According to the chief of media for MasterCard, the ability to micro-target audience segments has kept CPM relevant to engagement. Consumers who are engaged with an ad tend to buy the products, and are more motivated to see similar ads for related products. Display advertising is still one of the fastest growing segments in Internet marketing, and its results are driving even bigger innovations.
Engaging Users
Banner advertising has evolved to present something to the consumer that is a lot more interactive. Rich media ads, for instance, show multiple offers and ad copy in the form of moving images. Video ads add sound and video to the mix, and offer advertisers a longer chunk of time to pack in even more benefits.
The rules, however, have not changed. Ads still need to get to the point quickly and still require a strong rank with a high position. That signals a shift to buy-side platforms, which give marketers a greater degree of freedom over what they bid on and where they will rank.
Interpreting CPM
CPM is now fueled by better targeting, which means the results imply more than they used to. If you target only home owners in Tennessee, you can infer based on their response level what their income is and how motivated they may be to see related offers. You can also learn a lot from the visitors who did not convert, reviewing your ads to see which are most effective at closing the deal.
Conclusions
Once you understand how CPM targeting can impact engagement, you begin to form a clearer picture of how to scale your campaigns and branch into new markets. Display advertising has become an important channel, conveying a lot of customer data to marketers who understand how to interpret the results.
Bio: Ted Dhanik is the co-founder of engage:BDR, a Los Angeles based digital advertising company that is home to First-Impression, a buy-side platform for display advertising. Ted Dhanik is a thought leader in direct marketing, and is an expert in business development. Find Ted Dhanik online at engage:BDR.