If you frequent LinkedIn, chances are you’ve heard marketers mention “ad tech” and “mar tech” before, and if you’re like me, you’ve wondered what these ubiquitous terms are. Are these newer marketing trends to watch out for?
As marketers, staying updated on the dynamic changes and advancements in our industry can be challenging. Add in the pressure of determining the most effective investment for maximum returns, and you have a recipe for stress. If you find yourself facing this dilemma, this blog post will provide valuable insights to equip you with the necessary information about these two digital marketing tactics.
Ad Tech And Mar Tech
Ad tech and mar tech are terms that refer to the use of technology for marketing and advertising activities. Both of these marketing tools are used to target customers and create marketing strategies that will reach them with the most effective message possible.
What Is Ad Tech?
Ad tech, short for advertising technology, is used by advertisers and marketers to streamline the creation, delivery and measurement of digital advertising campaigns. It involves leveraging data and technology to identify and target specific audiences, optimize ad placements and measure the effectiveness of advertising efforts.
Examples Of Ad Tech
Ad tech is commonly used in online advertisements, including display, search, social media, video and mobile ads. Some familiar examples under this category are:
- Programmatic Advertising refers to the use of automated systems and algorithms to buy and sell digital advertising space in real time. It involves the use of data and technology to target specific audiences and optimize ad placements for maximum effectiveness. Such platforms include:
-
- Google Ads – Being the largest programmatic advertising platform, Google Ads offers a variety of ad formats across different channels, including search, display, video and app ads.
- Facebook Ads Manager — This is a popular programmatic advertising platform which allows advertisers to target specific Facebook audiences based on demographics, interests and behaviors.
- Amazon Advertising – This platform enables advertisers to reach Amazon shoppers across various channels, including search, display and video.
-
- Data Management Platforms (DMPs) are tools that collect, analyze and segment data from various sources, such as website cookies, customer databases and third-party data providers. Advertisers can use DMPs to better understand their audiences and create targeted advertising campaigns. Here are some popular platforms used by marketers:
-
- Adobe Audience Manager – This platform allows businesses to gather, organize and visualize data from various sources such as web analytics, CRM, device data and e-commerce to create targeted advertising campaigns and integrate them in various ad networks.
- Salesforce Audience Studio – Similar to Adobe, it centralizes audience data from varied sources through unifying user profiles into a single source.
-
- Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO): These are tools used to create and deliver personalized and dynamic ad creatives to different audiences in real time. These platforms use data and automation to optimize ad creatives based on user behavior, preferences and context to increase engagement and conversions. Some examples of DCO platforms are:
-
- Google Ads and Google Display & Video 360 – This comprehensive platform allows advertisers to create personalized ads within the Google Display Network based on a user’s search history, demographics and interests.
- Thunder – This cloud-based DCO platform provides real-time personalization and creative optimization capabilities to enable marketers in delivering more engaging and relevant ads to target audiences.
-
- Cross-Device Targeting helps advertisers deliver personalized ads to users across multiple devices, such as desktop computers, smartphones, tablets and smart TVs. Here are some familiar cross-device targeting platforms:
-
- Google Ads – With an expansive network of websites, search engines and digital tools, this platform gives users ad placement options and utilizes customer online behavior to deliver customized content.
- Facebook Custom Audience – This user-friendly platform identifies and targets your audience based on data involving device usage or overall online behavior across a variety of Meta technologies.
- Criteo – This platform is known for its advanced ad retargeting using data-driven insights, they enable marketers to deliver personalized ads to millions of users across multiple channels.
-
- Social Media Advertising: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn offer their own suite of ad tech tools allowing advertisers to create, manage and optimize advertising campaigns on each of these platforms. These tools provide targeting options, ad creative templates and performance analytics to help advertisers reach their desired audiences and achieve their advertising goals.
Mar Tech Defined
Marketing technology, or mar tech, refers to the use of technological tools and platforms to automate marketing activities. It includes a wide range of technologies such as software, hardware and services used by marketers to plan, execute and analyze marketing campaigns through data-driven insights, personalized customer experiences and marketing performance analytics.
Examples of Mar Tech
Mar tech encompasses tools for digital marketing, social media management, content creation and management, customer relationship management (CRM), analytics and more. Since these are more commonly used in the marketing world, you may not realize that your company is already utilizing some of the platforms under this category.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Platforms enable businesses to manage customer data, track customer interactions and automate marketing processes. Some of these platforms are the following:
-
- Salesforce – This popular CRM platform is known for its powerful customization and comprehensive analytics which empowers users to track marketing and sales leads and measure KPIs.
