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Advertising | Innovation | Supporter Spotlight

What publishers need to know about the media automation journey

The media landscape has undergone rapid transformation over the last decade. However, there are areas that are primed for fast-paced evolution. Take ad operations, for example. To date, advertising workflows are still heavily manual, relying on humans to fulfill day-to-day tasks such as audience targeting, campaign set-up, optimization and data analysis. These tasks are tedious, time-consuming and often lead to human error. Legacy methodologies that worked in the past no longer serve today’s modern digital media players. To streamline workflow and maximize revenue, publishers need to make updates to existing processes, and the solution lies in automation.

The benefits of automation to current workflows

Theorem recently partnered with a third-party company to conduct research on the topic and found professionals in ad ops, who have traditionally been excluded from automation discussions, recognize the benefits of automation, with 86% of survey respondents agreeing that automation would modernize their company. Another 90% of ad ops professionals are open to the idea of their roles and responsibilities evolving as a result of automation.

Automation can help address common pain points related to day-to-day workflows. Of those surveyed, 55% believe automation will eliminate time consuming processes, 45% agree that it will address complex processes that slow the pace of work and 42% agree it will help the teams feel more connected. Above all, automation will decrease inefficiencies and create more available time for ad ops professionals to devote to more strategic work such as analysis and optimization, client recommendations and relationship building.

Automation also eliminates human errors thus decreasing the number of make-goods they deliver. Make goods are costly on many levels, there is the obvious revenue loss for the publishers, a negative impact on the client and publisher relationship, and the impact on campaign performance. Additionally, make-goods disrupt the publisher’s internal processes and ops teams with ripple effect from inventory management through campaign delivery. Staff freed from putting out fires and managing repeatable tasks are able better leverage their skills for higher value work. Ultimately, automation enables companies to recognize revenue faster.

How to start the journey to a future-ready ad ops team and processes

There are five important steps for business leaders to consider when embarking on the automation journey.

  1. Conduct a thorough audit of current processes to determine where automation is needed. Determine what are the most common pain points in ad ops processes by asking some questions, including: Where are the inefficiencies? Are there high volumes of repeatable tasks? Is there unnecessary complexity because of tech limitations? Are teams working in silos?
  2. Evaluate team competencies. Identify the strong and weak points of current teams to determine how skills can be more effectively allocated after automation has been introduced.
  3. Consider the budget. Plan for both the initial cost of implementing automation and the long-term expenses such as maintenance, updates and staff training.
  4. Determine opportunities for growth. Ensure the automation solutions being considered have the ability to grow in tandem with business expansion.
  5. Involve the right people in the conversation. Consider the opinions of leadership from sales, media operations and the IT team. HR should also be involved to offer the general perspectives and sentiments of employees.

A final consideration for publishing business leaders is working with an automation partner to help navigate the adoption.

What to look for in an automation partner

Automation in this sector of the industry is still relatively new and finding a partner who is well-versed in the area can be difficult. Below are four key traits an automations partner should have:

  1. Adaptability. Can create a customizable program to meet specific needs and integrates seamlessly within existing technology.
  2. Credibility. Have experience working in the client’s industry and can be trusted. They have worked with prominent, recognizable names within the industry and have received endorsements.
  3. Differentiation. Does the partner provide a clear and concise value to the organization?
  4. Support. Available when needed to answer questions, provide high-quality customer service and offer training for employees.

Working with the ideal partner is a crucial part to the successful use of automation and leaders should feel confident in the partner they chose.

How organization culture will affect automation adoption

The likelihood to adopt an automation solution is contingent on the organization and how employees perceive the new solution.

According to our research, most companies fit into four categories when it comes to automation: visionaries, slow seekers, mindful movers and firefighters. The most effective way to get employees on board with automation is to use different tactics depending on the company’s category.

  1. Visionaries are already adopting automation. Their needs are often more complex and strategic, so the number one priority for them is making sure there is a reliable partner who can guide them through the automation process.
  2. Slow seekers have started adopting automation but they need help realizing the value to commit to implementing. Employees need to see the benefits of automation and ensure there will be necessary training.
  3. Mindful movers want to implement automation but are held back due to staffing constraints. Employees need to understand that automation can benefit everyone, no matter the size of the team.
  4. Firefighters know their teams are inefficient and do not have enough time to be proactive or implement an automation strategy. Leaders will need to share the excitement related to onboarding automation and encourage teams to take the plunge.

While many executives recognize the value of automating operations, understanding the nuances—identifying bottlenecks, involving multi-disciplinary teams, and anticipating roadblocks—is essential for successful implementation. The emphasis should be on how automation strategically aligns with broader business goals.

When embarking on the automation journey, media executives need to determine the needs and benefits of each department and find the right partner and approach to successfully implement the new technology. Media organizations that effectively leverage automation will improve the way business is conducted.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

How publishers fight misinformation in ads

Wartime and elections pose the ultimate test for publishers’ programmatic advertising safeguards. Unfortunately, these measures have faltered in Q4. Since October 10th, GeoEdge’s security research has detected gruesome ads across U.S. publisher sites, revealing publishers’ flaws in accurately categorizing and thwarting violent ads.

In today’s sensitive international media sphere, publishers must confront disinformation by prioritizing responsible reporting and implementing resilient ad quality policies. Advertising undeniably influences media trust, with 64% of consumers claiming that seeing bad ads undermine their trust in all media organizations, extending beyond the site where the ad appears. By identifying and preventing offensive ads, ad-supported media can adeptly maximize ad revenue while maintaining audience trust.

The breakdown of publisher brand suitability 

Since the start of the Israeli-Hamas conflict in early October, programmatic channels have been inundated with violence, graphic imagery, and fringe support for terrorist activity. In an effort to engage audiences and garner support, advertisers have displayed ads featuring incitement of violence, weaponry, and gruesome war-related content.

These ads are intentionally designed to elicit viewers’ shock, fear, and horror, which results in significant effects on publisher engagement metrics. GeoEdge research revealed that 73% of consumers would not recommend sites with offensive ads to others, and 56% of consumers leave sites or apps due to unwanted ads. These ads take an emotional and physical toll on audiences, leading to reduced session times, increased churn rates, and a negative association with the publishers’ brand.

Upholding audience safety amid crisis 

Publishers face the critical task of deciding whether specific advertisers and sensitive, hot-button issues can be allowed to run ads on their sites, all while thwarting malicious actors.

“Media organizations frequently turn to upstream partners, ad exchanges, and SSPs for ad filtering, yet the presence of explicitly violent ads on publishers’ sites underscores their failures,” stated Amnon Siev, CEO at GeoEdge. GeoEdge’s security research team revealed that tech giants, including Google’s Ad Manager, fail to prevent ads that promote terror and clickbait, disseminating misinformation and spreading graphic content.

