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How to WIN: Align your audience strategies for editorial and advertising

As we mentioned in A1, women make up 49.75% of the world’s population and accounted for and account for over $31.8 trillion in worldwide spending per year. By 2028, women across the globe are projected to own 75% of discretionary spending, according to Nielsen.
These are enormous figures when we think about advertising and how important it is that online advertisements are successful - for both the advertiser - and for you as the publisher (we will cover this in more detail in this lesson.)
We also know that women are more engaged in stories and content that they feel represents them and their interests
Therefore, as you think about your own strategy for online advertising, consider how much attention is paid to ensuring you understand your audience - particularly the women in your audience - so that your ad placements align with the articles or webpages in which they are found

In late 2016, BBC presenter Ros Atkins started to experiment with improving the gender balance of the sources featured on his TV programme, Outside Source. As a result, women sources featured on the programme went from 29% to 51% in the space of four months. And while the BBC’s broadcast rankings went down 2% in two years, Outside Source’s rankings went up 25%.

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Table of Contents

SECTION 1: Online advertising and why clicks matter

How it works

The CTR conundrum

The other click metrics

STOP AND THINK: Being targeted (and targeting) as a data point online: a good business model?

SECTION 2: Selling advertising online

Roles and functions of a sales team

The rise of programmatic

How programmatic works

Making money in digital advertising

INDIVIDUAL QUIZ ASSIGNMENT: You must complete the short online quiz to progress to the next module.

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SECTION 1

In this section we will get a refresher in the mechanics of online advertising, how it works and why clicks matter - as explained in the introductory video. We will also do a bit of a deep-dive into the metrics around clicks, what is measured, how and why - and understand the “fat finger” problem - which is quite simply when advertisers get quite excited about people clicking on their ads - although it is usually by accident!

In the discussion section, I am asking you to consider how you feel about being “targeted” online - and if you feel this is a viable business model to monetise for your own customers and readers.

As Jonathan Zittrain, an American professor of Internet law and International Law at Harvard Law School, said: “When something online is free, you’re not the customer, you’re the product.”

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ONLINE ADVERTISING:�THE MECHANICS

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Video link: A lesson in advertising

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You're being watched. That sounded more sinister than intended, but online, it's true. Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Netflix... the list goes on and on.
They're watching what you do, what you shop for, what you watch... all of it. And have you actually read the Terms of Service?
In this episode of Crash Course Media Literacy, Jay Smooth talks about how online advertising works and why companies want to know everything you're looking at.

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Online advertising: a refresher from A2

An HTTP cookie (also called a tag, or tracker, web cookie, internet cookie, browser cookie, or simply cookie) is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user’s computer by the user’s web browser while the user is browsing.
More info here
Third-party cookies are used for all ad retargeting and behavioural advertising
By adding tags to a page, advertisers can track a user or device across different sites
That helps build a profile of the user, so messages can be better targeted to their interests
For a video walkthrough, click here (A2 video on Online advertising and retargeting)

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Online advertising … and why clicks matter

“Clicks” matter on a website, because every click leads a user a) either to another web page, at which point they are served more adverts or b) to the page owned by the advertiser themselves if the click was on the advert or c) to another story on your website - thus driving traffic and more impressions!
It is VERY important for advertisers that they know how “successful” their ad has been, which is why this metric exists, although there is a lot of smoke and mirrors involved.
(Why clicks matter for journalists is covered in lesson A5: Audience Measurement)

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More on CTRs from Google:

Click-through rate (CTR): Definition

A ratio showing how often people who see your ad end up clicking it. Click-through rate (CTR) can be used to gauge how well your keywords and ads are performing.

CTR is the number of clicks that your ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown: clicks ÷ impressions = CTR. For example, if you had 5 clicks and 100 impressions, then your CTR would be 5%.

Each of your ads and keywords have their own CTRs that you can see listed in your account.

A high CTR is a good indication that users find your ads helpful and relevant. CTR also contributes to your keyword's expected CTR, which is a component of Ad Rank. Note that a good CTR is relative to what you're advertising and on which networks.

You can use CTR to gauge which ads and keywords are successful for you and which need to be improved. The more your keywords and ads relate to each other and to your business, the more likely a user is to click your ad after searching on your keyword phrase.

