How the winds change. Whether it’s the route you take or choices you make, life has the tendency to throw situations at us which are simply out of our control. On a person-by-person basis, the variety and combinations of these outcomes is almost unfathomable. This may seem like an introduction to an over-50s life insurance commercial, but bear with me.
At NMPi, we’ve been working with a client in the entertainment industry whose target audience is, give or take, just about everyone in the UK. We were at a fortunate starting point: their services are quality and vast. Giving us only the best watercolours and sharpened pencils to produce our digitally-tailored masterpiece.
Working in DoubleClick Studio, our strategy was to use dynamic creatives to meet the idiosyncrasies of whoever was viewing our personalised, moving adverts. Something my contemporaries in the digital marketing industry like to refer to as a data-driven, granular approach.
The Perfect Match: Creativity and Data
Dynamic creatives in and of themselves are at the heart of programmatic advertising. Using real-time technology, it allows us to change the fundamentals which better suit those who are viewing the advert. This can be done in reaction to the following data pieces: Location, Time of day, Device, Weather, Demographics, Behavioural Targeting, Retargeting information, And more
To consider the full capabilities of dynamic creatives at scale, let us consider a hypothetical: the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci’s masterpiece — arguably the most sung about and best known of paintings — is not exempt from criticism, with a handful of pundits not sold on her mystifying smile. Through dynamic creatives, we could optimise this feature: learning from the mentioned data points who appreciates the enigmatic smirk and the critics who prefer a stern face. As the rebrand campaign matures, the 77x53cm creative would become increasingly relevant to each consumer.
Hypothetical situations aside, studies have shown adapting and speaking to each user works. A report from Mckinsey found that personalisation can deliver “five to eight times the ROI on marketing spend and lift sales 10 per cent or more.” A study by Adobe affirmed that 78% of consumers like personalised ads yet only 28% think they’re tailored correctly, further highlighting the growing need for a merge between creativity and data.
When Speaking to All
As part of our brand awareness strategy, we focused on reaching fans of different shows using contextual keyword targeting. Working with our entertainment client, a purveyor of television programmes, we had the scope to find the fans of each service and put our adverts in front of them. Dynamic creatives are naturally flexible and using our template we could customise each impression to the specific targeting. In this case, users would see different creatives aligning with their preferences.
The flexibility of the method eased the testing of the campaign and consequently the optimisation. Once we had segmented each audience, we could change different variables of the creative and A/B test. As we continue to reach the audiences, we are constantly learning what works and producing relevant messages.
As the dust begins to settle and the results come in, the stats support that a personalised approach works. Compared to a more generic ad copy, targeting users with more a specific message generated a CTR 42% higher. Moving forward, the flexibility of dynamic creatives means that they are lasting and adaptable. Working from the comfort of DoubleClick Studio, the same template can be used and adapted to different promotional offers and seasons. This allows us to save on time and costs as we look past the traditional way of making creatives.
Whether you’re looking to bring classic art to the masses or to target each user with their favourite show, dynamic creatives offer a method to do so. Come rain or shine, each impression comes with an unknown amount of possibilities. The options available from your targeting, ad copy, call to action, colour and more can make the process seem out of your control. Yet, through segmenting the audience, these possibilities offer opportunities to engage and hold audiences. When life gives you lemons, introduce personalised ad copy.