CANNES — In an ad world rocked by changes to digital identifiers, creative is bouncing back in the order of priorities.
But, infused with signals from digital targeting capabilities, dynamic creative optimization (DCO), by assembling custom ads from myriad components, can perform even better.
In this discussion at Cannes Lions, two industry executives discussed the power of the new creative toolset:
- Ed See, Partner, McKinsey & Company.
- John Nardone, President, Mediaocean.
DCO means ROI
“We have CPG clients who measure their dynamic campaigns against shopper panels down to the exposed user and show that the propensity to buy increases 50%, 100%,” said Nardone.
“In one, (it was) case 700% when exposed to dynamic campaigns versus traditional messages.”
Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) is the process of constructing a multitude of different ad creatives from raw component parts for distinct individuals.
DCO creates personalized ads based on data about viewers at the moment of ad serving.
Relevance for attention
The practice is important because, in a busy media world, catching attention with relevance is crucial.
“In our current media environment where we’re all multitasking, consuming ads and content while we’re on the go … the human brain has a fantastic capacity to filter out information that is not relevant to us,” Nardone says.
“Unfortunately, much of what gets filtered out is advertising – unless your brain perceives at some level that that advertising or that message is relevant to you.”
Invest through turmoil
McKinsey’s See focuses on developing and deploying digital, data, and analytics capabilities. He works with large consumer packaged goods, retail, and financial services companies to identify growth opportunities and increase the value of their relationships with customers and consumers.
“Great creative is the final aspect here,” he told Nardone. “It’s tying all the pieces together…
“In the economic times we’re going into where there’s going to be a lot of pullback, that’s how brands can stay important – the brands themselves can stay relevant and the great creative will power the brand pricing power into the future.
“It all comes back to the ability to grab and maintain attention.”
Dynamic toolset
For more than 50 years, Mediaocean, formerly known as Donavan Data Systems, has been providing software solutions across media channels for advertisers and sellers, powering ad management, inventory and billing.
About $200 billion in annualized media spending goes through its platform, or about a third of the global total.
Nardone said that DCO is just one tool in the “creative toolbox”
“Great creative is not defined by personalization per se,” he said. “Great creative is defined by the ability to engage the consumer’s attention and move their thinking or their feeling to where the brand wants it to go.
It’s got to be wrapped in a great creative idea … you want a big idea that has legs. The idea has to be extendable in a way that makes sense in order for you to be able to personalize it and still have the integrity of that great idea.”
Results in a Flash
Last year, Mediaocean acquired Flashtalking, whose offerings include DCO, for $500 million.
“What they do is computer vision technology that essentially visually deconstructs the elements of the ad so that we can do the analysis, not on the ad as a whole, but on the elements that comprise the ad,” Nardone said.
“What we’re learning in that is that you can begin to predict what elements are going to create a better ad.
We have a travel client where the analysis showed that the ads showing happy vacationers and human beings in the ads performed way better than pictures of the cruise ship and the end destination without people in.
“Now, moving forward, the creative emphasises the people who are having a good time in the environment and the results have followed.”
You are watching ‘The Mediaocean Retreat’, a Beet.TV Leadership Summit at Cannes Lions 2022.
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