 Publishers can firmly grab the reins by:

  • Establishing a proactive policy for monitoring harmful messaging and provocative visuals in both ads and landing pages.
  • Identifying and blocking advertisers that seek to provoke fear and shock
  • Empowering readers to flag offensive ads directly from the ad slot. This allows the ads to be quickly reviewed, and any problematic ads can be referred to the ad ops team for immediate action.

Clickbait, deepfakes, and misleading advertising 

As the 2024 election season approaches, ad spend is expected to top $10 billion in order to sway American voters. However, incorporating election ads into a revenue strategy isn’t cut and dry. More than half of consumers (67%) believe that the primary responsibility for keeping bad ads at bay lies with the website owner. Media executives must grapple with misinformation and divisive election ads; otherwise, they risk audience alienation, diminished brand value, and loss of quality advertisers. 

To maintain audience trust, publishers must keep a close eye on these four categories: candidate-focused ads, attack ads, fundraising ads, and issue-based ads. It is critical to ensure that they align with audience values and truth in advertising.

Navigating election disinformation 

Generative AI and deepfake technology have already been used to try to sway American voters. Responsible publishers must proactively detect and prevent their spread. 

Publishers’ ability to maintain oversight of their programmatic inventory is essential. When serving political content on your site, there are several approaches media executives can take in order to combat political disinformation:

  • Red light the entire 2024 election category, with exceptions to specific sites and advertisers
  • Automatically approve all election-related ads, and then eliminate misaligned ads/advertisers
  • Give users the ability to flag potentially problematic content themselves. User reports enable ad ops teams to take swift action based on user feedback and ensure a safer, more truthful environment. 

The turning point 

Ad supported media now faces a defining moment to reevaluate their ad quality policies and bring truth in advertising to their audience. Those who seize the opportunity are taking a significant step towards maintaining the trust of their audiences. Those who fail to do so not only risk losing the trust of their audiences, they risk losing them altogether.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

Self-service advertising platforms: 7 benefits publishers can’t ignore

In 2023, the term “publisher” has evolved beyond traditional newspaper or news site owners. It now encompasses a vast spectrum of online content and websites, spanning professionally produced news, entertainment, niche content, B2B publications, and special interest sites. The media landscape has transformed, and so has the way publishers approach advertising. Self-service advertising tools are at the forefront of this transformation, offering media executives a host of benefits they can’t afford to ignore.

Elevating your advertising strategy

Let’s delve into the seven key advantages of self-service advertising platforms for media executives:

1. Streamlined processes

Self-service advertising platforms streamline the ad sales process for publishers. For instance, when it comes to video ads, these platforms empower advertisers to define their target audience, preferred television shows, and geographic reach. Leveraging AI-powered creative builders, these platforms automatically generate ad assets, which makes the entire process seamless and efficient. Payment processes are also simplified, with options such as credit card, PayPal, or invoicing available, reducing the manual effort required for campaign setup and payment management. This level of automation not only enhances operational efficiency but also saves valuable time for publishers.

2. Inclusive advertising

Gone are the days when publishers had to set stringent minimum budget limits, often in the thousands of dollars. With self-service advertising platforms, publishers can now offer low or no-budget thresholds. This shift democratizes advertising, enabling businesses of all sizes, from global giants to local restaurants, to promote their offerings. Self-service advertising has become a cost-effective and accessible option for everyone.

3. Accessibility 24/7 

Self-service platforms, which are hosted on the cloud, grant advertisers access at any time. Advertisers can manage their campaigns beyond traditional business hours, view real-time reports, and make campaign adjustments independently. The platform’s customization options, such as multilingual support and flexible currency settings, facilitate global reach for publishers, enabling them to tap into new markets without limitations.

4. Building stronger customer connections

Self-service advertising platforms can serve as a central hub for customer interactions. They provide automated communication with customers and offer valuable insights. Automated emails, platform notifications, chatbots, and help centers offer a holistic customer experience while allowing manual outreach when necessary. For publishers looking to provide managed services, a self-service platform empowers sales teams to set up campaigns swiftly and share information directly with advertisers.

5. Empowering creativity

Publishers can diversify the ad experience by targeting new audience segments and enabling advertisers to use AI-driven creative builders. These builders provide templates aligning with the publisher’s brand, resulting in ads seamlessly integrating into websites or apps. This approach enhances user experience while prioritizing the publisher’s brand.

6. Real-time offer adjustments

Modern self-service advertising platforms offer real-time flexibility. Publishers can make instant updates to their offerings, from launching products for specific events to adjusting pricing, targeting options, and adding new inventory or creative types. This adaptability ensures that publishers have complete control over their offerings.

7. Transparency and control

Hosted online, self-service advertising platforms provide transparency and control over the advertising pipeline and revenues. Advertisers’ campaigns are instantly visible to publishers, which offers insights into recent purchases and upcoming campaigns.

Additional key benefits

The stakes are high in the fast-paced world of digital advertising. Media executives can expect more than just ease and targeting from self-service platforms. 

Enhance the user experience

Consider the impact of user experience in the digital age. Self-service advertising platforms benefit publishers and enrich the experience for the end-users. By offering diverse and relevant ads, publishers contribute to a more engaging and less intrusive online environment. This, in turn, fosters user loyalty and satisfaction, which ultimately benefits advertisers and publishers alike.

Data-driven decision making

Self-service advertising platforms generate valuable data. Media executives can leverage this data to make informed decisions, fine-tune their advertising strategies, and optimize ROI. The ability to access real-time reports and analytics is invaluable in the digital advertising landscape, where every click and conversion matters.

Drive innovation

Embracing self-service platforms encourages innovation. By providing a range of creative options and flexible ad formats, publishers can experiment with new advertising approaches and push the boundaries of their brand’s storytelling. This innovation keeps advertisers engaged and sets publishers apart in a crowded digital marketplace.

Adapt to market changes

The world of advertising is ever-changing and dynamic. Self-service advertising platforms enable media executives to pivot quickly in response to market changes. Whether it’s launching a new product for a significant event or entering a new market with specific offerings, the flexibility of these platforms is a strategic advantage.

In conclusion, self-service advertising platforms have the potential to revolutionize advertising strategies. They offer automation, inclusivity, accessibility, and the tools needed to build strong customer relationships, unleash creativity, make real-time adjustments, and maintain control over your advertising operations. This is not just automation 101; it’s the future of advertising. Effective advertising automation not only serves today’s customers, it helps media executives stay ahead of the curve so that they are poised to thrive in the dynamic world of digital media.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight | Video

How optimizing ads reinforces premium video experiences

Premium video is plentiful and streaming options abound. This high quality, ‘TV-like’ video content occupies multiple screens and is accessible via many channels. Its appeal and impact has helped media companies foster a unique relationship with audiences.

Continuing to preserve this relationship is critical for retaining and growing their viewer bases, as well as monetizing their content. In an increasingly crowded streaming marketplace shaped by the rise of ad supported tiers, media companies need to deliver viewer experiences that go beyond great content, taking into account the ad experience itself.

With premium video diversifying rapidly, FreeWheel’s latest report, The Delicate Art of Balancing Ad Load, uncovers how media companies across European markets are tailoring their ad loads in response to this and how their efforts influence the quality of the viewer’s experience. Here, we look at the key findings from the report and provide actionable takeaway for media executives looking to tailor their ad loads to deliver the best possible experiences to their audiences. 

Understanding premium video audiences: how, where, and what they watch

The data – ad views occur across a range of devices:    

  • Mobile 29%
  • Set-top-box video-on-demand (VOD) 30% 
  • CTV 26%
  • Desktop 15%

The takeaway — Big screens and mobile are the home of premium video content

Over half of ad views happen via set-top-box VOD or CTV. This suggests that audiences are consuming premium video at home on bigger screens, in what is most likely a shared environment with family and friends.

However, mobile accounts for more than one-quarter of ad views, so audiences may be viewing on-the-go. In light of these distinct possibilities, media companies must tailor their ad loads for device types, as this is necessary to preserve the quality viewer experience for all the moments audiences engage with premium video.

The data — Ad view composition across content type:

  • Live content accounts for 22% of ad views.
  • Video-on-demand (VOD) content accounts for 78% of ad views.
  • Breaking down that 78%, over two-thirds (68%) of VOD ad views come from long-form content (longer than 30 minutes) and 32% from short-form content (less than five minutes).

The takeaway — On-demand, long-form content is top preference

Current ad view compositions indicate that audiences continue to largely prefer on-demand video entertainment that runs for more than five minutes.

But just as audiences are now also using smaller screens when accessing premium video content, so too are they watching shorter forms of entertainment with 32% of VOD ad views occurring in short-form clips. Additionally, live ad views, while still relatively small have more than doubled from 10% in 2020, highlighting that the mix of premium video environments audiences engage with is always in flux.

What does the optimum ad load look like for media companies?

The data — Ad break lengths and ad volume

  • The longest ad break: Prerolls for long-form content (90 seconds).
  • The shortest ad break: Midrolls for short-form content (under 20 seconds).
  • Across all content, ad breaks consist of three ads on average.

The takeaways — Breaks should mirror content and minimize disruptions

Media companies will seek to reduce interruptions to the viewing experience in order to align with audience preferences. According to our CTV Uncovered 2023 consumer study, almost half of European CTV viewers surveyed favour pre-roll ads followed by unbroken content. Furthermore, average ad volumes per break have dropped 40% since 2016, suggesting that shorter disruptions also help to ensure a high-quality viewing experience.

The variation in ad load across types of content also emphasises there is no “one size fits all” optimum ad load. The length of ad breaks, the quantity of ads per break, and the position of the break within content must all be fine-tuned to ensure premium video continues capturing the high levels of audience engagement it is renowned for.

The importance of ad load in premium video environments

The data — Ad completion rates across content

  • Long-form and mid-form content achieve an ad completion rate of 94%.
  • Short-form content achieves an ad completion rate of 80%.

The takeaway — premium video delivers unrivalled levels of audience engagement

Audiences’ interest in premium video content is largely due to the fact they can select precisely how, when, and where they watch their content of choice. This makes premium video an extraordinarily impactful advertising environment — one where audiences are receptive to viewing ads in exchange for quality, professionally produced content.

Media companies’ efforts to optimize ad loads are proving successful and are sustaining the superior viewer experience. However, it is critical to keep in touch with audience habits and preferences in a rapidly evolving landscape. This will uphold the reputation of premium video as a highly engaging environment for audiences and an exceptionally effective one for brands, in turn supporting media companies ability to monetize their quality content.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

Inside the surprising AI Advertising opportunity 

Generative AI, the latest evolution of Artificial intelligence (AI), is captivating the public imagination, and new products and applications are emerging in just about every industry. This revolutionary technology holds the promise of automating routine tasks, surfacing insights from mountains of data, and advancing entire fields through innovation. 

As AI becomes more advanced, there is a growing need to advertise this new technology to the marketplace. This creates a new and robust advertising segment for media companies. Below are three key insights MediaRadar is observing among the recent burst of ad campaigns for AI offerings.

1. AI ad spending skyrockets in 2023

Our latest advertising intelligence reveals that AI advertising has expanded tremendously in 2023. In the first eight months of this year alone, over $9 million was invested toward digital, print, and TV ads surrounding AR promotion. This marks a noteworthy 9% increase from the $8.3 million spent during the same period in 2022.

Clearly, AI has solidified its place as an integral part of marketing strategies and budgets. The data shows that out of 192 AI advertisers analyzed, 93% invested less than $100k each in AI ads. While these smaller investments contributed $2 million cumulatively, the real acceleration is being propelled by a select group of brands making massive spends.

The remaining 7% of advertisers put over $100k each into their AI-powered campaigns, accounting for a substantial $7 million in AI ad spending. This indicates that the brands leading the adoption have fully embraced the capabilities of AI to transform their marketing efforts.

2. AI ads surged from June to August 2023

The period from June to August 2023 is when AI advertising began to take off, skyrocketing to nearly $6.8 million in spend. This staggering 60% surge compared to the $4.2 million spent in the same period in 2022 signifies that AI is rapidly transitioning from an emerging technology to a core component of digital strategies.

Dialpad, IBM Watson, Salesforce Slack, and YourHana.AI were among the brands making substantial investments during this period, which led to the overall increase. The number of active AI advertisers also expanded by over 1.5x, jumping from 70 in June-August 2022 up to 120 in 2023.

July 2023 represented the peak, witnessing a momentous 200% month-over-month increase in spend to reach $2.9 million. While August cooled off slightly with 2% year-over-year growth, the pace is clearly accelerating.

3. Most AI advertising is placed via digital channels

Digital advertising in this segment has received the most investment thus far in 2023. Digital comprised 58% of the total $10.7 million AI ad spend, while TV, print, events, and other channels split the remaining budget.

Within digital, paid social and digital display stood out as the top placements for AI advertising investment. Together, these two high-performing formats accounted for 42% of all digital AI investments made in 2023.

What does the future hold for AI advertising Investment?

While current AI ad spend may seem modest, make no mistake – enormous growth is on the horizon. In the last year alone, we tracked over 270 distinct AI advertisers. There were more than double the number of AI advertisers this summer versus last year. 

