Real-time bidding in online advertising is now a standard for digital marketers and ad agencies to stay competitive and drive successful campaigns. RTB allows advertisers to not only reach precisely targeted customers, but to strengthen brand awareness by personalizing a message based on a particular users’ behavior.
However, modern technologies like RTB are often misinterpreted. This article will cover the 4 most common myths surrounding RTB, in hopes of encouraging knowledge about what the technology can and can’t do. Enjoy the read!
MYTH 1: RTB is a cheap way to buy lots of traffic
RTB allows you to buy into a large audience, but this isn’t the heart of targeted solutions. When you buy RTB ads, you are buying into quality, high-potential traffic from those users most likely to convert to a sale.
RTB is used to reach the web users which have precisely defined purchase preferences. It’s not about mass advertising; it’s about the individual online shopper. In the past, the online advertising industry bought page views in hopes that users would be interested in the displayed product. RTB technology now allows us to personalize these display messages based on variable factors. For example, a user’s actions and behavior, or environmental factors like changing weather conditions can affect the displayed ad. As a result, every page view may be a different ad creation, matched to a particular person and his/her needs.
With RTB, we also control how much we pay for effective ROI. Mass advertising is usually cheaper than targeted solutions, but traffic quality is worse and CTRs and conversion rates are lower.
Fact: RTB is the best way to buy quality traffic at an effective cost. Your ad placements revolve around the idea of precision rather than ineffective mass-targeting.
MYTH 2: You don’t know where your ads will be displayed
An intelligent RTB advertisement follows a target group and is displayed on websites visited by a defined user base. In most cases, placement for a particular banner is known, but where the ad is placed is much less important than to whom the ad shown.
There is an increasing trend for making a website’s information anonymous. Publishers hide site data or the advertising network’s pricing tier on which the ads are sold. As a result, an advertiser knows what type of placement he bids for and which websites are included within the selected group, but he doesn’t know the specific site or placement of the displayed ad.
In the case above, RTB does allow for the purchase of a page view on a specific portal, but this transaction is categorized under a ‘private deal,’ and cost of purchase is much higher.
Fact: With RTB, it matters less where you display an ad, but to whom.
MYTH 3: RTB Ads get low-quality placement
Leading online advertisers are increasingly using RTB models in their campaigns, and many publishers are adopting RTB via exchanges and SSPs. As a result, premium placements for RTB ads are offered on SSP platforms. It works in one of two ways: A publisher can create a common placement on one or several services (i.e. private exchange) or the publisher can set aside a piece of their own resources to sell it to chosen clients with special conditions (i.e. private marketplace). Additionally, the premium space shows up more often in open auctions, or the standard auction/bid model using RTB.
Fact: Premium placements are increasingly sold for ads powered by RTB.
MYTH 4: RTB has high implementation costs
Early adopters of RTB saw high costs associated with starting RTB campaigns, as they had to purchase a specific number of placements and page views. The online ad market has changed significantly over time, and fully automatic platforms have been created to service minimum budgetary limits. With self-service solutions, high minimum starting budgets almost don’t exist, and allows advertisers to utilize targeted campaigns within their financial means.
Fact: The budget spent on RTB can be predefined, so that advertisers only pay for results. While It’s true that some firms have high minimums, more and more retargeters are opting to remove predetermined minimum amounts.
By Maciek Mikołajczak, business development manager CEE of RTB House
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