Technology / February 03, 2015 / By Erin Martin
5 Action Items from #LOAC2015
As a sponsor and attendee of LOAC2015, Mixpo enjoyed contributing to the many terrific discussions that were had about how to navigate and find success in local online media. We know the fire hose of information during a conference can be overwhelming, so we recapped the top 5 things that local publishers can do today to capitalize on the key takeaways from the conference.
1. Use geo-location technology available today
Beacons were a big topic, but we have a ways to go before they become a scalable tool in our monetization efforts. Until then, other geo-location technologies exist today to provide consumers with a geographically relevant experience. A few of our local partner’s favorite include:
- Weather Trigger: Personalize the content of the ad based on a viewer’s weather condition. Read more here.
- Map + Directions: Dynamically show the address of the closest retail location or a map with personalized set of directions.
- Geotargeting: Automatically deliver thousands of locally targeted ad versions to provide relevant coupons, channel information, or a store phone number.
2. Incorporate quality content
Thinking about the amount of content required to live up to the adage “Content is King” can make your stomach turn, especially when it comes to providing a better advertising experience for your audience. Yet local publishers have access to a gold mine of content – your advertiser’s videos. Convert TV spots and station produced content, plus YouTube, Vine and other user-generated videos into premium video ads that deliver better experiences for the viewer, and higher performing campaigns for the advertiser.
3. Explore audience extensions
52% of publishers offer audience extension products to increase reach and impressions (eMarketer 2014). Charge higher CPMs by using premium video ads in your extension packages. Configure your media plans to include expandable video ads for your site, and non-expanding video ads for the extension network. Check out the following expandable and non-expandable examples.
Expandable In-Banner Video Ad
Non-expandable In-Banner Video Ad
4. Implement cross-platform ads
Advertiser’s spend on mobile is set to soar in 2015 as they focus on getting in front of the ever growing mobile audience. Publishers should focus on cross-platform advertising to better reach their mobile users and capitalize on the increased mobile investment. Device targeting is a simple solution local publishers can use to deliver an optimized ad experience for desktop and mobile environments. Device targeting allows you to:
- Create ads for specific deployment environments (desktop, tablet, and mobile)
- Traffic all ads under a single ad tag
- View separate desktop and mobile ad performance reports
- Set correct advertiser expectations
- Deliver a “backup” experience for the inevitable mobile spillover impressions
Download the following guide to learn more.
5. Simplify your product catalogue
Many publishers have a robust product catalogue to cater to all of their advertiser’s needs. Recently, more local publishers have seen success provisioning solution-based media plans with a smaller number of high performing ad products with flexible features. Interactive Features and widgets paired with video content can better deliver against the main marketing objectives of your advertiser’s campaign. See how one ad product, an interactive video ad, can be used for multiple advertisers:
