goal to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or generate leads? At the same time, determine the KPIs that align with the goal. For example, if the goal is to drive sales, the KPIs to focus on may include ROAS, conversion rate, and total sales.
- Assess Resource Limitations
  Be aware of budget constraints and allocate resources accordingly, including ad spend, creative production costs, and any additional expenses related to the campaign.
- Choose the Right DSP
  Before selecting a DSP, research the market thoroughly to identify the platform that best aligns with campaign goals, target audience, and budget. Consider factors like available inventory, targeting capabilities, and pricing models. Choose a DSP that provides access to the right publishers, data sources, and ad formats to reach the target audience most effectively, and that it integrates seamlessly with the existing technology stack.
- Leverage Data for Ongoing Improvement
  During and after campaigns, analyze the collected data to gain insights into what’s working and what’s not. Shift budget toward high-performing ad sets or channels, and adjust bidding strategies to maximize ROI. Avoid ad fatigue by setting frequency caps to limit the number of times users see ads, and conduct A/B tests to experiment with different messaging and targeting options.
Make the Most of a Retail DSP With Power Marketing

Identifying and implementing the best KPIs for your retail DSP takes decades of expertise and insight into best practices. That’s why partner agencies like Power Marketing are so important. The team has lived and breathed digital marketing for more than 20 years, and is an industry leader in programmatic advertising. Get in touch to learn more about our capabilities.
Master Marketing on Streaming Platforms with These Smart Tips

Streamers are still a relatively new type of media platform, but the landscape has changed dramatically since Netflix first launched its video-on-demand service in 2007. Now, the company has broken its vow to never have advertising, launching its first ad-supported streaming tier. Major streamers like Disney+, Paramount+, and Peacock are making a concerted effort to drive customers to their own ad-supported tiers as well, presenting significant opportunities for marketing with streaming platforms.

The age of streaming advertising is here, and as more and more platforms begin to prioritize a shift to their ad-supported tiers, brands will have fresh opportunities to reach potential customers. But it’s critical to approach streaming marketing the right way. Here are some key strategies for advertisers to maximize their ROI in this new frontier:

5 Tips for Marketing With Streaming Platforms

1. Create ads that feel native to streamers

To maximize the impact of marketing with streaming platforms, it’s important for streaming ads to integrate seamlessly with the platform’s content and style. Advertisers should craft ads that match the format, tone, and aesthetic of the streamer’s library — even down to the show viewers are watching — to create a smoother transition between the content they were watching and the ad.

Native advertising blends in with the user experience, making it less intrusive and more engaging. Brands that plan on using the same assets for streamers that they do for YouTube, social media videos, and other channels should keep the demands of TV ads in mind and plan productions accordingly.

2. Incorporate interactive elements

When marketing on streaming platforms, elements like clickable links, buttons, or calls to action can significantly enhance viewer engagement, encouraging viewers to interact with brands or learn more about their product or service.

Recently, Smartwater even added purchasing ability to their streaming ads on the Freevee app. By adding interactive features, passive viewers transform into active participants, and brands stand out dramatically compared to traditional TV ads. Brands should note that while these placements tend to be more expensive or require a higher minimum spend, the ROI comes by way of higher viewer engagement.

3. Keep ad placement in mind

Many streamers’ targeting capabilities are on par with ad platforms on social media and YouTube. Brands can take advantage of their precision to target the most relevant consumers, but shouldn’t forget the importance of context.

In addition, advertisers should try to avoid unflattering brand associations with controversial or misaligned content. For example, family-friendly brands might want to avoid promotions during extremely violent or mature streaming shows or movies — finding much better luck with programming aimed at all ages or younger audiences.

4. Be concise

Brevity is key in the world of streaming, where audiences have notoriously short attention spans. When marketing with streaming platforms, brands should keep messaging concise and to the point, delivering their core message quickly and effectively to grab the viewer’s attention within the first few seconds of an ad.

A key best practice is to follow the same rules as advertising on YouTube to maximize engagement and minimize disruption for the audience. This can lower costs while increasing engagement and conversion rates with quick, eye-catching placements that delight without distracting.

5. Cap ad frequency

After years getting used to uninterrupted streaming, ad fatigue is a real concern for viewers on streaming platforms. Minimizing irritation is critical to maintaining a positive experience for viewers, so it’s important for brands to limit how frequently their ads appear to targets during a specific piece of streaming content.

Avoiding excessive repetition reduces the risk of viewers tuning out or becoming frustrated, helping ensure ads remain effective and streamers continue to view the brand positively. Few things are worse for a brand than being associated with interrupting their audience’s favorite TV show.

