This might seem backward at first, but that’s why the script needs to be flipped. Most often, the conversation when vetting ad tech begins by exploring B2B targeting capabilities. Vendors and agencies tend to discuss how to reach critical accounts and scale campaigns. Agencies will match their brands’ needs with vendors’ offerings, and they’ll sign the agreement and run a campaign. Then, after the ads have already run, they’ll ask for analytics — and rightfully so, because they’ll want to know how the campaigns are doing and if they can do anything to optimize their KPIs better.

That’s when they’ll realize a few things — the vendor may not have the capabilities to provide transparent analytics, or the reporting may not match the targeting promised in the vetting process. At this point, money has already been spent, ads have been delivered and prospects have been engaged in some way or another.

But proof that all of that occurred — and crucial information about the audience’s preferences that will help improve future efforts — may get lost in the ether.

Reporting and insights are the differentiating factors among vendors today

It isn’t enough to know that ads are reaching the proper accounts — especially if it can’t be proven after the money is spent. Companies need to explore more comprehensive insights about their key accounts to engage them more meaningfully in the future. To reduce wasted spend and thus increase ROI (or, more specifically, ROAS), the ad tech industry needs to bring analytics to the forefront and start conversations with the insights captured down the line.

This will help all parties know what to expect down the road. That is, agencies will be able to build the best media plan to serve their brands, vendors will learn how to satisfy their clients’ needs and the audience’s interests will be captured and listened to, yielding a better brand experience.

B2B targeting and ad delivery are still fundamental concepts and comprise the foundation of a strong campaign, but targeting alone is more widely available today than ever before. What differentiates vendors industry-wide is how comprehensive their insights after targeting turn out to be.

Targeting capabilities, accuracy and scale can all be viewed as the work behind the scenes that enables the reporting to be robust. The insights themselves are the elements that will move the needle more dramatically than any other factor in today’s landscape. The most efficient marketing strategies start with selecting the best providers based on their unique analytics offerings and work backward to ensure the vendors’ methods of achieving those means are trustworthy, safe and reliable.

Agencies must evaluate vendors for strong analytics offerings

In evaluating media plans, agencies can ensure as many boxes as possible are being ticked collectively. Across all vendors, they need to consider whether a combination of …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron