Why Have Your Own Ad Server For Advertisers
Management Summary
1) The publisher’s ad server
When my display advertising (usually banners) is shown, there is at least oneAd serverfixed in the game: the ofPublishers,i.e. the website on which the advertising is displayed (or themarketerfrom this website).
This web server recognizes when a user accesses a specific website and checks which of the booked advertising campaigns are based on thatTargetingwould fit, plays the banner and counts itImpression. If the user clicks, it forwards them to the customer website and counts this tooClick. This ad server is also for theInvoiceresponsible. Good publishers and marketers also optimize ongoing campaigns based on metrics and to best utilize their inventory (Yield management) – these two goals sometimes contradict each other…
2) The agency’s ad server
Do I book my advertising through one?Media agencythere is a high probability that they will use (and charge for) an additional ad server for my advertising. This helps the agencyManage advertising media centrally, to be played out by the publishercontroland asummary reporting(if my advertising runs not just with one but with 20 publishers, that saves a lot of work).
In order for this to work, the agency no longer supplies the publisher with the advertising materials (files) and landing page URLs, but simply just themtagstheir own ad server. The publisher then only adds this tag, this is called “Day in day outSwitching”. Two ad servers are then active both for displaying the advertising and in the event of a click by the user; this happens so quickly that it goes unnoticed by the user.
Over and beyondcollectthese ad servers oftenDataabout the usersacross the various publishers and agency customers(!), which isn’t really good for everyone involved, because these (valuable) user profiles and campaign insights remain with the agency.
3) My own ad server
So why have a third ad server?
Firstly, the question is whether it is actually a third ad server or whether your own ad server is better than replacing the agency’s (but it can also be used additionally).
Advantages of having your own ad server:
a) central reporting
- reporting for all campaigns
- also for channels & Campaigns that do not run through the media agency (newsletter, affiliate, collaborations,…)
- Historical data can be accessed at any time
- all performance data at a glance – always up to date, without having to wait for reports…
- Cross-network tracking detects how strong theOverlapping of target groupsis with different publishers
- through thisreal ranges-Evaluation: 1000 unique clients at publisher A and 1000 unique clients at B do NOT result in 2000, but usually fewer unique clients, since there are users who surf both there and there (unique user de-duplication)
b) Data sovereignty and security
- valuableDataabout my campaigns and target groups are andstay in the house(contractually and legally)!
(this is not the case in scenarios 1 and 2) –Data Ownership - independencee.g. when changing agencies
- Clarity about data use andRights of use
- Access toRaw datafor your own data warehouse and BI
c) better control and optimization
- more flexible administrationthe advertising material & immediate central adjustment if necessary!
- Performance reviewthe advertising material &immediate optimization: overall and each placement
- Verification of the circuitsat the publishers: errors in playout (technical and quantity), visibility (active view) and targeting
- Avoiding unwanted placements(if the inventory does not match the offer…)
d) Deep Insights – advanced control
- complete capture of theCustomer journey– also via other channels!
- View trackingacross publishers and thus evaluation of visibility for conversion goals
- Success attribution andAttribution Modeling
- rule-controlled, sequential display of advertising materials.A very simple but sustainable example: Normally, when a premium inventory is booked, all users see the same advertising. However, I often annoy existing customers with an offer for new customers.
Naturally, the publisher cannot distinguish between these target groups, but our own ad server can. A customer is then shown the cross-selling offer and a prospect is shown our standard campaign. This can be leveraged to sequential stories across publishers and much more precise audience distinctions.
This enablesTargeting within fix bookings. - And very advanced: you can use it on your own websiteOn-site behavioral targetingoperated by the web server then showing users targeted messages depending on their segment or journey.
Conclusion and outlook
Large international brands such as Procter & Gamble have long since insourced the ad server again and are releasing it for use by the respective agencies for ad operations or stipulating its use. This is for the reasons mentioned above, with the focus being even more on central data availability and use. Here’s another similar oneEnglish article on Marketingland.
Also with regard to the increasing number of bookingsRTA (Realtime Advertising) campaignsvia demand side platforms in AdExchangesA central ad server is an essential pillar.
Ultimately, fewer and fewer campaigns are simply being run based on old targeting criteria such as placements, but increasingly based on target groups and users.
When does having your own ad server pay off?
A certain minimum amount of regular display budget is a prerequisite. The ad-on costs are in the cent range per 1000 impressions and play an insignificant role. However, setup and integration costs or ongoing insight generation require a certain amount of effort, which is often justified and amortized very quickly with 2-3 of the advantages mentioned above.
Which ad server should I choose?
There are numerous providers, each with their strengths and areas of application. We ourselves decided for various reasonsDoubleClick Campaign Manager (DCM)to select because it is part of theDoubleClick platformwith theBid managerandGoogle Analytics 360is seamlessly integrated and is therefore, in our opinion, far superior to many other solutions.
You can find our services here.