Expert Support for Marketing With Streaming Platforms

Marketing with streaming platforms unleashes a wealth of possibilities for advertisers, but technology, capabilities, and trends are changing quickly. Harnessing the full potential of this moment requires expert guidance and support to keep up with changing times. The team at Power Marketing has over two decades of experience in all things digital, including marketing with streaming platforms. Get in touch to learn more about our services.
TikTok Marketing: The Best and Worst of Paid Media on TikTok
Even in the world of social media, where virality is king, paid media remains a crucial component of any promotional campaign. Leveraging display ads beyond just search engines and websites to social media platforms is critical for strategically reaching audiences, raising awareness, and generating leads in the most targeted and cost-effective way possible. Even though it’s the newest player in the field, paid media on TikTok is an increasingly important channel to advertise through, with the platform expected to reach 2.25 billion users by 2027.

TikTok marketing is still a new field, but there’s already a right way — and a (very) wrong way — to do it. Here are the best examples of each, and what we can learn from them.

The Best Examples of Paid Media TikTok Marketing

Kung Fu Tea = Leveraging User-Generated Content

In 2020, the marketing team at Kung Fu Tea launched the #bobachallenge, tasking their followers with putting their lid popping skills to the test. One of the biggest draws of boba tea — aside from the delicious taste — is the satisfaction of stabbing the straw into the plastic-sealed lid.

By transforming this ritual into a social media challenge, the company inspired thousands of user-generated videos that have garnered over 1.6 million views to date. And by promoting some of these videos as sponsored, paid media on TikTok, Kung Fu Tea amplified the natural virality of the challenge even more.

Crumble Cookies = Jumping on a Trend

Social media users love two things:
1. Underdogs
2. Inspiring and/or shocking transformations
This is at the heart of the #glowup trend on TikTok, where users often show off their journey into style, confidence, and general fabulousness. Crumbl Cookies showcased their own transformation in a viral post on TikTok — highlighting their early days and how they eventually became a brand with supremely sleek advertising and video content with impressive production value.

Touting their humble beginnings in contrast to where they are now was a way for Crumbl Cookies to use paid media on TikTok to thank their loyal fans while low-key bragging about how delicious their cookies are.

CoverGirl = Getting Grassroots Right

Makeup tutorials are ubiquitous on social media platforms, and many brands try to jump on that train in a way that rings inauthentic. CoverGirl, on the other hand, hit the mark in this example of paid media on TikTok because the video barely mentions the brand, shows the product in action, and avoids out-of-place logo shots. The influencer even swears in the video as if she’s releasing it on her own channel, rather than the official CoverGirl TikTok account.

The Worst Examples of TikTok Marketing

Top War = Cringe Commentary

There are two common tropes many mobile game ads seem to incorporate:
1. Gameplay videos where the player makes unusually bad choices — as if to incense viewers to want to do better themselves
2. An influencer providing “real-time” commentary as if they’re playing the game
This unsuccessful example of paid media on TikTok features both, and although the ad has generated a significant amount of likes and shares, clicks remain low, peaking at 100 exactly one second into the video, and tapering off to one or two clicks for every remaining second of the video after that.

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Cosy House Collections = No Product Visibility

On the surface, this ad from Cosy House Collections capitalizes on TikTok’s ability to add audio templates to videos and be part of a trend. But while the video is funny, it’s missing everything an ad actually needs to be effective. There’s no indication of what the product looks like, why it’s valuable, or what it actually is: a set of bed sheets. In fact, viewers don’t even see that there are sheets involved until the end of the video — and only for a brief moment as a sort of punchline to the joke.

The best paid media on TikTok takes part in the zeitgeist of the platform, but not at the expense of showcasing a product or brand.

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Jackpot World™ Slots Casino = Misleading Premise

Games are supposed to be fun, but this ad for a gambling mobile game called Jackpot World opens like a video for an online get-rich-quick course (that doesn’t even show the supposedly $200,000 car). Viewers don’t even know they’re watching an ad for a game until five seconds into the video (calling to mind an increasing mobile game ad trend of showcasing fake or misleading gameplay). What’s more, 15 seconds into the ad, it’s still touting the game as a way to make money rather than enjoy yourself.

It’s worth noting that while the ad generated a small amount of engagement, TikTok did not record even a single conversion.

See more on TikTok

Master Paid Media on TikTok With Power Marketing

TikTok marketing is a great way to get creative with advertising — but it still requires a firm grasp of how to manage paid media campaigns. Power Marketing has a track record of excellence at all things digital marketing and can help maximize ROI on any paid media on TikTok. Get in touch to learn more about our services.