According to a popular meme, it isn’t the C-suite who has led digital transformation at most companies—it’s done by COVID-19. The pandemic accelerated digital transformation at a speed once thought impossible: in a matter of months, companies worldwide adopted digital technologies that normally would have taken three to seven years to implement. The bounce back from the early pandemic impact continues to be strong, especially in digital. As we spend more time consuming digital media, brands have the opportunity to tap into the increased flexibility in which consumers engage through multiple touchpoints. Businesses that truly understand these developed human behaviours have the best chance to build lasting relationships with them.
Rethinking Programmatic Strategies
According to Dentsu’s latest report Asia Pacific advertising spending is expected to grow by 5.9% (vs global 9.2%) to reach US$255 billion (vs US$745 billion globally) in 2022 – US$33 billion above the 2019 pre-pandemic level in the region. The rising of digital will fuel APAC growth, now 61.1%, pacing ahead of global change at 55.5% of overall ad spend.
Programmatic advertising has become a mainstay of digital advertising and it will continue to soar. It’ll get short on the arm with the rise of emerging mediums, constant advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and is now becoming the fast-growing marketing trend in the APAC region as well.
According to the Google Forrester Consulting report, 87% of respondents think that because of the upcoming privacy changes, programmatic will be better than before. Marketers and agency professionals see programmatic as helping them access critical new media environments such as OTT/CTV, DOOH, digital audio and data-driven creative capabilities. The report also surfaced that Marketers and agency professionals have faith in programmatic advertising and plan to continue investing in it. The overwhelming majority of advertisers surveyed believe they are in a defining moment in their career: Advertising is changing for the better, and they must meet the challenge and evolve with the changes.
Over the years, programmatic advertising has become brands’ go-to technology to reach people with relevant messaging across channels and devices. Yet, it’s largely been powered by third-party cookies, which are falling out of favour as consumer privacy preferences continue to shift.
Growth rates in several APAC markets could easily accelerate with a push from publishers or advertisers. As these markets develop, the efficiency and effectiveness gains achieved by advertisers, agencies, and publishers elsewhere will become more apparent and fuel growth in APAC. It’s a defining point in time for the programmatic industry.
Marketers and agencies can win with contextual targeting- a privacy-friendly and scalable targeting option
The impending deprecation of third-party identifiers, an ever-expanding set of privacy regulations worldwide, and consumers’ rising privacy concerns mean that the programmatic advertising ecosystem, and the advertising technology that supports it, must adapt to a privacy-first reality. Marketers and their agencies are assessing their needs in light of these changes and prioritizing features and partners, allowing them to stand up to rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions and customers’ expectations.
Contextual targeting will become increasingly important in a world with reduced user-level data.
Contextual targeting is centred on the environment in which an ad appears rather than individuals’ inferred intent to purchase an item or click on an ad or content based on their former online behavioural patterns. For that reason, advertisers are looking at ways to push contextual targeting beyond its current capabilities.
IAS continues to deploy advanced contextual capabilities for advertisers and publishers. This has enabled IAS to address concerns around targeting in a cookieless world. The IAS Power of Context research shows that the quality of an advertising environment can influence how consumers perceive ads and associated brands. In a recent case study with Bench Media, we found that using IAS’s Context Control, Bench media achieved a 36% decrease in cost per click and a 21% increase in click-through.
Advertisers should assess their risks in an environment that continues to reveal new risks and ask further questions—especially regarding measurement campaigns, associated costs, and related technical know-how. Which of my campaigns are most subject to ad fraud, poor viewability or ad-blocking, and where are they running? Which potential media quality partners can help me enforce accountability, validate data, and operate more rigorously?
And as they think more strategically about their spending, advertisers should start to think beyond simply serving up ads. They should consider thinking more about digital advertising activities that can start conversations, focus on outcomes and engage prospects in more interactive, targeted, and innovative ways.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Quigley Senior Vice President, APAC, Integral Ad Science
Laura Quigley is SVP, APAC at Integral Ad Science. She is based in Singapore and in her current role, she is building strong partnerships with clients, agencies, and publishers and helping them solve their pressing business challenges with the use of cutting edge IAS technology solutions. She’s leading IAS’s regional expansion efforts as part of a larger global initiative taking place within IAS. Previous to her current role, she held multiple positions with IAS (in ANZ and APAC) managing all commercial and business efforts for Southeast Asia. Over the last decade, she has worked in driving digital transformation in Australia, New Zealand, EMEA and APAC having worked at companies such as Google, ZenithOptimedia among others. She is an accomplished speaker and enjoys speaking and attending trade conferences to share her insights and is the Regional board member, 2020 of the IAB SEA+India Laura holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Otago and in her free time, she enjoys the local F&B scene in Singapore.