Navigating the complex world of digital advertising is crucial for your campaign’s success. With millions spent on streaming ads, it’s vital to ensure your placements are effective. Here are three critical questions to ask your ad buyer to determine their expertise and the impact of your ad spend.
- Are My Streaming Ads Running in Live or On-Demand Content?
Why It Matters: Live content, like news and sports, attracts engaged viewers but has limited ad spots controlled by networks. On-demand content is easier to access but varies in viewer attention. Knowing where your ads run can optimize your reach and effectiveness.
What a Good Answer Sounds Like: A knowledgeable buyer will provide a breakdown of your spend across live and on-demand content, specify the apps and programs your ads appear in, and ensure alignment with your target audience. A lack of detailed transparency indicates potential optimization issues.
- Is My Streaming Buy Reaching My Target Voters?
Why It Matters: Your ads need to reach potential voters, not just any audience. Focusing only on cost per thousand impressions (CPM) can lead to waste. Instead, prioritize effective CPM (eCPM) to ensure ads reach your voter universe.
What a Good Answer Sounds Like: Your buyer should demonstrate how they match ad delivery to your voter file and track on-target delivery rates. They must show what portion of your spend reaches actual voters. Without this data, your campaign might miss critical voter engagement. Importantly, your buyer needs to demonstrate that the ad placement strategy is targeting people and not content. You want your voters to see your ads no matter what content they watch. Watch out if your buyer is focusing on ‘premium content’ or casting a wide net to find your voters and other viewers who look like your voters.
- How Many DSPs Are You Using, and Why?
Why It Matters: Different DSPs (Demand-Side Platforms) use various identity graphs to match voters. No single DSP covers the entire voter base. Using multiple DSPs increases reach significantly, ensuring more voters see your ads. You do not want your plan to focus on ad inventory. You want your ad plan to focus on maximum reach and maximum frequency allowable under your budget.
What a Good Answer Sounds Like: A competent buyer uses at least two to three DSPs, monitors reach overlap, and reports deduplicated reach. They should explain their choice of DSPs and how it maximizes voter coverage.
At Raconteur, we ensure comprehensive reach by employing multi-DSP strategies, providing insights into deduplicated reach across platforms, so you know exactly how much of your voter universe you’re engaging.