We are rapidly growing into a fully-digitalized world. Digitization: the transformation of secondary (print ads) to tertiary media (online ads). This mundane and normalized process inevitably helps influence an individual’s everyday choice of living digitally; now, digitization is more or less a social norm. Based on a 2018 D21 Digital Index study, 19% of Germany’s population was completely offline in 2017, however, in 2018, it decreased by 3%. Initially offline, today’s online advertising dominates digital devices, particularly through the Internet. Thus, the digitization of advertising also becomes a social domain of digitalization. Today, digital advertising exceeds its physical ad properties that now enable advertisers to better approach their audience. Brands can now sell a tailored message to target their audience. This leaves the opportunity to communicate more relevantly with a potentially-higher user acceptance if approached the right way.

The rapid growth of digitalization sheds a different light to digital advertising

Today in 2019, there are 3.75 billion internet users worldwide, and according to eMarketer, 86.2% of internet users will use mobile devices to go online. Access of the Internet offers users quick information, whether they actively search or stumble upon such content. Forming along a user’s online experience, digital advertising has also changed. Academics J. Scott Brennen and Daniel Kreiss from the University of North Carolina School share that digitalization refers to “the way in which many domains of social life are restructured around digital communication and media infrastructures.”

Instead of simply transitioning print campaigns into its digital counterpart, digitalization allows online marketers to target ads and communicate in different ways that not only benefit a brand, but most importantly, the user. Ad blockers, a brand’s worst nightmare. Users are prone to block or ignore ads out of habit. However, with the opportunity of digitalization, creative strategy brings brands more acceptability and potential lead conversions. Let us have a look at five different ways to look at digital advertising when it comes to approaching a campaign strategy.

#1 There has always been advertisement

Advertisement is an essential component of our daily lives and influences a consumer’s buying decision. These commercial messages are said to have started as far back as pre-modern times. Before going digital in 1994, one of the first recorded print newspaper advertisements in the US was an Oyster Bay estate for sale in the Boston News-Letter. Throughout the 17-19th centuries, ads appeared in newspapers and posters that simply announced their message. By the 20th century, advertising took its first revolutionary turn as the “traditional” ad norm. Technologically, the new layer of media-TVs and radios- along with emotionally-sparked messages dominated the scene.

By 1994, a new standard of advertising lead to where we are today: digital advertising. During this time, HotWired, with another layer of technological advancement- the computer and Internet- brought the first banner ad to the world. With today’s status quo of digital advertising, it is now possible to target ads in a more personalized and comfortable way through native programmatic and creative, compelling campaigns. Advertisement has always been around, which is why online marketers should see digitalization as an opportunity. Digitalization helps increase more user ad acceptance.

#2 No advertisement, no free content

Nothing in this world is free. All the free content that large, well-known online publishers produce require paid advertisement. Many publishers are financed by advertisement, representing a large chunk of their source of income. Ad blocking thus threatens publishers in this way. German publisher, Bild.de, for example, has disabled any content for users with installed ad blocker. However, there are other efficient ways to bridge users and brands. Increased ad blocking can be avoided while giving users control for a better experience. Many publishers have alternative initiatives to enable a win-win scenario.

Due to their advertising need for funding, Wired.com offers two ways to users to access their content without ad blocking. Visitors could enter whitelist, or donate a dollar for an ad-free experience. Hubspot shares that Forbes and the Washington Post ask ad blocker users to subscribe and register for an account to access their content. The Guardian, meanwhile, have continued to give access of content to users while making their call-to-action’s less prominent. Once this concept is understood, advertisers should consider ways to find quality ad slots through programmatic to ensure avoiding ad blocking.

#3 Users need relevant ads exposed at just the right time

The digitalization of advertising attunes to a user’s social domain. With that said, online marketers need to reconsider how they communicate their message in order to achieve higher acceptance. A recent eMarketer survey revealed that over 50% of Internet users worldwide in 2017 block ads, citing ads to be annoying or irrelevant. Meanwhile, 47% of these same respondents cite ads to be too intrusive. Thus, today’s technological abilities, enabled brands can solve ad blockers’ issues. This allows for campaign distribution to users that avoid the interruption towards a flow of reading. With native programmatic and Dynamic Creative Optimization, ad campaigns can find its way to the appropriate user, which sparks interest on the brand message instead of impulsive ad blocking.

#4 Creative ads can win users over

Everybody loves a good story. Advertising today is not just about flashing the product with a “buy our service” neon sign; messages today come in the form of compelling stories. Tapping into users’ socio- and cultural- appeals, brands today target specific groups through captivating content. Take Dove’s personal care campaign, “Real Beauty,” for example, which aims to empower women through relatable messages. Many brands have also turned to using video ad formats and creative strategy to capture the attention of users.

An eMarketer study states that over 30% of US marketers are not using DCO while over 25% are lacking the visualization of creative performance alongside creative images, which would be helpful in achieving better advertising results. The Super Bowl, for example, is widely known for its highly-anticipated advertisements dispersed throughout the major NFL program. According to a Pexeso Inc. report shared by Forbes, there have been over 100 million daily views of ads among 24 digital platforms including YouTube and Facebook over the Super Bowl weekend. This exemplifies that users seek the most creative and entertaining ads.

#5 Digital advertising can expand horizons 

Despite users’ concern of intrusiveness or annoyance, ads can be a great thing. With the right approach, creative elements, and timing, ads are a perfect way to expose users to new things. Think about the positive effects that digital advertising can bring instead of the negative. Ads can inform audiences about the latest trends, new products, services, and more. Dynamic, native ads are a good way to subtly approach users with the appropriate recommendations without interrupting their online experience. Creative content to convey a brand’s message helps advertisers hook users in with a higher chance of acceptance. With the increased use of mobile devices, approaching users with messages this way also exemplifies an effective way for brands to be visible without intruding users. Digital advertising does not have to be perceived as an annoying association, but rather an interestingly informative one.

We as plista understand the challenges that advertisers may face. Therefore, we have the right solutions that answer to you: native programmatic. Reach out to our account managers and learn more here.

Publisher Solutions: here

Advertiser Solutions: here

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plista is a global platform for data-driven native advertising in premium editorial environments and offers advertisers and publishers direct, single-source access to a broad portfolio of native solutions. With its proprietary real-time Recommendation Technology, plista is able to deliver both content and advertising that matches users’ individual interests – across all channels and devices. 

plista’s native ad formats stand out through their strong engagement character and enable advertisers to efficiently target audiences along the entire sales funnel. At the same time, thousands of premium publishers are working successfully with plista in order to achieve outstanding content monetization, increased website stickiness and sustainable traffic growth.