The surge in AI advertising presents a significant opportunity to capitalize on a fast-growing ad category. As investment in AI promotions ramps up, proactive steps should be taken to capture this spend:

  • Identify AI advertisers and brands in your pipeline to actively pitch. Look for companies launching new AI products or touting AI capabilities. Offer tailored AI-focused packages, partnerships, and placements.
  • Make sure sales teams are educated on the AI advertising landscape and key players. Equip them to have informed conversations with AI brands.
  • Develop premium advertising products to showcase AI campaigns. For example, interactive displays, augmented reality, and connected TV integrations: provide immersive environments to demonstrate AI tech.
  • Analyze viewer data and inventory to identify audience segments highly engaged with AI content. Craft high-value AI-specific audience targets for buyers.
  • Promote your audience reach, contextual alignments, and first-party data to AI brands. Position your properties as ideal platforms for AI product marketing.

By taking a proactive stance, you can become the go-to AI advertising destination before this category gets oversaturated. Seize the growing ad dollars from AI promotions now before competitors beat you to it. The AI advertising wave is here, and publishers should ride it to success.

While average monthly budgets are around $25k now, this will soon look minuscule as AI capabilities advance. Keep this growing segment on your radar, as we expect to see continued growth–and opportunity–from advertising AI technology throughout 2024.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

Advertising strategies: shifting tides from OMP to direct-sold

A data gap is growing in digital advertising as regulators become stricter, users choose cookie-blocked browsers, and Chrome slowly kills the third-party cookie. It has caused addressability in the open web to tank to 30%. However, publishers are in a powerful position to fill the data gap and already have a sustainable solution using their first-party data in direct deals. This means that publishers can create powerful and differentiated endemic and non-endemic, interest-based audiences for advertisers to reach 100% of users without compromising privacy. 

As part of DCN’s Hot Topic series, Joe Root, CEO and Co-founder at Permutive, sat down with David Minkin, SVP of Digital Operations and Client Success at Dow Jones, to talk about how the publisher’s first-party data strategy has evolved, and where they are seeing revenue growth. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp and is home to leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News and Private Equity News. 

Here are some of the highlights from that conversation. 

Open marketplace decline 

Publishers have seen open marketplace revenue decrease by 25% year-on-year in Q4, which makes it hard for publishers to forecast. Based upon his experience, Minkin puts this down to several factors. These include the death of the third-party cookie, the walls of the walled gardens getting higher, and traffic disruption from Google sending less traffic to sites, and Facebook sending less traffic to news publishers. “All of that puts downward pressure on the open marketplace, and its ability to maintain CPMs where they’ve been historically, and that loss of traffic is resulting in a loss of open marketplace revenue for many publishers,” he said. 

Most of Dow Jones’s digital advertising revenue comes from direct-sold, where they see “a strong interest and continued interest” as buyers leverage their first-party data. The direct deals they see include audience-guaranteed transactions, so a programmatic guaranteed (PG) deal with an audience layered on, and PMPs with audiences with that first-party data available.  

“I welcome that trend to continue,” said Minkin. “The yields are better in terms of those eCPMs we’re getting out of all those flavours of [direct] transaction. Also, I think there’s a lot in the open marketplace regarding ad quality issues. I’d rather know who is advertising with us and who is on our site. So as we move more to a world of direct PG and private marketplace (PMP), that certainly helps give me that sort of visibility I want.”  

Publishers may favour certain types of direct-sold deals over others, for example, a PG deal over a PMP because of the guaranteed spend over a period of time. Dow Jones has seen “substantial growth” in PG, where the yield is substantially higher than what the publisher gets from the open. 

Starting with the data 

Across Permutive publishers, in Q4 2022, audience-driven direct-sold was up 37% year-on-year and in Q2 2023, this increased to 62%. As publishers start to see the benefits of the shifting tides to direct-sold, they recognise it starts with building a strong first-party data strategy. This includes exploring how you go to market and getting the RFPs required around the audience. 

From Dow Jones’s perspective, their first-party data strategy has been a “seismic shift” that gained momentum when Google announced its third-party cookie deprecation a few years ago. Initially, it was about understanding what first-party data was available. What data needs to be available based on the demands from RFPs and what clients are requesting? And having the right technology in place, from building lookalikes to segmenting the data. “We’ve now gotten to the point where we’re virtually 100% only using first-party data,” Minkin said. 

This focus on first-party data must also translate across the business, particularly to go-to-market teams. According to Minkin Dow Jones has “done a lot of education over the past few years” to bring their sales team up to speed and confident in talking about the publisher’s first-party strategy. “A lot of that success is really because of my team – who are building a lot of these products and actioning a lot of these segments – working very closely with our product strategy team to roll this out to the sales team,” he said. “It’s really been an evolution.” 

When publishers build valuable first-party audiences, pricing strategies require some attention, especially around unique premium audiences. An example from Dow Jones is financial advisors, where the publisher is the best place to go to reach them at scale. “There are only about 300,000 or so financial advisors in the U.S. That audience is not commodified, and that commands a much higher CPM,” said Minkin. 

Future-focus 

When it comes to the future of their data strategy, Dow Jones plans to continue to build upon everything they’ve developed and implemented over the past few years. Minkin sees Dow Jones’s advertising product suite as truly mutlifacted and adaptable, where some solutions are high touch, and highly customized, while others are meant to be low touch and extremely scalable. 

The aim is to automate as much of the low-touch solutions as possible, allowing their teams to focus on the premium, high-touch campaigns. This approach “ultimately is going to bring in the bigger dollar values and have more impact for our clients.” Minkin added. “We want those campaigns to be as successful as possible to get more of those renewals.”

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

A publisher Christmas Carol: Lessons for an ideal fourth quarter

The fourth quarter is often a time when ad dollars are flowing, allowing publishers to maximize gains and push toward annual goals. But this year, we’ve found that many industry issues are putting pressure on publishers to do much more than wait for the Q4 revenue to roll in. Through helping our clients finish the year strong, we’ve learned that this is becoming a time of year to learn from the past, optimize the present and position yourself for the future.

This trend is reminiscent of certain literary figure from a holiday classic: A Christmas Carol. There we followed the life and learnings of Ebenezer Scrooge, who vowed to live a better life by keeping the past, present, and future on his mind. Here’s how publishers can learn from that timeless tale to make their fourth quarter a fruitful one.

Past: Learn how to inform packaging and pricing

For Scrooge, one of the hardest parts of being confronted with his past was accepting that nothing could be done about what’s already been. Luckily, historical performance can help publishers use their past to learn how to unlock the true value of their business. And with a whole calendar year of new data to reflect on, this is an ideal time to take a look at how your ad performance has measured up.

With this knowledge, you can price and package your inventory to raise its appeal to your buyers. Use it to make demand-based decisions that highlight your top performers and drive increases to your bottom line. Conversely, your data can help you spot any mistakes you might have made or opportunities you might have missed. It might be too late to make a mark this year, but these insights can be a boon for you if you’re able to learn from them and adjust accordingly.

Present: Grow partnerships based on buyer trends

Old Ebenezer found joy in celebrating the present. Likewise, publishers have plenty of reasons to relish the here and now. Historically speaking, the end of the year has brought strong earning potential to digital publishers. In fact, except for 2020, global digital ad spend has increased YoY since 2010, and a sizable part of that growth has been realized in Q4.