- HubSpot. If you are looking to streamline tasks for maximum efficiency with minimal data entry required, this is the platform for you.
- Marketo. This platform helps businesses identify demographics and craft tailored campaigns all while providing valuable insight into how marketing channels are affecting revenue.
-
- Email Marketing Software allows marketers to create and send targeted email campaigns to their subscribers, track engagement and analyze results. Leading software includes:
-
- MailChimp – This user-friendly email editor and advanced analytics tool can be integrated into a company’s social media platforms.
- Sendinblue – This marketing software tool enables integration of email marketing with SMS campaigns and live chat to provide a seamless communication experience to customers.
-
- Content Management Systems (CMS) assist in the creation, management and publication of digital content such as websites, blogs, articles and videos. You may have probably heard of some of these:
- Social Media Management Tools are useful in scheduling and publishing social media posts, monitoring social media mentions and analyzing social media performance. The more famous tools used by marketers are:
-
- Hootsuite – This tool is your all-in-one social media scheduler and manager and enables marketers to add multiple accounts across different platforms.
- Sprout Social – This resource provides a powerful platform for understanding your audience, industry and niche by analyzing social media engagement. Additionally, it has social media scheduling capabilities.
-
- Digital Analytics Tools enable marketers to track and analyze website traffic, user behavior and campaign performance to make data-driven marketing decisions. Examples include:
-
- Google Analytics – As usual, Google sets the standard when it comes to analytics. They offer a comprehensive source for website owners who want actionable insights about their visitors.
- Adobe Analytics – This tool offers flexible segmentation, customization options and conversion capabilities to allow businesses to dive deep into the inner workings of their marketing funnel.
-
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools help marketers optimize their website for search engines, track keyword rankings and perform competitor analysis. Here are a few examples:
Advantages Of Ad Tech and Mar Tech
Marketers utilize a combination of ad tech and mar tech to amplify their brand awareness and garner key customer insights.
In today’s dynamic digital landscape, ad tech and mar tech strategies are critical for business success. It’s not enough for companies to simply implement these technologies; they must also optimize their potential through careful tool and vendor selection,data management and integrations.
Both ad tech and mar tech can benefit businesses if used wisely. Some potential applications include:
-
Competitor Research
In the realm of digital advertising and marketing, numerous ad tech and mar tech platforms offer valuable data-driven insights that enable businesses to gain a comprehensive understanding of their competitors’ utilization of these technologies. These insights encompass various aspects such as targeting strategies and return on investment (ROI) tracking to provide businesses with relevant and up-to-date information on their competitors’ tactics and approaches, therefore allowing them to make informed decisions and adapt their own strategies accordingly.
This strategic use of data-driven insights from Ad Tech and Mar Tech platforms can provide businesses with a competitive advantage, enabling them to stay ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of digital advertising and marketing.
-
Monitoring Marketing And Content Trends
Leveraging the insights provided by sophisticated analytical tools, businesses can refine their approaches and maximize their reach on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These insights can include key metrics such as engagement rates, click-through rates and conversion rates, which provide a deep understanding of how their content is resonating with their target audience.
A notable example of effective implementation of ad tech into marketing strategy is Netflix, which integrated ad tech into its approach in 2019. By tracking user browsing habits and analyzing previous movie selections, Netflix was able to deliver personalized ad recommendations to its users, resulting in higher engagement rates across all platforms. This approach allowed Netflix to tailor their content to individual user preferences, thereby enhancing user satisfaction and increasing engagement levels.
Another successful instance of leveraging ad tech is demonstrated by Burger King, which utilized real-time data insights to target local customers with geo-targeted advertisements. This strategic approach led to a significant increase in sales across numerous stores worldwide, and the brand was able to effectively engage with its target audience and drive sales growth.
The use of sophisticated analytical tools and ad tech can provide businesses with valuable insights to refine their strategies and maximize their reach on social media platforms, as demonstrated by the successful implementations by Netflix and Burger King. With strategic implementation and optimization, businesses can unlock the full potential of their marketing content by using either technology.
