ANYWHERE WITH A PIXEL

The phrase, “Hyper-Targeting” has more recently been tied to digital out-of-home (DOOH) to a certain degree and I think it would be worthwhile to explore the huge implications of this.

 

Networks are growing at blinding speed, while advertisers remain indifferent and somewhat bewildered at how they can keep track of multiple campaigns without having account management nightmares. So precision targeting has simply not been in the cards for them, since there are too many bottlenecks to break through before any meaningful targeting can take place. 

 

Actually, advertisers are slowly beginning to understand the sheer power of digital out-of-home as a collective tour-de-force when it comes to achieving ubiquity, but the missing piece remains to be the ability to hyper-target select screens in each network as a part of a larger integrated media campaign. It seems that no matter how large a single network is—it remains pale in comparison to the collective power of all digital networks combined, each of which has developed specialized marketing channels with specific audiences.

 

So it’s the aggregators that can begin to establish some insight into how brands can meaningfully reach an advertiser’s audiences and niche markets. But I’m not talking about just any aggregator. I’m talking about setting a new standard of achieving unified distribution as an aggregator of aggregators. Companies can have great intentions toward advertisers garnered from long-established relationships and a certain level of stewardship to help media companies understand brands. But brands themselves would argue that no one can understand their brand better than they can. This tells me that there is an entire layer of inefficiency that can be removed from the process. Hyper-targeting within the wide fragmented landscape of digital out-of-home always centers around conversations about efficiency, insight, end-to-end integration, and accountability.

 

I would argue that hyper-targeting in a meaningful way can only be accomplished with certain tiers of efficiency. I will discuss each of these tiers of efficiency in the spirit of how digital communication is evolving—in an integrated fashion, because each tier effects one another in a tremendous way. And of course—all of these tiers combine to create a complete and versatile solution that is exponentially greater than the sum of its parts.

 

The tiers of precision targeting efficiency in digital destination advertising are:

 

1)     Precision-Enhanced Scalability

2)     A New Approach to Aggregation  

3)     Developing Deeper Insight through Screen Profiling

4)     Dynamic Integration

5)     Cross-Platform Content Transformation

 

Precision-Enhanced Scalability

 

You know what they say about large footprints. Great reach. But in a metric-driven world, efficiency can only be accomplished with one unified distribution platform to extend the reach of a single digital asset across multiple platforms. Scale is arguably effective if you have an unlimited budget and hundreds of creative assets to choose from, with a team of a hundred account executives managing each project. But even the largest brand in the world like Coke wants something more than high-powered ubiquity. They want to execute highly-targeted campaigns just likeevery other brand.

 

The collective power of all the digital signage networks in the world means nothing without a unified distribution platform to deliver insight, efficiency, and measurability. A level of sophistication is always needed when building a media campaign, as it needs to sync up with specific product launches, release dates, and integrated initiatives. Scale with targeting efficiency has tremendous power. This kind of capability has yet to be achieved in a meaningful way, until now.

 

Therefore the take-away from this tier of efficiency is that from an overarching perspective, scale must be achieved, but with targeting efficiency in mind. Aggregators need to do more than manage multiple accounts and campaigns using different networks—real scale needs to be guided with precision targeting capabilities and a unified platform of distribution.

 

Digital out-of-home has seen an influx of hardware, software, media player, distribution, and campaign management platforms—but with little communication between organizations. No one had a huddle and agreed on a unified way to reach specific audiences through millions of screens. Fragmentation has escalated and that’s why advertisers tend to shy away from digital out-of-home opportunities. Scale can be harnessed into pure efficiency for advertisers if all screens were harmonized. Hyper-targeting can then be more eaily achieved because more comprehensive information would become available.

 

A New Approach to Aggregation

 

Aggregation can provide the level of efficiency that advertisers want. Many digital out-of-home agencies certainly have the capacity to create multimedia campaigns that have both strategic and tactical functions–full-scope branding and marketing initiatives combined with metric-driven promotions. Isn’t this the goal? Shouldn’t the process be consolidated for efficiency?

 

Then it comes down to the process of aggregation, or perhaps valuable aggregation. Advertisers need to keep asking themselves if they are maximizing efficiency out of every strategic and tactical initiative they choose to engage in. Aggregation is only so valuable as the investment in time and effort it takes to accomplish a specific set of marketing objectives. What is the balance between what can be accomplished through account management and technology?

 

There is certainly great value in building relationships and practicing stewardship, but efficiency can be accomplished in more meaningful ways through a single web-based pltform that has more meaningful and relevant information, granted the right rules of automation are in place.

