In today's dynamic and data-driven media and advertising landscape, staying relevant and reaching the right audience has become a monumental challenge. In fact, research by Nielsen and Seedtag reveals contextual targeting boosts consumer interest in advertising by 32%, versus the traditionally used demographic targeting. Traditional advertising methods are no longer enough to captivate consumers in an era where personalisation is king. This challenge has been exacerbated by the impending deprecation of third-party cookies, which has forced advertisers to seek alternative methods of targeting and tracking user behaviour. In this month’s article, we explore the concept of contextual solutions and what's currently available in market. 

Contextual Solutions deliver optimal targeting

Contextual advertising involves delivering relevant content or ads to consumers based on their current activity or environment, such as their content consumption, location, device, and other recent online behaviours. Modern contextual targeting is a far cry from the methods used in the past. It uses semantics, natural language processing of on-page text, the URL and meta information, combined with artificial intelligence and data processing in real time. Contextual advertising methods can vary between partners. Some, like GumGum, specialise in contextual advertising within visual content (images and videos), and others specialise in contextual advertising within textual content (text-based environments such as articles and blog posts). Equally, dentsu has a proprietary solution ‘Contextual Intelligence’ (CI) with a unique DSP-agnostic approach which spans across multiple formats (display, native and video) and has coverage of 96% of UK domains.

Our point of view

To analyse this solution, we have investigated privacy, scale, ease of adoption and sustainability.

Privacy

Contextual advertising allows for the creation of ads that are relevant to the content the user is currently engaged with, as well as relevant to their current state of mind. This increases the likelihood that the ad will resonate with the user and lead to higher engagement rates.  Unlike other forms of advertising, targeting is dictated by the context of users’ activity, rather than personal data.

Scalability  

Unlike some highly personalised advertising approaches that rely on granular user data, contextual solutions can reach broad and diverse audiences with relative ease. By focusing on the context and content of the digital environment, contextual advertising can adapt to the intended segment, making it a versatile tool for both niche and mass-market campaigns. However, it’s important for brands to understand that achieving the right balance between scale and relevance in contextual advertising requires a deep understanding of their audience, continuous optimisation, and the ability to adapt to changing contexts. It’s not just about reaching a large audience, but is about reaching the right audience with the right message.

Ease  

Contextual solutions are relatively simple to set up and less complex than other cookie-less solutions. They often provide intuitive platforms and seamless integrations with existing technology stacks, making it relatively easy for marketers to create and manage campaigns. Selecting the right partners can make all the difference – on top of having relevant expertise in your industry or the specific context you are targeting, partners should also provide good customer support.

Longevity

As the digital advertising landscape evolves in response to privacy concerns and regulatory changes, the sustainability of contextual solutions becomes even more evident, as they offer a pathway to effective advertising without relying on third-party cookies. To leverage the full potential of contextual advertising, brands should continuously monitor campaign performance, adjust strategies based on insights, stay up to date with the latest developments in contextual advertising, and have informed discussions with partners to evaluate their technological capabilities. Cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are being used to analyse content with greater precision. By deciphering patterns and trends in user behaviour, algorithms can determine the most relevant ad placements without overstepping privacy boundaries whilst improving the effectiveness of contextual advertising. 

How can you deliver a successful contextual advertising campaign?

Understand Your Audience: Before setting up a contextual campaign, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target audience and what kind of content they are likely to engage with.

Choose the Right Context: Not all contexts are equal. Some will be more effective than others at reaching your target audience and achieving your campaign goals. Use your understanding of your audience to choose the contexts that will be most effective to drive the intent outcome, whether that is immediate action or brand association.

Create Context-Specific Ads: Rather than using the same ad in all contexts, create ads that are tailored to each specific context. This will make your ads more relevant and engaging to users. It is worth enquiring how your contextual solution provider can support the creative process to ensure your creative is adaptable to different contexts.

Monitor and Adjust: Once your campaign is live, monitor its performance closely. If certain contexts are not performing as well as others, don’t be afraid to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Test and Learn: Contextual advertising is still a relatively new field, and best practices are still being developed. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches and learn from your successes and failures.

Key to contextual advertising success

As the media and advertising landscape continues to evolve, contextual solutions are emerging as a powerful tool for brands to engage with consumers in a more meaningful and effective way. The key to success lies in understanding your audience, selecting the appropriate context, crafting ads specific to each context, and continuously monitoring and fine-tuning your campaign. As we steer towards a cookieless world, these best practices will empower brands to engage their audiences effectively, all while upholding the utmost respect for user privacy. If you’d like to explore contextual solutions, or hear more about dentsu’s Contextual Intelligence proposition, please reach out to your account leads.