-
Efficiency
An advantage of utilizing ad tech and mar tech is the accessibility of sophisticated platforms to streamline and automate routine marketing activities, such as email campaigns and lead generation processes, with remarkable efficiency. These cutting-edge platforms offer advanced features that empower marketers to optimize their strategies and maximize their results, while also improving productivity to focus on more strategic initiatives.
For instance, Amazon has leveraged email marketing platforms to send out customer service emails, enabling them to respond quickly and efficiently, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.
Similarly, Shopify has implemented AI-powered chatbots to provide round-the-clock support to customers, allowing their employees to focus on more complex tasks, leading to higher overall customer service.
The availability of diverse platforms caters to the unique needs and preferences of different businesses, allowing for customized solutions that align with specific marketing objectives and facilitate the seamless execution of marketing campaigns. This provides businesses with the flexibility to choose the platforms that best suit their requirements, leading to more effective and efficient marketing strategies.
With these best practices in place, businesses can confidently navigate the shifting digital landscape and position themselves for sustainable success.
The Downsides Of Ad Tech And Mar Tech
Despite the advantages of using either technology, it is important to consider the potential drawbacks before committing to implementation.
-
Privacy Concerns
Ad tech and mar tech often involve collecting and utilizing large amounts of data about users, which can raise privacy concerns. This includes tracking users’ online behavior, collecting personal information and creating detailed profiles for targeted advertising. This can lead to potential breaches of privacy and data security, resulting in a loss of trust among users and potential legal issues for companies.
-
Oversaturation And Consumer Fatigue
The proliferation of ad tech and mar tech has led to an oversaturation of advertising messages across various digital channels, such as websites, social media and email. This can result in consumer fatigue, where users become desensitized to ads and develop ad blindness, ignoring or skipping over ads. This reduces the effectiveness of advertising efforts, leading to lower engagement, conversion rates and return on investment (ROI) for advertisers.
-
Adverse Impact On User Experience
Ad tech and mar tech can sometimes result in poor user experience, as users are bombarded with intrusive ads, pop-ups and other types of disruptive advertising. This can lead to a negative impression of the brand or company and result in a loss of trust and loyalty from users. Ad tech and mar tech platforms need to strike a balance between delivering effective advertising and maintaining a positive user experience to avoid alienating users and damaging brand reputation.
While ad tech and mar tech offer significant advantages in targeting and personalizing advertising efforts, increasing efficiency and improving marketing strategies, there are also several challenges and drawbacks that need to be addressed to ensure ethical and effective usage. Adhering to industry best practices, regulations and user privacy guidelines, promoting transparency and accountability and prioritizing user experience can help mitigate the cons associated with ad tech and mar tech.
Despite its many potential benefits, too much ad and mar tech can create a frustrating user experience, damaging loyalty and trust in brands. We should always prioritize the customers to ensure long-term success.
Key Points to Consider
Ad tech and mar tech are essential marketing technologies for businesses. Ad tech encompasses marketing, advertising and promotion, while mar tech focuses on automation and analytics. Utilizing both can boost brand awareness, drive sales and improve customer loyalty.
Businesses should consider the following before the implementation of either technology:
- Develop an effective marketing strategy that identifies your company’s target audience, channels, objectives, metrics, budget and resource allocation.
- Optimize marketing campaigns through data-driven insights, analyzing data to identify effective tactics and make adjustments accordingly.
- Consider different types of advertising, such as TV, radio, digital, sponsored content and SEO, to maximize engagement with your target audience.
- Leverage marketing automation technologies, like chatbots, for operational efficiency, personalized content creation and campaign monitoring across multiple channels.
Harnessing the power of ad tech and mar tech is essential for businesses to succeed in a modern marketing landscape. These technologies can dramatically improve operational efficiency, help reach desired objectives and offer customers remarkable experiences – all vital components when formulating an effective strategy.
Partner With A Competent Marketing Team
Are you ready to take the plunge and adopt new marketing technologies for your business? At Three Girls Media, our team of marketing professionals is here to guide you through the process. We understand that investing in new technologies can be daunting, but we can help you identify which ones will yield the greatest returns. Our personalized approach will ensure that your marketing strategy is tailored to your unique business needs.
Let us help you elevate your marketing efforts and boost your ROI. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.
Special Offer:
Sign up for a complimentary consultation during January and receive an Email Marketing Guide valued at $475! We offer a 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO and can answer your questions and discuss your specific marketing needs – no strings attached. Call 360-955-1410 or contact us today to arrange your consultation!