Marketing technology has gone through massive shifts over the last decade, transitioning from random banner placements and boost posting to intricate campaigns requiring just a few clicks that ensure ad relevancy, maximized reach, and optimized ad spend.
Today, software plays a crucial role in setting up and executing ad campaigns. AdTech platforms have changed the way marketers approach digital advertising for a good reason. Keep on reading to find out how these different advertising tools work and how you can get the most from them.
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What Are AdTech Platforms?
AdTech, in general, is a term used to describe several software platforms and tools for setting up highly effective ad campaigns and displaying them to potential customers. AdTech, or advertising technology, allows marketers to leverage copious amounts of audience data, more precise audience targeting, optimize ad spend, and evaluate the results of their initiatives.
Based on consumer information, AdTech platforms enable marketers to create more personalized advertising strategies, displaying the ads to qualified prospects in a way that resonates with them the most.
Why Use an AdTech Platform?
Starting with banner ads, advertising approaches are always focused on showing an ad to as many people as possible and all applicable channels. While this strategy can still be effective (for increasing brand awareness, for example), it’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to targeting the most qualified potential customer for the least amount of money.
AdTech does exactly this — it enables you to create a personalized approach to reach the most qualified users on any digital channel, delivering the message at the right time and establishing a more profound connection. This results in a more effective advertising approach for a lower cost. AdTech sacrifices quantity for quality, which isn’t much of a loss as marketers can better monetize their digital assets while users get the most relevant deals and offers they are interested in.
They are quite effective, with 68% of marketers saying that programmatic and AdTech strategies have improved their ROI considerably.
AdTech Platforms: Essential Tools
Advertising technology relies on many software solutions and digital tools to set up and execute these effective campaigns. Here are a few of the most popular options.
- Supply-side platforms (SSP)
- Demand-side platforms (DSP)
- Agency trading desks (ATD)
- Customer data platforms (CDP)
- Ad exchanges
- Ad networks
- Ad servers
Supply-Side Platforms (SSP)
These are software that sells ad inventory, helping websites monetize their audiences and optimize ad impressions more effectively. SSPs allow publishers to place their ad space on various networks, such as ad exchanges or demand-side platforms. As soon as the demand-side or ad exchange platform receives a new offer from a site owner, they buy it out.
Naturally, the available space must adhere to the pre-established selection criteria. Site owners should highlight where exactly on the page the ads will be shown and who will see them. Once the ad space has been approved, brands looking to purchase the ad space participate in a real-time bidding (RTB) auction. This way, the site owner can choose which brand will be featured on their site, and specify the price and the ad space location.
SSPs have become quite sophisticated in displaying advertiser requests, audience segments, and campaign analytics. These are all essential for publishers, as they allow them to create their content and copywriting strategy in a way that best resonates with the audience. Some of the most popular SSPs include:
Demand-Side Platforms (DSP)
This is the opposite of SSP. Via DSPs, advertisers and agencies buy ad inventory, optimize ad placements, and manage campaigns. With DSPs, ad space is bought automatically, making the media buying process more straightforward for advertisers.
Also, only ad places that match the brand’s preferences and specifications, such as geolocation, previous online interests, and other relevant data are considered.
Here are some of the most popular DSPs:
Agency Trading Desks (ATD)
These are services provided by ad agencies that take care of buying, planning, and managing advertising on different platforms. It’s like a miniature version of DSPs because it performs a fraction of its functions.
ATDs can be great for advertisers who are not yet ready to allocate a larger budget to DSP advertising or expand their sales teams. However, it’s worth remembering that compared to demand-side platforms, ATDs have limited capabilities, and chances are, you won’t get the best quality ad inventory.
Customer Data Platforms (CDP)
These AdTech platforms are parts of other software that combine different data from other tools to create centralized customer databases. CDPs contain all information about the interactions and touchpoints your customers have with your services or products. Audiences can be segmented into an almost infinite number of categories to create highly targeted ad campaigns.
Prominent CDPs include:
Ad Exchanges
These AdTech platforms are virtual marketplaces where website publishers and advertisers can connect to buy and sell ad space, mostly via real-time auctions, with ad formats ranging from simple desktop banner ads to mobile ad space.
The trading platforms collect the supply-side platform bids from publishers and the bids from advertisers on DSPs. The media selling and buying happens in real-time with RTB technology.
Once a user enters a site, the action occurs on the ad exchange marketplace. The buyer’s platform will perform a prompt analysis of previous user interactions and interests, and automatically bid for the inventory. The appropriateness and size of the bid are based on the visitors’ characteristics and relevance.