With several countries entering their holiday months, and a corresponding rise in internet traffic worldwide, advertisers are eager to connect with publisher audiences as often and as effectively as they can. This boost in demand can provide a temporary but impactful lift to CPMs and yield.

Take advantage of the rise in demand by building long-term partnerships with advertisers that are eager to reach your audiences this time of year. Deliver efficiently on campaign goals and offer transparent insights that strengthen your relationship and keep your buyers in the loop. Your ability to establish yourself as a reliable partner now could pay dividends later with repeat business.

Future: Simplify operations and become more efficient

The most frightening of Scrooge’s revelations came from his visions of the future. If he didn’t change his ways, then trouble was sure to follow. That’s a sentiment to which many publishers can relate. This year, several large-scale publishers saw a YoY decrease in revenue in Q1. At the start of each year, publishers often feel the pinch as the industry tightens its belt and recovers from a quarter of higher-than-usual spending.

Though the present might seem rosy, the future is murky. That’s why this quarter is becoming a time for publishers to identify and avoid any year-over-year issues. We’re seeing many of our clients looking to optimize their tech stack and make their operations more holistic. Improvements like these will reduce waste and boost efficiency well into the uncertain future.

By keeping the past, present and future in mind as the fourth quarter unfolds, you’ll find it much easier to reap the rewards of the year ahead. More importantly, you’ll enter 2024 ready for any circumstances that might be thrown at you.

Advertising | Industry-Research | Video

What neuroscience reveals about successful CTV ads

In the evolving advertising landscape, the shift from traditional linear television to digital platforms offers new ways for marketers to reach their audiences. However, while advertisers have new tools and techniques to target audiences, viewers are confronted with ads that disrupt their viewing experience, feel irrelevant, or annoy them. And new research uses neuroscience to demonstrate how context and tone affect advertising’s impact in CTV environments.  

Integral Ad Science (IAS) and Neuro-Insight’s new study, The Mind on the Stream, explores how advertisers can enhance the relevance of their CTV ads through tone and context. The research shows an increase of 14% in brand impact when the ads match the tone of the content viewed on CTV. Ads that match the context of the content experience show a significant boost in brand impact, +39%. Moreover, ads that match tone and context result in a greater significant increase of 49% in brand impact.

Matching advertising with content’s tone and context

The study includes a cohort of 137 participants in a controlled environment simulating an ad-supported streaming experience. All participants watch the same program content. During this simulated streaming experience, participants see 20 ads from 20 known brands across various verticals, including food/beverage, telecommunications, entertainment, finance, and consumer packaged goods (CPG). The ads vary in terms of length and narrative style.

The research tests the ads in two ways: tone/context and frequency.

Group 1 participants undergo tone and context variations, where some ads match the show’s context, some match its tone, and some match both tone and context.

  • Tone matches when advertisers ensure that their ads align with the overall feeling or voice of the content they accompany. In this study, since the program content is humorous, the research examines the impact of running ads that are also humorous.
  • Context matches when there’s a thematic or tangible connections between an ad and the program content. For instance, if the show features basketball, a contextually matched ad would also incorporate basketball elements.

Group 2 participants encounter different ad frequencies, with some ads appearing once, twice, three times, or four times during the program.

The study includes several metrics to measure the impact between Group 1 and Group 2 exposures.

  • Detailed memory measures ad memorability and brand impact by analyzing how well viewers retain specific details from the ads.
  • Emotional intensity gauges the emotional impact of the ads on viewers, with high scores indicating a strong emotional connection.
  • Global memory assesses how well viewers remember the visual, audio, and thematic elements.
  • Engagement measures the personal relevance of ad content to viewers.
  • Approach/Withdraw identifies the “lean in” or “I want to learn more” response from viewers, indicating likeability and overall positivity or negativity towards the ads.

Ad frequency

Interestingly, viewers overall show lower interest in ads repeated multiple times on CTV. However, ads that align with the video content mitigate the negative impact of repetition and perform better among viewers despite increased frequency. While brand impact remains consistent through the third viewing of a CTV ad, the fourth viewing results in a significant decline of 26%. This emphasizes the importance of limiting ad frequency to three viewings to preserve viewer connection and comprehension.

Advertisers and streaming publishers can optimize their ad strategies and drive better results when matching ad tone and context with the content viewed on CTV. The study also underscores the critical role of ad frequency in viewer engagement. By embracing contextual targeting, marketers and publishers have an opportunity to shift ad budgets and deliver impactful results in the digital advertising landscape.

Advertising | Perspectives | Supporter Spotlight

Six steps to stand out as a ‘made-for-audiences’ media company

Thanks to AI technology, anyone can quickly create a website and populate it with content that looks legitimate enough to sell advertising. The proliferation of made-for-advertising (MFA) websites, or sites created solely for the purpose of selling ads without much consideration for content quality and user experience, show little sign of waning as long advertisers are willing to invest in them.

That investment is becoming more significant. A recent report by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) revealed that brands are diverting as much as 15% of their ad spend toward MFA sites. When money is spent on MFAs, publishers and advertisers lose. Not only do MFAs earn revenue that could be invested in premium media company, advertisers sacrifice campaign performance by serving ads to less engaged audiences alongside content that might risk their brand safety.

Some advertisers and ad tech companies are taking steps to identify and remove MFAs from their inclusion lists and platforms, but what can media companies do to differentiate themselves? It’s important to first understand the impact MFA sites have on the industry, why advertisers invest in these sites and how publishers can demonstrate why their “made-for-audiences” websites are a better bet for advertisers’ investments.

What are made-for-advertising websites?

While an industrywide definition for MFA sites does not yet exist (though the ANA is expected to release one in October), MFA websites typically exhibit:

  • Low Quality Content: SinceMFA sites are built to maximize ad revenue, content quality often takes a backseat. Some MFA sites rely on AI tools to create articles that are not fact checked or verified such as fabricated news, clickbait articles, conspiracy theories with spammy links or other content that doesn’t align with advertisers’ brands or target audiences.
  • Poor User Experience: Since the goal of MFA sites is to generate as many ad impressions as possible, this often leads to websites riddled with redundant ad placements, false navigation buttons, pixel stuffing and ad stacking – all factors that lead to a poor user experience.
  • Paid Traffic Acquisition: MFA sites often rely on paid traffic and other incentivized methods engineered to attract as many visitors as possible rather than carefully cultivating engaged audiences through organic means.

MFAs vs. premium sites: what’s the difference?

While MFA sites’ cluttered, clickbait appearance are visible to the human eye, these sites can be challenging to identify in the programmatic ecosystem.

MFA websites look desirable to tech platforms and advertisers because they have low invalid traffic (IVT), high viewability and low CPMs. But a key difference between MFA and premium websites is their audiences.

