This Week in Digital Advertising: Santa Brought Gen 5.0, Black Friday Breakdown, Satan

This Week in Digital Advertising: Santa Brought Gen 5.0, Black Friday Breakdown, Satan <3 2020, and more.

Hello Bidtellectuals!

Congratulations to Bidtellectual of the Week John Allen!

The Latest: Generation 5.0

ICYMI: Just in time for the holidays, Bidtellect gifted the world/announced Generation 5.0 of its nDSP! To offer more insight into the advancements, we chatted with Santa himself/Bidtellect Chief Technology Officer Mike Conway. Mike explains in his own words how the advancements benefit advertisers, from optimization to insights to usability and privacy. We cover why its important to continue innovating and what he’s proudest of. Don’t miss it. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: What Happened?

Sales on Black Friday fell short, while Cyber Monday broke records. While experts projected massive growth this holiday season, it looks like it will be slightly lower but still an increase from last year. Let’s not forget it’s only December 4th. With a shift to online ordering, expect shopping to continue right until the end of the month.

  • Shoppers spent an average of $312 on Black Friday weekend, a 14% drop from $362 in 2019 (NRF)

  • Americans spent a record $10.8 billion online on Cyber Monday, up 15% from last year, making it the largest online shopping day in U.S. history (Adobe Analytics)

  • Amazon on Tuesday said this holiday season was the biggest of its 26-year history.

  • Adobe Analytics revised down its online holiday sales forecast by $5 billion, to $184 billion. Last year, Americans spent $142 billion online.

Some rationale: expectations for Black Friday were high. But holiday sales started back in October, plus consumers turned primarily to online shopping, still wary of in-store browsing. It’s no surprise Black Friday – typically an in-store frenzy – fell short. Meanwhile, even with the stock market crushing it, unemployment benefits are running out for many Americans; uncertainty about the coronavirus and economic hardship puts a damper on shopping.

⇨ Holiday Advertising 2020: Top 3 Best Practices for Digital Advertisers

⇨ Holiday Creative Assets: The Naughty and Nice List

Salesforce, Podcasting, and Clicks as the Original Sin

  • Salesforce bought Slack for a whopping $27.7 in a “match made in heaven” according to Salesforce CEO. Some even predict the move might render email obsolete in five years (yeah, ok).

  • Amazon is dipping its foot in the podcast game, reportedly in talks to buy podcast production network Wondery. Amazon is everywhere!

  • Meanwhile, the IAB Tech Lab has released a new set of Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines (2.1) for public review, which offers standard metrics for both podcast content and podcast ads.

  • This op-ed talks Digital Advertising Sector’s Original Sin: making clicks the holy grail of engagement metrics. While it certainly hinders privacy, clicks also don’t give a true measure of engagement.

Good News!

  • Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Swift gave us all a much-needed laugh with this “Match Made in Hell” commercial of Satan and 2020.

  • No-kill, lab-grown meat is about to go on sale for the first time.

  • Sales are rockin’!! Keep shopping!! Here are some of the best deals.

  • Bidtellect is offering a free workout class this Wednesday! (See below!)

 

Stay safe, friends,

Charlotte

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Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.

Why You Should Factor Diversity Into Your Strategy This Black History Month

How and why you should make diversity your advertising priority.

Behind the Platform: Using Peer39 For Brand Safety & Keyword Targeting

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the three key uses for the Peer39 integration in Bidtellect’s DSP, while offering helpful tips for traders and advertisers to get the most out of Bidtellect’s product.

Behind the Platform: Tracking Emissions With Bidtellect Scope3 Integration, Plus What to Know About Supply Path Emissions

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the new Scope3 integration in Bidtellect’s platform, how you can take actionable steps to reduce carbon waste, and the current state of the industry’s wasteful supply path emissions.

This Week in Digital Advertising: Gen 5.0, Thanksgiving, eMarketer Prediction Shake Ups

This Week in Digital Advertising: Gen 5.0, Thanksgiving, eMarketer Prediction Shake Ups

Hello Bidtellectuals!

Congratulations to Bidtellectual of the Week Courtney Bonkowski!

The Latest:

Big news: Bidtellect announced Generation 5.0 of its nDSP. This is a huge accomplishment and a culmination of 2+ years of platform advancements. The work of our product and technology teams, along with all those who worked tirelessly to anticipate the needs of clients and industry shifts, have led to the creation of one of the most performance-driven, client-first, and brand- and privacy-safe platforms in the space.

Coronavirus Crisis: Resource Hub

Since the coronavirus crisis upended life in the United States and Canada in March, Bidtellect has been tracking its effect on industries, advertisers, and consumer habits. Now, you can access all of the research, best practices, and resources related to coronavirus in one place: our Coronavirus Crisis Resource Hub.