Private Exchanges
These private marketplaces or PMPs are closed systems, allowing publishers more control over the entire process. More precisely, they get to decide which buyers can bid on the inventory, and establish the starting price, and other bidding conditions. Essentially, publishers manage PMPs and buyers get invited to participate in the bids.
Prominent ad exchanges are:
Ad Networks
These are complex AdTech platforms united with the help of a single ad placement system. Ad networks are online systems that function on Ad Servers. Business owners and advertisers can place ads via one central system, providing tracking, audience targeting, and reporting.
The networks work with publishers, helping those with untapped ad space or media resources. They aggregate the resources and sell them as packages for advertisers. The three different network types include vertical, horizontal, and premium.
Vertical Ad Networks
These ad networks offer high-precision targeting and are often considered superior to horizontal models, as they are more likely to bring more conversions. However, it’s also more difficult to cooperate with these networks, as platforms with available ad space must adhere to specific criteria and thematic niches. In other words, vertical ad networks are more industry-focused and only work with specific platforms.
Horizontal Ad Networks
These will work with several publishers with a low entry threshold, meaning there will be different sites with varying quality. These networks also work on the cost-per-click (CPC) model, meaning payments are only made if the user clicks on the ads. Horizontal ad networks are great for small-budget ad campaigns or if you don’t yet have a specific targeted audience.
Premium Ad Networks
As you may suspect, these networks tend to work with high-profile publishers like Huffington Post or The Times. Getting access to premium ad networks can also be difficult, as their service quality is exceptional.
Good examples of prominent ad networks:
Ad Servers
Ad server refers to a web-based software and technology platform that enables direct ad placements on websites. The server provides automatic ad material translation to the target site, calculator clicks, impressions, and other RTB ecosystem elements, and comes with ad optimization tools too.
Ad Servers for Advertisers and Publishers
There is a variety of servers for advertisers and publishers but all function by the same principle: storing and sorting data from one site to the other. Publishers use the servers to control resources, optimize delivery, organize ad placements, and offer statistics, while advertisers use the servers to manage their creatives and control campaign progress.
Managed Service and Self-Service Ad Servers
With self-service servers, you are in full control of your campaigns and everything that happens with your inventory and creatives. Managed services allow you to outsource processes and concentrate on other aspects of your business.
Remote and Local Servers
Ad servers can either be remote or local. The latter is physically accessible and usually owned by the publishers. Remote servers can be used by previously buying remote access to them.
Trends and Technologies Shaping the Future of AdTech Platforms
Advertising tools and software evolve with technological advancements and market changes. As technology changes, so do AdTech marketing campaigns, aiming to bring even better results for advertisers, publishers, and brands.
Below are the latest technologies that are forming the future of AdTech.
- Machine learning and AI: AdTech can highly benefit from the intricate learning algorithms of artificial intelligence. AI can help fine-tune targeting by gathering and analyzing more data about consumers much faster.
- Big Data: Predictive analytics and other data analytics are quintessential at all sales funnel stages, making Big Data an integral part of AdTech campaigns. In addition to the massive amount of information, the technology also allows us to identify and segment different data sources to help advertisers get the most useful targeting information.
- Voice technology: With the popularity of podcasts, AdTech platforms are also starting to offer interactive offers for advertisers. A good example is Google’s dynamic audio advertising.
- Interactivity and gamification: Virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) are also shaping the present and future of AdTech. From simple gamification processes such as QR codes to other interactive options, gamified ads engage users on another level.
- Creative personalization and automation: Personalization is a key element in any effective campaign. By automating the process of creating various, personalized variations of a creative, marketers can maximize campaign efficiency and engagement, while saving precious time and resources.
AdTech Platforms: Conclusion
AdTech represents a massive leap forward in advertising technologies, allowing marketers to launch more personalized campaigns quickly, at a larger scale, with more creatives, and with a better return on investment. As the supporting technologies of these platforms advance constantly, ad campaigns will become more refined, reaching the most qualified leads for the least amount of money.
AdTech Platforms FAQs
1. Should marketers familiarize themselves with AdTech?
Absolutely. It allows advertising and marketing agencies to effectively manage and optimize several campaigns at once for their clients. The automated nature of these platforms can also help minimize oversights and human error, which can happen often when paid ad specialists manage and control several campaigns simultaneously without automated assistance.
2. Should all businesses use AdTech platforms?
No. For starters, smaller businesses might not have the budget to do so, and second, they may still see significant conversions and sales boosts from other, more traditional advertising and marketing methods.
3. Can brands use AdTech platforms without expert help?
Technically, they can, but the learning curve is usually steep, and the platforms require users to understand the nuances of the different systems. As such, to maximize the potential of any AdTech endeavor, businesses are highly encouraged to partner up with seasoned advertising agencies who understand the intricacies involved in AdTech campaigns.
