Understanding your audience is key to unlocking digital advertising potential

With a stronger focus on first-party data, publishers and advertisers can create a more positive and profitable digital world, writes ADmantX CEO Giovanni Strocchi.

By the end of 2016, global IP traffic will pass the zettabyte threshold, equating to more than 80 extabytes per month – nearly one billion gigabytes. This constantly expanding web of information makes it easier than ever for businesses to track consumer activity and amass a wealth of first-party data.

Yet despite the high-quality insight available, publishers are failing to maximise inventory value, and advertisers are failing to create a truly relevant and targeted user experience. Consequently, ad-blocking usage continues to rise and consumers are growing disillusioned with impersonal – and disengaging – online interactions.

It is clear that decisive action is needed to align digital content with users’ interests, needs, consumption habits, and propensity to purchase. Brands and publishers must therefore unlock the in-depth understanding that lies within their first-party data and use it to realise the full potential of digital advertising.

The rise of ubiquitous personalisation

Consumers expect everything to be personalised, from their morning cup of coffee to the articles displayed in their newsfeed – and the accompanying ads.

With 36% of consumers interested in personalised products or services, it is essential for both advertisers and publishers to draw insights from first-party data that can be used to ensure each and every interaction is highly personal, engaging, and relevant – strengthening existing brand relationships and encouraging customers to share their experiences with a new audience.

Turning first-party data into audience profiles

So how can user information be transformed into a blueprint for better targeting? The answer is sophisticated analysis. In recent years a variety of intelligent technologies, such as first-party advanced profiling, have emerged to help advertisers and publishers extract valuable insights from their audience data.

By analysing online content – using Natural Language Processing – alongside user consumption patterns, these tools can turn first-party data into detailed 360-degree profiles of individual consumers. With an in-depth understanding of consumer interests, requirements, and behaviours, advertisers can define target audiences and construct creative campaigns that resonate with their specific preferences.
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This smart data approach shifts the digital advertising focus towards personalisation and relevance – a move that may slow down the pace of ad-blocking penetration. It also presents a significant opportunity for publishers to boost the value of their inventory by allowing them to offer a greater range of effective targeting options.

Armed with a detailed view of their user base, publishers can segment audiences accurately and efficiently, enhancing the appeal of their inventory to advertisers and ensuring the ad content that reaches site visitors is always appropriate.

Detecting propensity to purchase

The wonderful thing about smart technology is that the more first-party data it gathers, the more it learns about what consumers are likely to do. By building a precise picture of audience habits, and combining it with information about past purchases and activity, advanced profiling can determine a consumer’s propensity to purchase.

This enables advertisers to get ahead of real-time – anticipating what audiences want and meeting their needs before they are even aware of them. Instead of serving ads for products consumers might be interested in, advertisers can use this data to deliver proactive offers for items consumers already have the propensity to buy.

Such forward-thinking campaigns represent the final and most impactful stage of digital advertising optimisation. By providing a surprising, relevant, and positive brand experience, ads will not only drive engagement – and thereby revenue – but also earn consumer trust. In the future, advertisers will be seen as helpful advisers, making tailored suggestions that are completely aligned with consumer needs.

There is immense value within first-party data, but to realise it advertisers and publishers must extract the actionable audience insights contained within. By using smart technologies to understand content at a granular level, both the supply and demand side of digital advertising can raise standards – boosting campaign quality by enhancing targeting options for advertisers.

With a stronger focus on making the most of first-party data to connect with and delight the audience, publishers and advertisers can create a more positive and profitable digital world.