 

The process it would take a digital out-of-home advertising specialist to build a campaign, make the appropriate negotiations, manage multiple insertion orders while researching the right demographics and geo-targeting strategy can be minimized through a single solution that levels the digital playing field and accomplishes all of these functions simultaneously. Hyper-targeting screens in specific networks depending on an audience profile is the ideal solution for advertisers.  

 

Account managers no longer need to micromanage the tedious creative process and repurpose content time and time again while making sure it plays on all the select channels properly. Technology must prove insightful by boosting an aggregator’s ability to do all the essential homework upfront—by profiling each and every screen in a network, by taking into account all of that screen’s attributes, distribution capabilities, resolution, location, and even the audience most likely to congregate in front of that screen. Technology brings mind-blowing insight to the process of aggregation.

 

It doesn’t matter how many screens are in an aggregated group of networks—if it doesn’t accomplish the specific requirements and objectives of the campaign, it is simply not efficient. Targeting then becomes more meaningful if scale, aggregation, and insight are utilized harmoniously.

 

I think we are starting to see a pattern here—that perhaps all these functions need to work together to maximize efficiency. What is scale without precision targeting? What is aggregation without insight?

 

Developing Deeper Insight through Screen Profiling

 

The key to precision targeting centers around having the right information about your audience using the most relevant sources. Sources have to identify audience demographics on a local level. The U.S. Census fares well for general information and account managers and marketers do their best to make assumptions based on this data. Psychographic information is a little more challenging to come by, but is available via syndicated research studies, white papers, and sometimes provided by networks themselves.

 

Insight in audience targeting comes from using the right methodology to select each unique distribution platform, network, venue, and screen for an ad campaign. It is about understanding the right metrics that come into play when selecting venues and screens in each network. We take into account 130 different fields of information to profile a screen, which gives us unique unparallel insight into each network.

 

Having a robust database of each and every screen in a network is one sure way of developing deeper insight and efficiency. Screen profiling is the only way to be able to know that your message is getting to the right audience. You have to gather information from the right sources, but sometimes this is not enough. Sometimes it takes a phone call to a particular doctor’s office to find out that the majority of the patients there are Hispanic. But most of the time it is simply common sense. You should be able to type in Sports Fan in a search field, and all of Arena TV Network should show up in your results. Business office elevator screens should not. That is why screen profiling is the key to precision targeting efficiency. Marketing on a one-to-one basis elevates the campaign building process.  

 

Targeting at a local and zip code level at one time seemed daunting to advertisers. Now you can not only target audiences within three miles of a desired business location, you can do this at the drop of a dime, time it properly to launch in accordance to your promotion and marketing schedule, and instantaneously change, pause, or cancel multiple campaigns to execute various aspects of your overall marketing initiatives. Therefore the campaign management process also comes into play when dealing with precision targeting efficiency because the process of how you select media based on audience targeting is just as important.

 

Dynamic Integration through Cross-Platform Content Transformation

 

When I think of integration I’m talking about cross-platform mobility for a versatile digital asset, in the right contextually relevant distribution point (digital destination), targeted to the right audience, at the right time. Retail networks are working toward achieving this higher level of mobility. On the agency level, media directors are constantly trying to create succinct integrated campaigns, utilizing out-of-home and traditional mediums for branding, and interactive platforms for deeper levels of phased connectivity. It all depends on the campaign and marketing objectives, but precision targeting efficiency is affected by the strength of a particular digital asset, and the advertisers ability to maximize ROI through cross-channel distribution.

 

One digital asset across a select network of screens based on audience profiles. This is the true meaning of hyper-targeting in digital destination advertising. Dynamic integration means being able to break up that digital asset into layers, so that each combination of layers is seen properly—depending on the requirements of the screen in which the message is seen. As I have mentioned in a previous post:

 

Each piece can be combined into a given digital platform to create a unique message—in another digital destination, a different combination of layers might work better, or a single layer with the brand’s logo might be enough to create a lasting impression toward a purchase decision—it all depends on the objectives of the campaign. I am only giving an example of what may evolve from this transformation and harmonization technology.

 

Dynamic integration ultimately means being able to manage multiple tactical digital campaigns that are all a part of a larger end-to-end campaign. Advertisers should be able to execute as many individual campaigns as they want, be able to target with efficiency however they want, depending on what they know about their audience, or the media they utilize per campaign. Hyper-targeting should be accomplished if the right aggregation methods are in place to deliver a unified and dynamic platform for distribution. Entourage Advertising has all of these components and more—and should become the industry standard for cross-platform campaigns that maximize efficiency and ROI.