While premium publishers’ audiences have a keen interest in their content, MFA sites often resort to techniques that favor quick clicks over lasting engagement. A human visitor might land on an MFA site after clicking on an enticing headline, but they often drop off the landing page after the first interaction.

The value of made-for-audiences websites

What can media companies do to stand apart from MFAs and demonstrate their commitment to cultivating valuable engaged audiences? Here are a few tips to help your made-for-audiences site get advertisers’ attention:

1. Prioritize User Experience: Elevate your website’s user experience by streamlining webpages, eliminating ad redundancy and decluttering ads. Prioritize your audience by striving for lower ad-to-content ratios, which enhances UX for subscribers and encourages return visits.

2. Deliver Genuine Value: Create content that engages visitors and keeps them coming back for more. Encourage advertisers to focus on meaningful KPIs such as cost per engagement and conversions, rather than superficial metrics like clicks and impressions.

3. Attract Quality Audiences: Focus on organic traffic acquisition strategies rather than paid or incentivized traffic. Not only can paid strategies make your site look like an MFA site, but these tactics can also invite bot traffic and fraudulent activities.

4. Participate in Industry Initiatives: There are several initiatives developed to help quality publishers stand apart from lesser quality sites for their commitment to quality and transparency. The Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) highlights the good work publishers are doing by certifying them for their adherence to industry standards for ethics and content creation. Another program, Trust.txt, establishes connections between publishers and trusted industry associations so that advertisers and tech platforms can identify these quality publishers.

5. Engage in Audits: Digital website audits conducted by a trusted third party help demonstrate to advertisers and readers that your website is doing everything possible to consistently attract quality traffic, deliver ads accurately and efficiently and minimize fraudulent activity.

6. Follow Industry Standards and Best Practices: There are several programs developed to verify publishers’ implementation of industry standards and best practices for ad fraud, brand safety and privacy. The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), IAB Tech Lab and Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) have programs to certify publishers for implementing industry standards into their business practices and ad delivery systems – steps MFA sites are unlikely to take.

By executing these strategies, media companies can stand apart from made-for-advertising websites and demonstrate the value of a new kind of MFA: “made-for-audiences,” which provides advertisers with engaged audiences eager to learn about products and services that align with their interests and lifestyles.

Advertising | Featured Post | Innovation | Video

Condé Nast’s Deborah Brett on the power of partnerships

FKA Twigs joined by members of the Rambert Dance Company at Vogue World. Photo credit Marc Brenner/Vogue.

Condé Nast’s Global Digital Chief Business Officer Deborah Brett has a long history of leveraging the power of partnerships to drive consumer and advertiser growth and implement revenue-generating products. According to Brett, content drives consumer engagement and intent, which in turn delivers value for the reader and improves audience engagement.

“We’ve been doing this long before an advertorial or a branded content post or dark social ever existed,” she explained. “So, candidly, it’s been very easy for us to translate that legacy into all of the different emerging partnership platforms as they’ve presented themselves.”

A world of partnerships

Brett spent last week in London for Vogue World, which began last year as a live fashion show and street fair in New York but became an integral part of Fashion Week 2023. This is an emblematic partnership for the iconic Condé Nast fashion brand. And it’s something that Brett believes Condé Nast is uniquely positioned to do because of the caliber of its content, which drives audience engagement. 

“We’re executing Vogue World out of London, which will of course live on our owned and operated platforms. We’ll also engage the broader consumer-base across all of the social platforms,” said Brett. 

Celebrities, royals, opera singers, actors, supermodels, fashion designers descended on London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane for Vogue World London, a theatrical West End production encompassing the best of British culture and fashion. British Vogue teamed up with Italian luxury fashion house Moncler to host a VIP Vogue World party on September 14th at private members club George in Mayfair, which was decked out with Blooming Haus florals. 

The star-studded event celebrated iconic British creatives,  culture and fashion from Shakespeare to Stormzy, with performances from opera, theater, and film, as well as classical and pop music. The guest list included royals, celebrities, designers and featured music, dance, and a runway extravaganza finale. But the event’s reach was far from limited to the A-listers in attendance. 

“Wherever somebody happens to tune in, they’re going to be met with incredible content from Vogue World and the talent that engages in this event,” Brett explained. Audiences will also experience “all of the ways that our advertisers have integrated, activated on the ground–but more importantly–have activated within environments like TikTok, Instagram and X” (formerly known as Twitter).

The event is a calling card for how Condé Nast mirrors culture on the wide range of platforms where they reach consumers. It is also representative of how they bring advertisers along to the party. 

The approach illustrates what Pam Drucker Mann, Condé Nast’s global chief revenue officer, says at NewFronts in May: The company isn’t a walled garden. They are creators who meet consumers where they are.

The platforms

Condé Nast operates in 32 markets, among them France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Latin America, the U.K. and U.S. This vast global network consists of about 80 different distribution platforms, including the usual social suspects (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat, TikTok, LinkedIn) and YouTube as well as WeChat and Viber internationally. The media company also has a strong presence on Connected TV (Sling, Amazon Fire and Tubi, Roku) and across audio platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocketcast, Google Play).

And as Brett pointed out, “It’s not just the same content everywhere, but tailored content that is going to be native and relevant to what that consumer expects.”

Condé Nast’s biggest platform partner is YouTube, where the company boasts more than 65 million subscribers, a gain of 12% over the previous year.

Earlier this year, Condé Nast announced over 300 new YouTube pilots over 55 brand channels in 11 countries. This included the return of over 230 original series, including Wired’s Autocomplete Interview, Vogue’s Beauty Secrets, GQ’s 10 Essentials and Architectural Digest’s Open Door, which together drove over 700 million views in 2022, Mann told Adweek. 

Condé Nast is also expanding its streaming partners to include Sling, Amazon Fire and Tubi. They’ve also got a brand channel for Architectural Digest on Roku, which features the Open Door and Unique Spaces series. These focus on celebrities’ private homes and the world’s most beautiful and architecturally unique homes, respectively.  

Condé Nast was also one of TikTok’s initial Pulse Premiere partners – a platform Brett said their audience demands they be part of. She describes TikTok as a platform that is turnkey, low-lift and scalable.  

Finding the right partners

Evaluating the perfect partnership involves a lot of considerations including brand image, customer benefits, fit, and value to bottom line. 

“For us, performance drives premiumness and premiumness drives performance. It’s a two-way street,” said Brett. “And what Condé Nast does uniquely is maintain a really strict code of elevated consumer engagement and elevated content creation.”

The media company does this by staying brand-consistent. They are driven by journalistic integrity. If they’re not authentic to the voice of that specific brand, the partnership doesn’t work. “If we miss on that authenticity, on the expectation of what Vogue would be or what the New Yorker would be or what Bon Appetit would be on one of these platforms, we’ll get called out.” 

