Archives

by Megan Maginnis

Magnetic Launches Search Retargeting Report

As the future of digital advertising continues to develop, Magnetic today released a report titled “The Future is Now,” a market analysis that explores the changes taking place in the digital industry by specifically looking at the growth of display advertising and search.

The report, which includes insights from top digital experts and industry leaders, is the first research initiative dedicated entirely to analyzing the power of search retargeting.  In particular, it argues that the future of digital advertising ultimately lies within the combination of search data and display advertisements.  As Magnetic’s CEO, James Green, suggests “There is no more compelling time to put a display or text ad in front of someone than after they search for a specific product…the report reinforces this belief and highlights the promise of search retargeting as the vehicle for placing your brand in front of the customer at the right point in the purchase decision cycle.” The report also highlights that although search spending is expected to double by 2016, display advertising will nearly triple (reaching an estimated $27 Billion).

In addition to discussing the growth patterns of display and search, the report also covers topics such as :

  • Effect of customer demand on digital technology
  • The concept of bringing SEM beyond the search engine
  • Future opportunities and best practices for search retargeting

To read more about how display is expected to drive innovation in search and search retargeting, download the report now>>

by Megan Maginnis

In Digital Advertising, “Only the Smart Will Survive…”

In the most recent installment of the “All Marketers are Geniuses” series, Magnetic founder, Josh Shatkin-Margolis, sits down with the VP of Media Technology and Analytics at Fuor Digital, Josh Dreller, to further analyze and understand the current trends that taking place in the SEM sphere and digital media industry.

In this latest segment, titled “All Marketers are Geniuses: ‘Smart is In,’” both Josh and Josh address the importance of media measurement and the various ways marketers are reaching consumers through multi-channel platforms in the digital space.

As a self-described media technologist, Dreller touches on the relationship between analytics and search. According to Dreller, search and data go hand in hand. As he puts it, quite simply, “sure, anyone can load a Google AdWords campaign and bid on some keywords, but they’re not going to be successful unless they have the ability to evaluate the performance and optimize accordingly. Frankly, without the data, you’re just going to waste your money.”

The article goes on to discuss the influence of web analytics on creativity, and Dreller concludes that although data may create roadblocks for some graphic artists, it also has the ability to positively challenge these designers. As Dreller notes, “deep creativity within boundaries might actually be a much more advanced form of creativity than purely free form art – especially if you can generate the sales that a struggling business needs with thousands of jobs on the line.” Ultimately, Dreller recognizes that in order to achieve the best results, a balance must exist between data and creativity where “the decision maker takes into account what the data is telling them as well as what they think will influence their audience to take position action for their business.”

Towards the end of the article, Dreller encourages advertisers to think more holistically in terms of the way they evaluate the performance of SEM. Rather than narrowing in on the success of individual keywords, Dreller argues that consumers are continuously engaging with keywords throughout the buying process, and therefore advertisers must be aware of the entire keyword landscape.

While the article goes on to discuss topics such as hyper-targeting and the future of measurement, one of Dreller’s most memorable conclusions is his suggestion that that all marketers are true geniuses because they ultimately have no choice.  As Dreller contends, “all sizzle and no steak is out”—  only the smart will survive.

Read the full story here>>

by adgenie

Magnetic Joins OMMA Global in NYC

At OMMA Global NYC, Magnetic joined the panel, Is the Future of Search about Personalization?. The discussion was centered around how search is evolving — this includes areas of search retargeting, social search, new algorithms and behavioral data. While the panel of experts generally agreed that search represents the highest form of intent, there was disagreement about where search is headed.

Josh Shatkin-Margolis, founder of Magnetic, the leader in search retargeting, lead the discussion insisting that search is an important channel, but the real future of media lies how search data will be used across display channels. Josh went on to explain that through search retargeting, there’s a real opportunity to leverage the power of search beyond the search engine and apply it to display channels, where a majority of users spend their time.

Other experts engaged in the debate including moderator Jason Lehmbeck of DataPop and panelists Viji Davis of Resolution Media, Julie MacGill from Google and Adam Whippy of 360i.

For more information about the relationship between search and display channels, read Search Engine Land’s story on “Why Display is Changing the Value of Search.”

by adgenie

Leader in Search Retargeting Sponsors iMedia

Magnetic, the leader in search retargeting, sponsored iMedia’s September Brand Summit, ”Digital Marketing at Scale: Going Big in 2012.” The Summit shared with marketer’s the key to achieving brand performance through digital advertising.

The cocktail hour was hosted by Magnetic and featured a special punch, titled, “Magnetic, Drink the Kool-aid.”

Check out some of the pics below:

 

To see more pictures from iMedia Brand Summit, click here >>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by adgenie

Tis the Season for Search Retargeting

Q4 2011 represents one of the largest business opportunities for brands. Last year, the holiday shopping season set an all-time record, reaching a total of $32.6B for e-commerce spending.

According to comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni, the 2010 season will be recognized for an exceptional Cyber Monday, noting the first billion-dollar spending day in history, and the first time that Cyber Monday rank as the heaviest online spending day of the year. Fulgoni added that retailers targeted many of their promotions even earlier than usual and reaped the benefits.

