Last year around this time, we shared what the ecosystem can do to up its game in the coming year. We're back again with insights on where to focus in 2019 to be a better marketer for your consumers, coworkers and partners.
1. Make identity a priority: Identity is the foundation of all marketing. You must be able to recognize your consumers before you reach them. With DoubleClick’s decision this year to stop populating the encrypted UserID field in DoubleClick Campaign Manager and DoubleClick Bid Manager for consumers globally, marketers wanting to maximize campaign effectiveness and achieve maximum relevance for consumers must now consider alternative solutions for identity. There are open, enterprise-class identity solutions hitting the market that combine the reach of probablistic and the accuracy of deterministic with a privacy-compliant approach to help you recognize your consumers.
2. Make consumers more comfortable about data: In line with the above, consumers get nervous when you mention "identity." It's on marketers to explain why being able to collect certain data and reach consumers across devices can help in delivering them better advertising experiences. State your data privacy policies upfront and stay up-to-date on privacy law, which is now impacting states like California.
3. Keep cleaning that supply chain: We're repeating ourselves from last year, but that's because there is still work to be done. Fraudsters create new devious schemes for cheating you of your advertising dollars all the time. Choose the right partners to carefully monitor your supply relationships and keep vigil over fraud and brand-unsafe content. Private marketplaces present one way to secure transparency and priority in the inventory process and limit the risk of fraud.
4. Cautiously explore new tech: Blockchain, AI, virtual reality. It's worth staying up-to-date on the evolution of emerging technology, but don't heavily invest until you know how it can drive your business forward. AI can be applied to marketing today, particularly in the bidding and personalization process, but other tech like blockchain is still in their infancy.
5. Keep your friends close: Most brands need good partners to help them achieve their goals. If you feel like you need to put your agency out to pitch, by all means, do it. But don't feel fooled that you don't need an agency at all. Agencies' institutionalized knowledge and combined buying power bring many benefits to brands, not to mention their media planning and creative chops. This will continue to be the case.
Photo from Creative Commons