Tracking conversion

Given the incredibly diverse platforms Condé Nast brands are on, as well as the global audience, evaluating ROI is a complex undertaking. However, Brett said that one of the most rewarding parts of her job is seeing how these efforts translate into conversions in trackable ways. 

“When we work with Meta, for example, when we use their platform, with our intent-driving content, we’re able to track attributable conversion: literal click to purchase, click to buy.” 

Condé Nast focuses on intent-driving metrics, like how likely people are to perform a certain action, for example, buying a product or attending an event. 

“For so long it felt like we knew we were driving these choices, but we would never have been able to bridge the gap with the click attribution of them actually happening.” Brett said that “the partnerships that we’ve built and the way that we’ve evolved, the way we work with all these different platforms and measurement tools have really proven back to us how direct that connection actually is. And we can see the dollars transact against our recommendations. I think that’s perhaps been–not the most surprising–but certainly the most satisfying.”

Brett said that witnessing the direct connection between the two has been a remarkable evolution of how platforms and capabilities are coming together to close the loop for the advertiser. Through metrics, they can see how it all intersects. For example, they can see how high value integrations convert to high value intents, and keep the funnel full while converting at the bottom of it.

“I think we like to say that content is really the best advertising, and to know that the content that we create for advertisers is driving every different stage of the consumer journey and that we can prove it for them in simple and repeatable ways. It’s just been such an exciting era for us as Condé Nast,” she said.

Premium connects the dots 

In the last five years or so, Brett said they’ve been able to move from more siloed strategies to connecting all of the dots. 

“I certainly think that the more recent shifts in cookie attribution and all the rest of these things has helped to open everybody to the power of premium content to drive performance and really figuring out how to connect those dots more purposefully.”

For a long time, the digital media industry relied on third-party cookie-based verification to assess and validate the performance and delivery of digital advertising campaigns. Cookies had broad-scale adoption, but that all changed when Google announced it would phase out third-party cookies on Chrome.  

“Now without that crutch, we’re really leaning back into what is true, what is fundamental, what speaks to the consumer, and how we come together to capitalize on that, but also to measure that in really meaningful ways.” 

Digital media companies are now focusing on privacy, transparency and user consent as they consider alternative strategies for measurement. First-party data is more reliable and privacy-compliant and boosts engagement through personalization, content creation and recommendations and targeted advertising. 

“I think everything that we do is calibrated around meaningful engagement for the consumer,” said Brett. “So every single campaign we’ve ever run and every single choice that we’re making would ladder into that ultimate goal. If it’s not delivering value for our audience, it’s not a place where we belong.”

Advertising | Featured Post

Digital media’s successful symbiosis of subscription data and advertising

If content is king, then context is God. As third-party cookies vanish in the rear view mirror, first-party data is moving media companies to pole position for advertisers. So how are they using their subscribers’ data to provide better context than ever for advertisers – and increasing their own return?

News and magazine publishers have always boasted of their relationship with their audiences. Direct, unfiltered access to consumers has always been part of their selling point to advertisers. And that’s never been truer than now.

With Google still making its slow march towards the deprecation of third-party cookies in 2024, brands and advertisers are hungry for alternatives to ensure a good ROI. That has provided digital media organizations with a megaphone to shout about the data they have on their members and subscribers – data which has been freely handed over during and after sign-up, and which avoids the privacy issues related to GDPR and other legislation.

Dave Randall, UK commercial director for Future plc, points out that “Privacy updates have and will fundamentally change the way brands buy media. There is a seismic shift coming to a market that has been inundated with made-for-advertising sites, click farms, contentious user-generated content and questionable third-party data.

“I believe premium publishers with professionally produced specialist content are in the best place to benefit.”

Effectively, the creation of content that Future and other digital media companies know appeals to their audiences provides the context for effective advertising. Those companies, with their vast array of acquisition and conversion data relating to their demographics, can serve up ads relevant to the content against which they appear.

Research has demonstrated that consumers are not averse to digital advertising provided it is of personal relevance, also that they are wary of “creepy” means of determining that relevance. That provides media companies with registration walls with a huge opportunity: they can square the circle between serving up salient marketing and preserving privacy.

“For advertising to be successful, it’s important to build an environment in which both readers want to spend time and advertisers want to invest,” according to Imogen Fox, chief advertising officer of Guardian Media Group. “Too many ad-funded sites place the volume of advertising over the experience that users have when they visit the site. This reduces the likelihood of audiences paying attention to the advertising and the effectiveness of the overall campaign.”

Damon Reeve is CEO of the Ozone Project, a collective of premium publishers leveraging the context of their owned-and-operated properties to sell ads at better rates than would otherwise be possible. He explains that “Advertising in context and with a creative message that is contextually relevant will always produce a better outcome for brand advertisers.

“The current programmatic model emphasizes audience targeting [out of context]. But, as third-party cookies deprecate, that will drive renewed interest in contextual targeting and creative message, which will benefit premium publishing.”

Clearing the hurdles

All of the above is, of course, contingent on a number of factors. For one thing, it is still easier said than done to sign consumers up. For all the progress digital publishers have made in refining their acquisition and retention strategies, even the most successful have registered only tiny fractions of overall internet users.

Moreover, many of those registered users have provided nothing but name, email, and the journeys they make while logged into sites. It’s far better than alternative – unregistered users – but far from the holistic view of a user to which advertisers have become accustomed.

Reeve elaborates: “Registered [and] paying readers create a much stronger data signal than anonymous readers, that creates a better return from advertising as we can provide better targeting and insight to advertisers. This will only strengthen when third-party cookies deprecate, and the gap widens between the quality of the data from registered/paying readers and anonymous readers.”

A second issue is that privacy concerns are not entirely eradicated with the deprecation of the third-party cookie. While the use of data clean rooms or efforts like the IAB’s ‘Seller Defined Audiences’ tool can ameliorate those issues, it still requires investment on the part of the paper or magazine to initialize and optimize.

So, while the very nature of a media brand’s website provides some measure of context to the ads that appear on there, publishers need to invest to truly make the most of it. Products like Piano claim that “value difference between users, pages, referral sources, and other channels is not just two or three times higher but hundreds of times higher” when users are registered – but that requires media companies to partner up or pay for access to those data tools.

Blended future

The reality is that, for most mass-market media brands, neither subscriptions nor advertising alone will sustain them. While subscriptions have come roaring back to the fore for digital publishers, advertising is still on par with subscription revenue in terms of their priorities.

Smart media leaders are therefore thinking about how the two revenue strategies synergize, rather than keeping them separate. Katie Le Ruez, director of digital, Guardian News & Media, explains: “As privacy changes come into force, brands will want to continue to reach relevant audiences at scale as they do today, so they will need to lean into alternative tech and the contextual targeting that it offers. Greater numbers of people visiting websites will be unreachable using traditional advertising technologies, and privacy-preserving tech often relies on contextual signals.”