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Listen and Learn: CTRs and “fat fingers”

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Online advertising … the CTR conundrum

This click-through rate or *CTR, is the number of clicks that your ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown
An acceptable click-through rate for banner ads (display ads) is between 0.10% and 0.30% - a very low rate
A high CTR is a good return on investment (ROI) for the advertiser and a poor CTR is not good
CTR is a fairly useless measure because surveys have shown that people DO NOT often click on ads on purpose. Known as the “fat finger” problem, it is estimated up to 60% of clicks are accidental!
The “fat finger” showed very good results when tablets first came out, because the accidental fumbling and clicking on ads led to much better CTRs overall. The same applies for smaller smartphones.

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More on CTRs from Google:

Click-through rate (CTR): Definition

A ratio showing how often people who see your ad end up clicking it. Click-through rate (CTR) can be used to gauge how well your keywords and ads are performing.

Each of your ads and keywords have their own CTRs that you can see listed in your account.

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Fat fingers: research shows that 60% of clicks on advertising on mobile are accidental!

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‘Click’ metrics in online marketing:

Other “click” and “cost” metrics to understand about online advertising and digital marketing:
CPM: Cost per Mille: The amount paid per impression (ad serving) is calculated by dividing the CPM by 1,000. For example, a $10 CPM equals $.01 (0.1 cent) per impression.
eCPM: what a publisher actually earns vs what the advertiser paid.
What is the difference between CPM and eCPM? CPM is the rate that advertisers pay per 1000 impressions. eCPM is the ad revenue of a publisher per 1000 impressions.
The calculation is as follows: eCPM = (total earnings/total impressions) x 1,000

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And more ‘click’ metrics in online marketing:

eCPMs differ a lot depending on where the ad is placed (above the “fold” (top half of the web page) or below the fold), your traffic geography, seasonality, site speed, user engagement, and even your niche. In general for a publisher monetising with display ads, one can expect an eCPM range of $4 - $10, but it is often MUCH lower.
CPC: Cost per click
CPL: Cost per lead
CPA: Cost per acquisition
CPH: Cost per hour (attention metric - how long an ad was in view)
RTB: Real Time Bidding

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Stop & Think

^{Let’s stop and think for a moment:}

^{What did you think about the information in the opening video? How do you feel about being targeted as a “data point” online - is it useful to you to only see relevant material, or do you find it creepy to “be followed” by ads?}
^{Bear in mind this is how you will monetise your own readers on your websites: can you see where the value may lie in this business model?}
^{Did the explanation of CTRs help with your overall understanding?}
^{This is a good read on the history of online advertising:}^{click here to read.}

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SECTION 2

In section 2 of this Session we will be talking about advertising sales.

Now, as much as we are concerned about cost-cutting, productivity and efficiency in news businesses, there is nothing more important than actual revenue. The sales department is responsible for selling the beautiful products we produce, the amazing apps, the websites, TV channels, radio content - and of course our newspapers.

But we are concerned today with talking about digital advertising: the blocks of advertising that you see on websites or apps, usually called display ads, banner ads or CPM advertising.

I will move into the science of programmatic advertising, and you will find another video with some more instruction on what programmatic advertising is, and how it works.

Finally you will find a few slides on making money in online: how it is important to diversify revenue streams, but also how good data about your customers is a valuable jumping off point for ramping up digital revenue. Advertisers don’t only buy space, they also buy intelligence.

In the working session and the reflection session, you will be tasked with getting some information about your sales departments: about their structure, their challenges and about their readiness for programmatic trading.

I’m sure you will find that very interesting - and all this information gathering on your own turf is critical to the formulation of a viable digital strategy, so do take the time to do it thoroughly.

Thank you

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SELLING ONLINE ADVERTISING

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Selling online advertising

Traditionally, media houses have run what is called “direct” sales for digital advertising, which would involve a team going out to clients and selling real estate on a desktop, in much the same way as a newspaper would
They would be focused on selling “leaderboards” (above the masthead) , take-overs and wallpaper as well as smaller “banner” ads that appear all over a website, or mobile site or app.
They would use insertion orders and manual processes to achieve this

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The graduation to programmatic ads

A direct sales team has good relationships with clients, and should be commanding higher prices for prime real estate and big takeover deals
More recently, online advertising has largely moved to programmatic sales instead, and this has changed the landscape dramatically
Direct sales teams can also sell programmatic direct deals
(To read more about the guidelines for better advertising, click here.)

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Read more about the science of programmatic marketing in this post by Smart Insights

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“Online advertising may not be much more successful than an old double-barrel, but - like a good spray of buckshot - it makes up for its lack of accuracy with sheer volume.”

DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF�Media theorist

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Listen and Learn: Programmatic Revenue

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The programmatic ecosystem

Simply, programmatic is: “The use of automation in buying and selling of media”.
Publishers (not just us - any owner of online real estate) make inventory available for sale, by loading it into sell side platforms or exchanges
Advertisers and trading desks plug in demand for inventory in demand side platforms
The advertising exchanges trade the inventory, usually with the most sought-after inventory commanding higher prices
Data is overlaid via data management platforms
If inventory is sold on an open auction through real time bidding it is usually very cheap, and this “remnant” inventory is the bottom of the pile

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The programmatic ecosystem in reality

The illustration below shows what standard tagging (cookies) can look like on a publisher website. Double Click is the Google ad network tag, BlueKai is a data platform and Disqus is the commenting engine. Look at how they explode from there! Too many “nested” tags cause latency or slowness on websites, which in turn affects user experience negatively. Users do not like slow websites, and neither do advertisers.

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Google Marketing Platform (example)

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Since July 24, 2018, the DoubleClick and Google Analytics 360 Suite brands have been replaced with Google Marketing Platform.

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Google Marketing Platform (example)

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Key to survival is diversified revenue

After reading through the past few slides, you can see that publishers are in new territory
To really make money in digital advertising you need HUGE volumes of traffic and interaction
Having all your eggs in the print or traditional broadcast basket is not a good tactic for the future
Relying on digital advertising only is also not a good tactic for the future
The main point to take away is that the key to survival is a diversity of revenue streams

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Key to survival is diversified revenue

The industry has also seen an increase in digital revenue opportunities through –

Sponsored content
Social media placements
Video report sponsorship or advertising
Live events, forums
Bundling of products (newspaper + website + social media) and others

To compete in the digital world, we need to understand data and our audiences much more thoroughly: the data we can collect on readers is pivotal. (See the following slide about reader data)

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Data tells us so much more about our readers

According to Narratiive data, sports sites in South Africa are most commonly visited by people who meet the following criteria:

Home owner, single
Spends 5+ hours a day on the internet
Is a joint decision maker in their household
Purchases books & event tickets online
Is very at ease with computers, cell phones & new technology

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Narratiive is an agency that collects and benchmarks audience data for the South African online publishers. Another source of insights: The Interactive Advertising Bureau, South Africa

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Data tells us so much more about our readers

The latest e-Conomy SEA report by Google tells us that SEA’s consumers have reached a pivotal moment of digital fluency, with the majority – up to 65% – of them now participating in the digital economy.
This means that the majority of readers in SEA are not new to consuming digital products and paying for them online; publishers will need to update their strategies to shift from prioritising first-time online readers to maintaining existing ones
Globally, Internet users continue to grow, with the latest data indicating that the world’s connected population grew by 144 million over the past 12 months, and now internet users are now a “supermajority”, with more than twice as many people using the internet as not.
Those new people started taking advantage of online education, groceries, finance, entertainment and other digital services for the first time, causing huge jumps across industries.

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Source:

Think with Google: “e-Conomy SEA 2024: Unlock profitable growth and win online consumers with video commerce”

(Study conducted by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Company)

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/e-conomy-sea-2024/

DataReportal Digital Global Overview

https://datareportal.com/global-digital-overview

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E-Commerce & Online Media in SEA is experiencing growth compared to other sectors

Source:

Think with Google: “e-Conomy SEA 2024: Unlock profitable growth and win online consumers with video commerce”

(Study conducted by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Company)

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/e-conomy-sea-2024/

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e-Commerce is thriving and video content is a driver for growth

Source:

Think with Google: “e-Conomy SEA 2024: Unlock profitable growth and win online consumers with video commerce”

(Study conducted by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Company)

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/e-conomy-sea-2024/

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Making money in digital publishing

We have a unique opportunity in digital to “read” our readers: in print we never knew what they liked or wanted more of, but in digital publishing we can see everything through audience data and metrics
This is an exceptional read about publishers and digital advertising: and Google and Facebook!
Data drives better experiences, better advertising and better opportunities for subscription sales
Because digital advertising is such a difficult and declining source of revenue, many publishers have turned towards reader revenue (online subscriptions) as an option
(We will be covering reader revenue in detail in lesson A7: Reader Revenue)

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Individual �Quiz Assignment

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Please complete the short online quiz to test what you have learnt.

You must score at least 80% in order to progress to the next module.

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