Our Digital Marketing Blog:  Insights into Search, Social, and Digital Media

Programmatic media buying – what is it, and how it's changing digital advertising

The way advertising and display media is being bought and sold is changing, and the change is happening fast, particularly with the growth of programmatic media buying.

Programmatic media buying is the process of buying media based on predetermined algorithms and systems. Kind of like buying ad space, but using artificial intelligence robots and programs to do so. It can be further characterised by the following:

- It utilises buying via bidding across an inventory of available media
- It is conducted through a Demand Side Platform (DSP)
- It’s conducted in an exchange (advertising exchange network)
- It’s conducted in real time (or as close as possible to ensure that this entire process all happens very fast!)
- It shows one tailored advertising message to a specified user

Programmatic media buying is also dependent on what we know about the user by interpreting their content and incorporating the device they are using at a certain point in time.

The move to programmatic buying will reshape the media landscape, but not all agree. At ad:tech Sydney last month, some senior media agency figures scoffed at claims that 70% of media will be bought programmatically within 5 years. They may very well be right. However, even if the shift falls short of the 50% mark, the shift to programmatic is certainly still changing the game dramatically.

Better media channel performance attribution

Personally, I see the shift to programmatic media buying as a great opportunity for better attribution of performance to the different media channels. No longer will digital be the only media that has to explain the ROI it achieves. No longer will we need to deduce the performance between search, display, EDMs, and social etc. Well maybe we will, but it’s a big step forward.

Additionally, the marketing that we serve (and receive) will need to be more targeted to me as an individual, in my current context and accounting for the device I’m currently using. If we don’t develop tighter targeting in our marketing initiatives, then the performance we achieve won’t be as good as our competitors. Logically, poorer performance than our competitors won’t lead to the outcomes that any organisation desires.

How to prepare for the shift to programmatic media buying

So how can you prepare for the change and capitalise on the opportunity presented by the shift to programmatic buying?

1: Ask you agency how they are preparing your business for this change.
2: Allocate budget to get tests underway ASAP – 10-15% is a good starting point.
3: Understand the connections between your various marketing channels. Physically map out the marketing paths that your customers are starting to follow.
4: Plan your customer segments – who do you want to talk to? Once you have fragmented them, then add another level of depth.
5: Ensure you have processes in place to capture the data that gets generated via your marketing initiatives to drive future marketing campaigns.

Additionally, its worth calling out that programmatic buying will extend to TV, radio (digital), billboard and OOH media, cinema advertising and beyond.

So the change is happening and it’s happening fast!

Here are a few useful blog posts if you want to learn more:

• http://www.jackmyers.com/classic-jack/When-Will-Media-Buying-Be-50-Programmatic-Whats-Your-Opinion.html

• http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2165122/media-planners-programmatic-buying

• http://marketingland.com/leveraging-programmatic-media-buying-to-expand-reach-and-roi-of-retargeting-campaigns-15960

• http://www.slideshare.net/pubmaticco/pub-matic-rtbwhitepaper

Harlem Shake

The viral video craze that is the Harlem Shake has travelled far and wide across the world in a short period of time. The original video has now been watched over 21 million times.

It was inevitable that global news networks would eventually pick up the story, and when Sky News in the UK did just that, which Australian agency do you think they came to for a comment? Switched On Media of course.

Andy Jamieson was asked for his opinion on what made the Harlem Shake such a success. Click the image to watch the video.

User-generated content: why it’s still awesome (if you do it well)

After Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter and Instagram swept in, we started seeing more and more user-generated content floating around the web. User-generated content has been the word on everyone’s lips and marketing strategies for the past half a decade and it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. From the Wildcats’ 2012 #WeAreUK Twitter and billboard campaign to Australian Capital Tourism’s 2012-13 The Human Brochure, it seems every brand wants to get a virtual piece of this digital pie.

Google Enhanced Campaigns – What it means for small business and big brands

Google Adwords is currently rolling out the biggest changes to be made to the platform in the last 5 years. These changes will alter the way advertisers structure the campaigns that they run on Google Adwords.
In this article, we are going to examine:

• What Google has changed
• Why Google has made these changes
• What these changes mean for small business
• What these changes mean for bigger brands
• How you can capitalise on these changes

Key learnings from breaking into the digital market in Asia

If your company is based in one country or region, breaking into the market in an entirely different region can be a challenge, especially when it comes to figuring out the specific characteristics and needs of clients in that area.
When Switched on Media completed a large-scale engagement with one of our key clients in Asia, it gave us a chance to reflect on some of the key learnings from the projects, which essentially saw us breaking into the Asian market for the first time. Here are a few learnings:

Each market is different. It’s hard to view Asia as a collective:

One of our foundation clients in Asia was Cochlear, the leading global expert in implantable hearing solutions. We were tasked with driving their online marketing campaigns in the entire Asia Pacific region. Some markets were harder than others, and Korea especially proved difficult for a few reasons. Google is not as dominant in Korea, whereas blogging is paramount, so it wasn’t until we partnered with local bloggers and SEO resource on the ground that we got good results.

Your clients products are perceived differently in each market:

Whilst the client’s product might be the same in each country, the consumers’ understanding of that product in each locality can also be different. Perceptions of hearing implants and technology in India are completely different to those in Japan, for example, so the content or ad copy used in each country must be relevant and specific to that region. It’s often necessary to take different tailored approaches to each market and while basic translation services might help, it’s local insight that is the key to delivering a great result.

Technology in each market is different, so the business opportunities are also different:

Each different service your company offers may not always be useful or relevant in every country your client operates in. SEO, for example is nascent in Singapore whereas paid search is more widely understood. Social media channels work differently everywhere, especially in China. Think you know a bit about Facebook? How about QQ? Never heard of it? Well, it has more than 900 million active users in China to date, and that number is growing constantly. Be sure you’re up to date with the latest tech and online trends in teach country.

Local networks are important

It’s hard to just send one person to a regional hub like Singapore and expect success, so moves into Asia require significant planning and investment.
Hong Kong resources might be low cost and efficient, though strategy is key. If you don’t have strategic resources on the ground, then your online results in each market will suffer.

Final thoughts:

• Look at the gaps in each market – don’t assume that every niche has been filled in a certain country just because it’s already been filled in Australia. Likewise, just because a service is relevant in Australia doesn’t mean it is in Japan, for example.
• In Singapore, process and KPI seem to be the frame of reference – deal making focuses more on price then strategy.
• Hong Kong used to be a leg in to China, but it’s since been bypassed – Shanghai especially is now the focus for many entrants.
• Timeframes for decisions are slower in some markets. Be prepared for this and take this into account when modeling your P&L in each market.
• Don’t just “give it a nudge” from afar – flying in and out doesn’t always work so well either. You’ll get momentum once you commit to having a presence in a region.

Switched on Media attends the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 awards evening

The other week, Switched on Media attended the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 awards evening in Sydney.

Pinterest update: new tools for businesses

Pinterest, which has approximately 11.7 million users registered globally, last week announced new tools available for businesses. The changes come with the intent to make the platform more accessible for brands to increase their presence and engagement.

So – what’s new?

Click Frenzy - 5 Key learnings for industry

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill

3 tips to get the most out of LinkedIn

LinkedIn has recently evolved its offering. Here's a quick rundown of some of the most important changes, along with three quick tips that will help you to improve your performance within the LinkedIn ecosystem.