Need to adjust your strategy to shifting consumer travel? Check out the hub. Need to adjust creative messaging to resonate with consumers without sounding like a downer? Check out the hub. Growing quarantine beard? Drinking at noon? Check out the hub. There are research reports, one sheets, blog posts, videos and more.

eMarketer’s Forecasting Shocks

I’d trust eMarketer to predict my own life projection before anyone else, but even coronavirus shook up my Research Romeo’s 2020 predictions. In their latest report, eMarketer broke down which industries and trends are swaying from their initial pandemic predictions. Here are some highlights:

  • Retail ecommerce is crushing projections, but brick & mortar has come up short
  • More US adults than predicted will participate in digital banking this year
  • Adults in the US will spend 64 more minutes with social media per day than originally predicted. This might as well be a call for trend setters in social media to seek the assistance of Facebook like bot, to help deliver the content to the right audience.
  • Other Booms: Smartphone use, Digital Video, TikTok, Mobile Proximitity Payments, Food & Bev Ecommerce, Click & Collect. All of these are taking off, whether users are researching on how they can “Grow your TikTok” or looking into the best way to create professional digital videos, they are seeing what is available to them and how they can use it for their benefit. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and the most recent one; TikTok, have turned out to be great advertising platform for brands. With the craze of TikTok nowadays, businesses prefer advertising on the platform with the help of marketing firms who can collaborate with creators and create unique ads (such as these TikTok ad examples) to advertise their products.

Facebook Strikes Again

Well, this is fun. For nearly a year, advertisers using Facebook’s conversion lift studies tool were unknowingly being fed faulty data. The cause? A code error undercounted reached conversions in conversion lift tests by several thousand advertisers between Aug. 15, 2019, and Aug. 31 of this year.

Advertisers use conversion lift studies, a free tool provided by Facebook, to measure the incrementally of their Facebook ads and make decisions about their Facebook spending. With incorrect data, those decisions would be severely compromised or incorrect. Advertisers have felt increasingly disillusioned with social media spending.

Thanksgiving 2020: A Little Different

Thanksgiving will likely lose its title as the busiest travel time of the year this year. AAA anticipates at least a 10% drop in travel – the largest one-year decrease since the Great Recession in 2008, while the CDC has urged Americans to rethink travel plans and large gatherings for the holiday.

All this to say, Thanksgiving will probably look a little different this year: maybe you’re not seeing your family, maybe dinner is over Zoom, maybe you’re still undecided. But regardless: Happy Thanksgiving my friends! From all of us at Bidtellect, we are so grateful for you and your support this year. We are sending extra love to all of those who weathered tragedy and trials this year. May 2021 be the best year yet.

With love,

Charlotte

Want more need-to-know info? Subscribe to our monthly Bidtellectual newsletter!


Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.

Why You Should Factor Diversity Into Your Strategy This Black History Month

How and why you should make diversity your advertising priority.

Behind the Platform: Using Peer39 For Brand Safety & Keyword Targeting

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the three key uses for the Peer39 integration in Bidtellect’s DSP, while offering helpful tips for traders and advertisers to get the most out of Bidtellect’s product.

Behind the Platform: Tracking Emissions With Bidtellect Scope3 Integration, Plus What to Know About Supply Path Emissions

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the new Scope3 integration in Bidtellect’s platform, how you can take actionable steps to reduce carbon waste, and the current state of the industry’s wasteful supply path emissions.

Bidtellect Releases Generation 5.0 of Native DSP: These Are the Exact Updates

Bidtellect Releases Generation 5.0 of Native DSP: These Are the Exact Updates

This week, Bidtellect announced Generation 5.0 of its nDSP (Native Demand Side Platform). The latest generation is a culmination of at least two years of advancements that further differentiate Bidtellect from other Native and omni-channel DSPs in the industry, creating one of the most performance-driven, client-first, and brand- and privacy-safe platforms in the space.

The move to Generation 5.0 has been overseen by Chief Technology Officer, Michael Conway: “I take pride in the fact that we have defined a new level of performance within our platform that has outperformed our competitors in almost every KPI and metric when compared through head-to-head tests by our clients.”

Generation 5.0 is comprised of advancements in three main categories: Insights & Optimization, Usability, and Privacy. 

Here’s the breakdown:

Insights & Optimization: Improve Decision-Making from Placement-Level to High-Level Strategy

Bidtellect’s optimization capabilities through its IntellibidTM suite of technologies are a key component to earning maximum ROI for advertisers and informing strategic campaign decisions.To further support optimization goals and offer deeper insights for its clients, Bidtellect has released several new transparency and advanced analytics features. 

  • Pacing Visibility: Better pacing insight in the DSP 
  • CPCV10 CPCV10-New-Flat CPCV (10 seconds): A brand new bid type in the DSP, Cost per Completed 10 second View. Only pay when 10 seconds of video has completed 
  • Geo Reporting: Geo Reporting with visualization in the DSP 
  • Report Builder: Build custom reports and schedule email delivery from within the DSP 
  • PageURL Reporting
  • Native DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimization): improvements
  • Multiple Conversion Events for Optimization 
  • eCPC Optimization Goal Type: A brand new optimization goal whose objective is to achieve the least expensive cost per click for a campaign 

 

Usability: Client-First Ease of Use

In addition to optimization performance driven from placement level granularity and decision-making power, Bidtellect also prioritized usability for its clients. Generation 5.0 now provides more information and cuts down on the amount of time required to make changes to campaigns.

