08 Nov Programmatic + Geofencing Advertising: A Beginner’s Guide
There are ads and then there are ADS. When you level up your marketing efforts to include programmatic and geofencing ads, it goes far beyond making a few educated guesses and hoping your spend makes an impact. We’re talking about laser-focused audience targeting.
At Stitchcraft, we recently had a client inadvertently refer to her programmatic ads as <whelp> “problematic” and now we have an in-house joke where we refer to them using the same term! In speaking with our clients, we’ve discovered an almost universal confusion around programmatic advertising and geofencing. What do these ads actually do, and when should they be employed?
Advertising should be more than a guessing game where you’re crossing your fingers and hoping all your spent ad dollars deliver results. Let’s talk about the differences between programmatic advertising and geofencing and discover how they elevate your advertising efforts to make an ad budget work hard for you.
What is Programmatic Advertising?
Programmatic advertising automates the ads placement process using specialized, algorithmic software. In the old days, advertisers would have to manually place ads on websites and apps and go through a process involving proposals, quotes, and negotiations. This was time consuming, difficult to scale up, and relied on the individual to make judgments and decisions on a case by case basis.
With programmatic advertising, ads are targeted based on analytics and defined by parameters such as audience age, location, device type, purchasing and browsing behaviors, and more. The buying and placement process is streamlined and automated via real-time bidding platforms, which buy and sell ads based on impressions in an instant auction format. The system makes it possible to purchase and place ads in seconds.
Where are Programmatic Ads placed?
You’re on the internet, so you’ve seen programmatic ads already—they’re everywhere. The Display ads placed at the top of websites that look like billboards are programmatic ads, as are the banner ads you see as you scroll down a website on your cell phones. Display ads can be either static or dynamic (video).
Programmatic ads include:
- Display ads on websites
- Ads on streaming services like Apple TV and Hulu
- Ads on streaming platforms like Roku and Xbox or Playstation
- Ads on shopping sites (and apps) like Amazon
- Ads placed as video pre-roll on YouTube (the video ad before the video content)
- Ads placed as Native ads that blend into websites to appear as content
- Streaming audio ads on podcasts and radio
- Physical ads seen on the street: billboards, hotel televisions, gas stations, movie theaters, and anywhere a digital screen is visible!
Why should I use Programmatic Advertising?
We encourage you to explore the possibilities of Programmatic Advertising because there are several benefits. As mentioned earlier, the process is incredibly efficient. With Programmatic Advertising, it’s possible to purchase and place ads, including targeted advertising content, in less than a second.
Programmatic Advertising also allows greater control over where ads will appear, so relevancy to your target audience is ensured. Greater reach is also possible given that hard data and analytics drive Programmatic Ad placements. Because it’s an automated process driven by algorithms, it’s also easier to evaluate results, maximize optimization, and access real-time measurements.
What is Geofencing?
Geofencing is location-based marketing that targets customers once they enter a defined area. Think of Geofencing as drawing a virtual “fence” around a given zone; when a customer crosses that “fence,” Geofencing delivers an ad to their mobile device.
Geofencing relies on WiFi and GPS to target customers, which means they must have their location services turned on to receive geofenced ads.
Why would I want to use Geofencing?
Imagine you own a quilt shop within a mile of this year’s Quilt Market show in Houston. You could draw a geofence around the Quilt Market location so that anyone who enters the designated area will see your advertisement on social media or websites alerting them to a special event at your store.
At Stitchcraft, we’ve geofenced craft-related trade shows nationally for a client seeking to grow his exhibitor list; we’ve targeted a local quilt museum for a quilt shop client within a 1-hour radius; and we’ve targeted the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival for a yarn shop client located in the NYC area seeking to create brand awareness for her brick and mortar shop.
Geofencing is fantastic for hyper-targeted, location-based marketing that reaches customers at an exact time and place. Targeting specific users in a focused area creates greater opportunities for engagement—you know your ads are being delivered to extremely relevant audiences.
Geofencing is also a great way to increase awareness around your brand and brick and mortar location. Several of our clients have complained that they are located in an area with increasing competition from other local retailers. They know they’re serving an engaged community of crafters, but they don’t know how to make that community aware of their presence and offerings. Geofencing increases and strengthens opportunities for reaching local customers.
Both Programmatic Advertising and Geofencing offer businesses an opportunity to expand their customer base and reach existing customers with new and innovative methods. However, we understand the trepidation around navigating a constantly evolving digital advertising landscape. We’re here to help! Stitchcraft Marketing is a marketing agency of crafting experts. We customize every program to showcase your brand, engage your customer base, and generate sales in a way that is nothing less than magical. If you’d like to work with us, contact us today to get started!
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