TOPIC 5: DIGITAL AD TARGETTING

Introduction
This section clearly talks of how to ensure that your ad targets the right persons. How to tailor your
message to the right audience, and using the right ad tool.
Objectives
By the end of this topic you should be able to:
Understand how digital audience targeting works
Apply the dos and don’ts in targeted advertising
Learning activities

Learning Activity 5.1: Reading

Read the provided topic notes and other relevant materials as shall be provided from time to time.
Learning Activity 5.2: Journal
What are some of the issues you will incorporate in your targeted advertising?
Post your article on the journal provided on the e-Learning portal
Learning Activity 5.3: Discussion
Participate in the discussion above
Post your discussion in the provided discussion forum
Assessment
The journal in activity 5.2 and Participation in the discussion in activity 5.3 will be graded
Topic Resources
 Advertising on the internet by Robin LeeZeff, Bradley Aronson
 Incorporating long-term effects in determining the effectiveness of different
types of online advertising by R Breuer, M Brettel, A Engelen - Marketing
Letters, 2011 - Springer
TOPIC FIVE NOTES
AD TARGETING
Digital audience targeting: Defining your audience, strategy, and goals
The sheer amount of competition in the ad world today can seem overwhelming, especially when
you find yourself attempting to serve effective ads without a defined digital audience for targeting.
After all, successful advertising hinges on your ability to reach the people who will be the most
interested in your product or service.
That’s when knowing how to define your digital audience targeting comes in hand
What is audience targeting?
Digital audience targeting, otherwise known as a target market, is a defined group of people who are
considered to be a company or brand’s ideal customers. How old are they? Where are they located?
What are they interested in? What drives their purchase behavior?
Digital audience targeting: the five W’s
It’s a tale as old as time. “Who, what, when, where, why” has been drilled into our heads since high
school. The good news: Those classic five questions still come in handy today, especially when
starting to outline your ideal customer profiles.
With roughly nine out of 10 American citizens using the internet today, it goes without saying that
trying to reach all of them wouldn’t be the brightest marketing move. Instead, crafting advertising
that feels personalized toward the people most likely to buy from you is a much better move.
Defining and building a target audience for a new client or campaign—no matter how many times
you’ve done it—can still be tricky.
Step 1: Define your audience
Step 2: Define your strategy
Step 3: Define your goals
Targeted advertising: do’s and don’ts
Highly targeted and personalized advertising can be incredibly effective—but as marketers, we’re
directly responsible for not taking it too far.
Many would argue that personalized advertising experiences are preferred by consumers. While
they’re not wrong, there’s a fine line between personalized and just plain creepy.
As we mentioned at the beginning of the post, there’s an incredibly high amount of data available to
advertisers—and it can be equally helpful and harmful.
According to a 2018 study by Digiday, the U.S. spends exponentially more on display and
programmatic ads than any other country in the world. And when it comes to the data used to serve
those ads, well, those companies are pretty much tracking your every move—and they’re pretty
good at guessing things they don’t know based on the information they do have.
Using the data available to you, keep these dos and don’ts of targeted advertising in mind before
launching your campaign.
Do:
Deliver a relevant ad experience.
Provide value.
Use advanced tactics like geofencing to present something of value.
Don’t:
Stalk customers for months with the same ads.
Be intrusive or make customers feel like prey.
Serve ads that set unrealistic expectations.