In this blog about DV360, you will learn more about the targeting and content options, so that you know exactly how you should brief your content creators, or design the content yourself.
Audiences, placements and moments
Just like the Google Display Network (GDN), DV360 offers the same options to set your targeting as optimally as possible. For example, you can use custom audiences, keywords, affinities and in-market audiences, and high-quality target groups from multiple publishers. If you would like to make direct use of inventory at a publisher of your choice, you will have to deal with the publisher’s targeting options. Publishers can often figure out what the preferences of their platform users are by means of cookies. That’s why publisher may provide you with the following targeting options:
Content
- Placement: target based on channel, format, video, device type and position.
- Genre: target content from a specific genre: comedy, sports, music, etc.
- Contextual: target the contents of the inventory, which align with the advertiser’s product.
Audience
- Demographics: determine a target audience based on age, gender, education level, income or social class.
- Interest: determine a target group based on interests: finance, automotive, etc.
- Intent: determine a target audience based on purchase intent.
- Retargeting: determine a target group based on a previous contact moment.
Location & Moments
- Location: province, region, zip code area
- Moment: day selection or exclusion, weather triggers, current news or events
- Time: specific period or moment: work, shopping, breakfast or drink
The right aspect ratio, and the right duration
The inventory on which your advertisements are served consists of different places and therefore different sizes. You will be able to find dimensions overviews from almost every publisher. Not just about design choices, but also about which dimensions have the best chance of winning bids.
Specific wishes mean extra costs
The more specific you want the content to be in terms of dimensions and places where your content should be shown, the higher a bid will be. Indeces are widely used to map out how high a bid becomes as your personalization increases. Indices, in a programmatic context, are used to “tax” the degree of preference you impose on spot length, position in the instream, etc. For video advertising, it might look like this:
Spots in the instream
Advertisements can be shown in different spots in the instream. In other words: your ad can appear when someone starts a video (pre); while watching the video (mid); or at the end of the video (post). The extent to which you want to have control, could be indexed like this:
- Pre | mid | post
- Index 100
- Pre | mid
- Index 120
- Pre
- Index 130
- Mid
- Index 125
- Post
- Index 60
Spot length (video)
Perhaps you have a preference for the duration of your ad. You could, for example, want to advertise a lengthy video. For a publisher, a longer video is often more difficult to serve. That’s the main reason why you probably won’t be paying extra for the shortest le ngth a video could be displayed:
- 5 t/m 20 sec
- Index 100
- 21 t/m 25 sec
- Index 115
- 26 t/m 30 sec
- Index 130
- > 30 sec
- Not possible
Part of the inventory
The publishers where you could be advertising are large in number. In addition, a publisher often manages different platforms, websites and channels — so plenty of choice! If you would like to narrow down your options, for example only serving your ads on a specific part of the inventory, then that may be possible. However, the costs will rise quickly, because, despite the fact that many people are present on the platform, it is still not a Google Display Network, which claims it is 90% of the internet. The more specific your inventory strategy is, the more difficult it becomes to serve your ad, making advertising more expensive. The following terms are good to remember when specifying on which part of the inventory you want to serve your advertisements:
- Run of Network (all available or unused inventory from a publisher)
- Index 100
- Run of Channel (a specific channel from a publisher, such as sports, lifestyle or tech)
- Index 130
- Run of Site (a specific website from a publisher)
- Upon request — probably the most expensive option
A publisher wants to serve your advertisements as much as possible. The positions, lengths and spots that are easiest for the publisher are indicated with index 100. Depending on the strategy to be pursued, it is wise to focus as much as possible on those index 100 options. In this way your ads will be served as much as possible, and you will avoid unnecessarily high costs.
What you need to know
If you want to advertise on the inventory of publishers, you will have to make a number of considerations. You do this by taking the following into account:
- If you want to target the available inventory within DV360, you can use the same targeting options as those of the GDN: affinity, in-market, custom audiences, etc.
- If you’ve made a deal with a publisher and want to optimize your targeting further, you can. Publishers often offer satisfactory targeting options, because they can track their users through cookies. You’re a bit more limited, though, as any level of specification is taxed extra by indices.
- Publishers often offer an overview on which their indices are specified.
- The more restrictions you specify regarding targeting, places and duration and dimensions of your content, the higher your CPM bids will become. Remember: a publisher wants to serve your advertisements as much as possible — for you and themselves. So make it as easy as possible for publishers to serve your ads.
Are you ready for premium advertising?
Have you seen the added value of DV360 after reading these articles? Then, just like our other customers, start with this valuable addition to your marketing mix. By being present on premium placements, you greatly strengthen your brand. You will be shown instream alongside other major brands and on platforms where people prefer to get their entertainment, news and information from. This way you can ensure that your brand is taken even more seriously. And the great thing is: we take the complete implementation off your hands!