The chart below shows 2010 holiday sales by week:

With search retargeting, the ability to target users with digital display ads based off of user search history, brands can reach audiences that are engaging (i.e. searching for) in Q4 events and holiday shopping activities online.

This includes reaching those consumers users who have searched and signaled intent in specific products, services and competitors across the following events/topics:

  • Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotions
  • Holiday gifts/deals across consumer categories — electronics, toys, apparel, travel, sports, etc.
  • Gift certificates across verticals — food, travel, entertainment, etc.
  • Sporting events (NFL & MLB post season)
  • Halloween festivities

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more about how you can leverage search retargeting for your Q4 campaigns, contact us here.

Happy Holidays!

by adgenie

Seven Steps to Executing Site And Search Retargeting

The key to success in today’s market lies in taking a two-pronged approach to media strategy – following up with a user after they visit a site and following up with a user after they have searched for your product or service. Josh Shatkin-Margolis, CEO at Magnetic shares with Adotas seven steps for executing site retargeting and search retargeting.

1. Define Goals: It is not enough to simply say you want to drive sales.  It is important to understand your customers’ paths to conversion. Don’t simply create a goal for your campaign that results in marketers doing anything they can to be the last ad viewed or clicked before the user buys.

2. Select Inventory: Showing your brand along relevant popular content will be helpful in the long term. Showing your brand too often or along side unpopular or questionable content will be damaging in the long term.  So choose wisely and don’t forget to stop showing ads at a high frequency once the customer purchases.

3. Identify Audience: There are multiple customer segments for your product and there are multiple paths to conversion. Learn them. Understand the keywords each would be searching for. This is a crucial exercise.

4. Design Relevant Creative: Serve Flash, graphical and video content that is relevant to the targeted audience segment. It is important to have creatives that have a clear call to action.

If you are conquesting, mention the competitor’s product and provide a clear competitive reason for picking your product. If you are targeting the upper funnel, be informative.  If you are targeting the bottom of the funnel, mention the price or offer a deal to close the customer. Customize the message for users that have already converted to thank them or upsell them with accessories.

5. Place Site Retargeting Tags: These tags are needed only when doing site retargeting with search retargeting. Including this tag enables the site retargeting company to tailor the campaign differently for those users that have visited the site.

6. Place Conversion Tags: Conversion tags provide insights to successful optimization by helping determine which keywords, data sources, recency of searches along with media, creative, geo, etc. are driving results. Conversion tags are always optional but highly recommended.

7. Optimize: Using the feedback loop (i.e. information from the conversion tags), it is important to make adjustments in order to take your successful campaign and turn it into the most efficient marketing initiative for pushing customers through the funnel.

Check out the full article here >>

by adgenie

comScore & Magnetic Show the State of Search & Search Retargeting

Download the complete comScore + Magnetic presentation >>
On Thursday, August 11th, Josh Shatkin-Margolis, CEO at Magnetic joined comScore’s Eli Goodman in a live webinar focused on search retargeting.

Search Evangelist Eli Goodman kicked off the webinar with a look into the state of search, showing that there were 26.6 billion searches performed in June 2011. Eli noted that search growth is driven by increased intensity, giving off a 6% year over year growth. Goodman calls out that it’s the number of searches per searcher that is fueling the growth, not the number of people actual searching online.

Josh led the search retargetomg conversation with an interesting stat: Although search is the highest performing form of internet advertising, only 4% of users time is actually spent in the search engine, while 96% of time is spent on sites serving display ads.

Josh went on to show the audience how to take the power of search and apply to display advertising. He offered up the following best practices for running a search retargeting campaign:

  1. Define Goals: conquesting, lower funnel activities (with clear attribution model), branding to specific audiences
  2. Select Inventory: comScore 250, exchange media, with or w/out user generated content
  3. Identify Audience: define keywords that your audience would be searching for, and leverage keyword generation tools to increase scale
  4. Place Conversion Tags: these provide insights to successful optimization – helping determine which keywords, data sources, recency of searches along with media, creative, geo, etc. are driving results
  5. Optimize: tailor keywords, recency window, inventory, etc. to beat KPIs, while balancing between precision & scale

Check out a search retargeting case study here >>

by adgenie

OMMA Breakdown: Search & the New Retargeting

At OMMA Behavioral, Josh Shatkin-Margolis, CEO at Magnetic, kicked off the “Search and the New Retargeting” panel by defining search retargeting as the concept for targeting display ads based on user search history.

The panel, which included senior agency executives, search experts and search retargeting companies, ruffled some feathers as various viewpoints flew across the stage. One of the topics discussed was the problem around the siloed channels where the panel experts weighed in on whether or not agencies were really breaking down the walls between search and display.  Although the conversation took a deep dive into the difference between search and display teams, the audience also learned where they are beginning to come together.

Another hot button was what Rob Griffin, EVP, Global Director of Product Development, Havas Digital, calls the “Land Grab,” where he shared his sentiments about the copious number of companies in the space vying for his and his teams attention. In this rundown, Rob shared with the audience how he makes decision as to which ones to partner with.

Additional topics covered how search retargeting works for both direct response and awareness campaigns, the challenges agencies face with the allocation of resources and the attribution problems facing digital channels.

Watch the complete video here.