  • Bulk Edit / Advanced Bulk Editing: Bulk Edit Ad Types, Inventory Quality, Optimization Goals, Categories, and Audiences 
  • Audit Trail Enhancements: Better, searchable, more functional, and more complete audit trail 
  • Creative Flighting: Set start dates and end dates for individual creatives within a campaign 
  • Audience Page Redesign: A total redesign of the audience creation and management section of the DSP 
  • Cross Device and Frequency Capping
  • Creative Flighting
  • Creative Validation Refactor
  • New Visualization Library for DSP

 

Privacy and Compliance: Leading the Movement to a Cookie-Less Future

Bidtellect has continued to ensure that it complies fully with the industry’s ever-changing privacy and data regulations, giving consumers greater control and transparency into their data. To provide this assurance, Generation 5.0 adheres to the latest regulations and IAB frameworks required to maintain a competitive edge.

  • TCF 2.0 (Transparency Consent Framework) Compliance
  • GDPR Compliance
  • CCPA Compliance
  • TAG Certified
  • Cookieless: Trade Desk ID Integrations
  • Cookieless: LiveRamp Identity Link  (Bidtellect was the first DSP to integrate with both)
  •  

 

Reach out for a head-to-head performance test.

Want more need-to-know info? Subscribe to our monthly Bidtellectual newsletter!


This Week in Digital Advertising: Goodbye “Sadvertising” & Holding Agencies Hostage over TikTok

This Week in Digital Advertising: Goodbye “Sadvertising” & Holding Agencies Hostage over TikTok

Hello Bidtellectuals!

Congratulations to Bidtellectual of the Week Jennifer Zeidler Bender

The Latest:

Creative assets feeling a little stale lately? Holiday campaigns are underway, so consider a quick upgrade if you haven’t already. Check out these resources below. If you’re working with us, utilize our in-house creative team, [b]+studio.

Coronavirus Crisis: The Latest Numbers and How Advertisers Can Adjust

Some good news: Pfizer announced it had successfully developed a vaccine that was 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants. The only bummer is it makes you feel like you have a bad bad hangover. And the fatality rate of infected people has decreased by 30% since April due to improved treatment. 

Now the bad news: just in time for the holidays, coronavirus cases are spiking around the country, with several states breaking daily case records. California passed the grim milestone of 1 million infections. New York and New Jersey are re-implementing restrictions. 

Around the world, Japan suffered record infections and the UK has implemented a second lockdown. Rumor has it there’s a bacon shortage.

What does this mean for advertisers?

→ Adjust messaging to the changing climate. This isn’t like the holidays last year. 

→ It’s more important than ever for brands to get the tone of their ads right now,” said Kantar’s Head of creative excellence in the U.K. Lynne Deason. And stay away from “sadvertising.” It didn’t work the first time around.

→ Instead, focus on bringing hope through messaging, offering promotions for the shift to more cost-conscious buying, and local travel/limited family time this year. 

→ Don’t forget mobile. Everyone’s shopping on their phones, even from home.

MediaMath Teams Up with Merkle

The duo announced they’re teaming up to solve online identity for a world without cookies. Merkle’s Merkury ID solution will fully integrate into MediaMath’s SOURCE platform, designed to help advertisers identify consumers across devices. 

Two London Guys Hijak the TikTok Handles of Top UK Ad Agencies

That’s one way to get an interview. Two 27-year-old Londoners created TikTok handles for top agencies including Mother London, BBH London, AMV BBDO and Lucky Generals, and said they’d only give them up in exchange for jobs. I kind of love this? 

Good News

Holiday season is officially underway!

Stay safe friends, 
Charlotte

Want more need-to-know info? Subscribe to our monthly Bidtellectual newsletter!


Charlotte Otremba is Sr. Manager of Communications and Marketing at Bidtellect.

Why You Should Factor Diversity Into Your Strategy This Black History Month

How and why you should make diversity your advertising priority.

Behind the Platform: Using Peer39 For Brand Safety & Keyword Targeting

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the three key uses for the Peer39 integration in Bidtellect’s DSP, while offering helpful tips for traders and advertisers to get the most out of Bidtellect’s product.

Behind the Platform: Tracking Emissions With Bidtellect Scope3 Integration, Plus What to Know About Supply Path Emissions

Bidtellect VP of Product Arthur Hainline demonstrates the new Scope3 integration in Bidtellect’s platform, how you can take actionable steps to reduce carbon waste, and the current state of the industry’s wasteful supply path emissions.