A lot of folks don’t know this, but before getting heavily into SEO and blogging, I was a digital media buyer. In fact, I had the chance to convince Yahoo to place banners for clients above search results in the late 90’s and then was one of the first advertisers to try Goto.com, Google AdSense, and even retargeting and behavioral targeting in the Yahoo network (which was very controversial at the time).
That was a long time ago and since then, retargeting has become commonplace in the world of digital advertising and even search marketing. However, even with retargeting growing substantially, according to Wishpond, “46% of search engine marketing professionals believe retargeting is the most underused online marketing technology.”
And, with so many options out there (Google is really just the tip of the retargeting iceberg) there are plenty of reasons why these individuals would make such a bold statement.
Retargeting, which is a technology that allows marketers to place an anonymous JavaScript code to follow their audience online, is beneficial for marketers since it can increase conversion rates, improve ROI, and precisely target an audience at a reduced cost per impression.
Retargeting is also an important key to the content marketing mix. You can drive traffic to editorial content, cookie and then retarget with relevant yet actionable marketing messages.
In short, if you’re a marketer, you should seriously consider implementing a retargeting campaign.
Thankfully, there are already plenty of well-known third-party platforms – such as AdRoll, Perfect Audience, Chango, Google AdWords Retargeting, and ReTargeter – that allow marketers to easily set up an effective retargeting campaign. These platforms also handle all of the technical components of retargeting as well, like cookie to earmark visitors.
In addition to the already mentioned retargeting ad platforms, here five other platforms you may not have heard of, but definitely should consider.
1. Meteora
Founded in 2012, Meteora is a self-service digital display platform that assists users with improving brand awareness, digital sales initiatives, and client engagement. Meteora achieves these goals through a customized audience marketing system, which includes learning software and a team of analysts that enhances the experience for both the user and marketer. This means users receive offers that are relevant to them, while marketers can deliver advertisements to their specific audience.
Meteora recently announced some promising new features to its new Advanced Targeting Options that include:
- Keyword: You can select up to 10 relevant keywords and Meteora will do the rest for you.
- Audience Category: Meteora helps you find websites with users that have similar interests to your product or service.
- Location Targeting: Meteora connects your brand with users in specific markets or by latitude/longitude (like beaconing, without the beacons).
2. Vizury
Vizury is located in India and since 2008 has specialized in cross device remarketing, app user remarketing, performance marketing, mobile marketing, and predictive analytics. Today, Vizury works with brands, such as Sony and Virgin Australia, in more than 40 countries across the world.
What makes Vizury unique is that the platform delivers vertical specific solutions for enterprises, as opposed to a one-size fits all model. Vizury also provides a fully managed service, a pay for performance model, and a team of data scientists. Additional features include personalized bidding and customized ads based on the browsing history and needs of your demographic.
3. Stamedia
Stamedia (pronounced “stay media”) has created technology focused on helping both the advertiser and the consumer. The Texas-based media company has achieved this by allowing users to stay on the content they viewing, such as a blog post on a tablet or a video on their computer, through banner templates.
These banner ads, which can be created with either pre-designed templates or customized ads, can then be used to help drive everything from coupons, contests, or mobile engagement.
These simple, yet innovative, banners actually “wrap” around any creative so users can enter their information within the actual ad. By allowing this, customers can choose their preferred delivery method, such as social account, email address or phone number.
4. Bidable
With offices in London, San Francisco, and Almere, Bidable has seemingly done the impossible – provide small to medium-sized businesses with real-time bidding technology. By using this self-serve advertising platform, smaller companies can now have access to 95% of all internet users in Europe and the United States with affordable pricing and no minimum advertising to spend.
With an advanced algorithms, Bidable targets and purchases the ads your business needs, when you need them. In other words, Bidable takes the guess-work out of buying ads. Additional system features include real-time statistics, conversion tracking, real-time data, and automated campaigns.
5. Struq
Founded in 2008 and now with offices in London, New York City, and Sao Paulo, Struq was acquired by Quantcast on October 1, 2014 as a way to help expand Quantcast’s ad platform. Struq has earned a reputation as a leading dross device retargeting and personalization platform thanks to technology that helps retailers re-find 40-60% of users on another device with an amazing 100% accuracy.
With Struq, marketers can personalize the entire ad-style, call-to-action, marketing message, and product recommender based on the user’s device and where the user is located in the marketing funnel. Furthermore, Struq gives you the power to schedule ads, make changes to your ads, and view insights on how your products are performing.
Are there any other retargeting ad platforms you feel deserve special mention? Share in the comments below!
Images via Shutterstock