“At the Guardian, we’ve been testing solutions that serve advertising to audiences who choose to ‘reject all’. We know that multiple ad tech vendors who traditionally offered brand safety solutions are now pivoting to offer contextual solutions too. This is a clear indication that contextual advertising will have greater value in future.” 

And Randall believes that “Contextual advertising will return as a key pillar for brands to connect with audiences authentically. Alongside intelligent first-party data solutions, publishers and advertisers can further collaborate to make the future of advertising more effective and transparent”.

So, while the spray-and-pray approach to contextless digital advertising is unlikely to go anywhere, there is an alternative for more discerning advertisers. Just as the ads that appeared in print magazines and papers benefited from the context of the content around them, so too do the ads that appear on publishers’ websites. Combine that with the first-party data to which they have access, and those titles are poised to further differentiate themselves from the non-premium contextless adverts bought and sold on the wider web.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

Quality ads play a crucial role in retaining audiences

From web articles to streaming and CTV, excelling in the digital media realm goes beyond mere content creation. It’s about crafting an unparalleled experience that speaks directly to the needs and preferences of your audience. Media executives need to focus on enhancing user experience by seamlessly integrating quality ads into content to increase engagement, conversions, revenue – and trust.

In today’s crowded media landscape, retaining the attention and loyalty of your digital audience has never been more important. And while content is key, advertising experiences play a critical role. 

Elevating user experience

In an age of seemingly endless choice, it can be tough for publishers and broadcasters to stand out amidst the vast sea of content. Yet, by prioritizing the quality of the experience over quantity and ensuring seamless ad integration—whether on-page or on CTV—media companies can foster deeper loyalty and trust. Simply put, when ads feel less like interruptions and more like an integrated part of the narrative, it strengthens audience retention and enhances monetization opportunities.

This is in contrast to certain websites where publishers prioritize immediate monetization over ad quality, leading to the risk of showcasing “junk ads,” click-bait, and intrusive pop-ups. By partnering with demand sides that serve less relevant ads, these sites alienate visitors, reduce traffic, and deter users from returning. 

Research from Adform underscores the significant influence of ad relevance, with one study 

finding that ads perceived as relevant and non-intrusive boosted dwell time by up to 30%. This accentuates the pivotal role of ad relevance in captivating and retaining audiences. Another study from IAB Europe revealed that users who encountered such ads were more inclined to engage, leading to higher click-through and conversion rates.

While many monetization tactics chase immediate returns, lasting success comes from nurturing reader trust. Ensuring you have premium ads hosted on your equally premium content not only attracts but also solidifies a dedicated reader base.

Engaging ads: The secret to captivating and retaining audiences

The digital landscape is a noisy place. In the midst of this cacophony, publishers are grappling with a challenge: retaining visitors. The key? Quality advertising.

Recent research by GeoEdge and Digiday sheds light on a stark reality: a significant 76% of publishers feel that their user experience is hampered due to subpar ad quality. This isn’t just a slight hiccup; 66% admitted that these ad issues directly hit their revenue stream. Yet, this data also presents a golden opportunity for publishers: prioritize ad quality, and the audience will follow.

Enter the era of premium content. It’s not just about what’s written or shown; it’s about the complete package. High-caliber content doesn’t just seize attention; it commands it. And when paired with outstanding ad experiences, publishers unlock a treasure trove of attention, amplifying their monetization potential. To put this into perspective, the elite domains – those in the top 25% – rake in attention for display ads at a staggering rate of 11 times more than their counterparts in the lower quartile.  

But let’s dig deeper. What really happens when superior ads meld with an impeccable user experience (UX)? The engagement figures speak for themselves. Quality content can rocket user attention to levels three times that of giants like Facebook. As for viewable display formats, they aren’t just another ad type; they’re powerhouses of attention–a sentiment echoed by Lumen’s December 2022 report.

Cultivating trust through tailored advertising

A thriving publisher-audience relationship is built on a foundation of trust. When readers come across ads that resonate with their interests, it solidifies their connection to the platform. MediaPost’s findings further validate this dynamic. Publishers who implemented contextual targeting experienced a 10% surge in dwell time and a 5% uptick in CTR.

The synthesis of these studies paints a vivid picture. High-quality, value-driven, and non-disruptive ads wield the power to improve various metrics – from dwell time and CTR to conversions. It’s evident that in the quest for heightened monetization, the user experience remains paramount.

And if numbers could tell tales, here’s a compelling one: A focused study conducted between Teads and Condé Nast revealed that top-tier ads don’t just flicker momentarily in the user’s vision. They linger, holding the viewer’s gaze for an impressive 11.3 seconds. The result? A whopping 49% spike in engagement. In the digital realm, attention is currency. Quality ads aren’t just a strategy; they’re a necessary art form, marrying content with commerce, and ensuring that audiences aren’t just visitors, but loyal patrons.

Guidelines for selecting a cookieless contextual targeting partner

With the decline of cookies, selecting an adept contextual targeting partner becomes imperative. Here’s what publishers should consider when seeking a partner who can assist in effectively targeting and engaging their audience in a digital landscape where cookies are no longer viable:

  • Precision: Context is king, and delivering relevant and accurate ads with precision becomes even more crucial in the absence of cookies. Look for a partner that emphasizes user-centric experiences and can ensure that your ads resonate with the right audience. 
  • Reputation: Collaborate with those whose reputation complements yours, such as a partner backed by a decade of expertise in successfully serving premium audiences and upholding integrity and excellence in every facet of contextual targeting. 
  • Real-time Insights:  The absence of cookies underscores the critical need for swift and accurate data to inform decision-making. To address this, partner with platforms that provide real-time insights, allowing you to swiftly adjust and refine your targeting strategies on the go.
  • Integrated Tools: Partner with platforms that offer a holistic approach, ensuring publisher success with comprehensive tools. By providing an array of integrated tools, from precise audience segmentation to seamless ad placements, publishers are empowered to navigate the evolving landscape of digital advertising with a well-rounded and effective contextual targeting strategy.
  • Adaptable and Scalable: Choose a partner that can evolve with the digital landscape’s ever-changing nature – after all, the industry is constantly shifting, and your chosen partner should be prepared to change alongside it.
  • Amplifying Platform Integrity: Dive into a partnership that celebrates and amplifies your platform’s integrity. By partnering with a platform that prioritizes user-centric content and respects the reader’s preferences, you not only retain your audience but also enhance your platform’s authenticity.

Retaining the interest and loyalty of your audience has never been more crucial in today’s competitive media environment. Undoubtedly, quality content is the most critical factor to stand out. However, there are other factors at play, particularly in the digital and connected TV (CTV) industry. It is critical that media organizations focus on providing exceptional experiences to audiences, and that must include high-quality, optimal advertising. 

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