Xaxis EMEA President John Wittesaele has spent the best part of two decades launching and growing adtech businesses. We asked him what his top tips for programmatic success are.
Everyone is under pressure to get results now. But there is no good way to cut corners on data quality. Unless marketers understand what motivates their audience, how their customers behave online and what developing data signals really mean for their campaigns, then they can risk reaching the wrong people, in the wrong way, at the wrong time. Misunderstanding your audience can be costly and affect any ongoing campaigns. My advice? Listen to your data teams and give them what they need, even if it’s that most precious of commodities — time.
When programmatic advertising is done well, it can achieve media-buying efficiency, scale, and intelligent audience reach. However, if marketers see this as coming at a risk to brand safety, then these benefits fade into the background. It is our [the AdTech industry] responsibility to begin conversations about brand safety at the same time as discussing a marketer’s campaign objectives.
Multivariate testing (MVT) and dynamic creative optimisation (DCO) are incredibly powerful tools. At Xaxis, we’ve been able to achieve fantastic results using just these two tools. Of course, it only works if you also have top-flight creatives who are used to working with dynamic content. This is really where forward-thinking creatives, able to work with tech and data teams, come into their own.
Artificial intelligence technologies currently in use, and under development, allow us to process data in quantities and at speeds that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. As we move towards programs which not only recognise trends in data and learn from their experience, but can also improve themselves, we can expect to achieve even greater efficiencies. Invest in your algorithms.
Despite a rapid move towards AI technologies, obtaining the best data remains unrealised if you don’t have the analysts and data scientists capable of working with it. Only people can turn data into information. The people who combine a mathematical mind with an empathetic ability to understand the human implications of data are going to become increasingly valuable. So, treasure your teams. Help them build rewarding and intellectually satisfying careers so that they can use the full extent of their talents to help your clients.
