Today’s customers are getting tough to keep up with! They no longer buy things based on impulse or first impressions; they do their homework for just about all of their purchases. They also want to be supported throughout their purchase journey – at each stage – in a relevant way, by the brand. This same technology that keeps these consumers in the know, can also help marketers. One of these tools that advertisers can use to meet the high expectations of their customers is machine learning (the scientific study of algorithms and statistical models that computer systems use to progressively improve their performance on a specific task).

Now that we have turned the corner onto 2019 Street, Genius Monkey will take this time to reflect on the outstanding year we’ve had, and rev up for an even bigger, better year for the constant growth and improvement of the programmatic digital ecosystem! According to recent research by Zenith Media, the boom of programmatic advertising will continue its momentum for years to come. As an example, they forecast these programmatic trends in 2019:

Any emerging technology inevitably enters the ring of advertising. Augmented and virtual reality, visual search, chatbots and voice commerce have all been on the radar of retailers as the next big possibility of marketing. Let’s take a look at one of the newest kids on the block – Voice Assistants. Smart speakers, like Amazon Echo and Google Home have exploded onto the scene with a velocity and a pervasiveness that is pretty much unprecedented in the history of consumer electronics.

Perhaps the most noticeable change in the field of data analytics is how rapidly it’s growing. Every year companies are able to gain more data from their customer interactions, and the lag time between feedback and insights continues to shrink. It’s also true that customers are often very informed, coming to your website already knowing what they want, and how much they’re prepared to spend. Data analytics is the means by which companies can better connect with those savvy customers.

Data is the reigning king of marketing, and continues to increase in power as technology continues to proliferate throughout the industry. It’s not so much the actual data that is so important, but what it is that marketers can do with it in the world of programmatic digital advertising. 75% of all marketers interviewed agree that a lack of understanding of data analytics is a big barrier to making important decisions based on data insights.

In May of this year (2018) Genius Monkey announced that we became part of an elite group of companies that had earned the TAG Registered Seal, issued by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). We became one of the earlier companies to earn this seal, as we are hyper vigilant about the importance of trustworthiness in the advertising industry. We want our clients to feel at ease, knowing that we always take every measure we can to keep the products of their adspend free of fraudulent activity.

As a marketer in this day and age (as well as marketers from yesteryear), you will most likely agree that one of the most important elements of spreading the good word is to know your target audience well enough to determine what it is that they want and need. Once this is accomplished – deliver it! If this is done, your targeted audience members will be willing to give you what YOU need … their business.

Anyone who has ever done any road-traveling here in the U.S. has surely seen multiple signs for businesses that claim to have the “world’s best” coffee, or the “nation’s best” doughnuts, or the “best burgers” in the state … you get the picture. So how can one be confident that what they would get by ordering from one of these establishments that boasts of having the “best” of anything is really, truly the absolute “best?

Retargeting is like a bullet that ricochets off of a boulder and comes back at you, only it’s not really a bullet … it’s more of a reminder. You know, just in case you forgot or failed to purchase an item that should have been purchased. It’s like getting a second, third or fourth chance for redemption. Here are a few reasons why: 3 out of 5 US buyers notice ads for products they’ve viewed on different sites 30% of consumers have a positive reaction to retargeted ads, 11% do not like them, while 59% are apathetic towards them Email retargeting CTRs are 3-5% higher with upsells Retargeted ads can increase branded search exposure by 1,000% or more The average CTR for retargeted ads is 10x that of display ads In part one of this article, we pointed out the fact that retargeting has proven to be a very effective method of increasing sales, and that it’s imperative that you know your audience, and their needs.

Retargeting is a way to connect with people who, based on their digital actions, previously interacted with your website or mobile app. It allows you to strategically position your ads in front of these audiences as they browse online, thus helping you increase your brand awareness, or to remind those audiences to make a purchase. With retargeting, marketers are able to display their ads to consumers who abandoned a cart, made a purchase or bounced from a website.