testTag: mediapost

Performance Meets Brand: How to Win the Short and Long Game

Posted on December 4, 2024 by - Trends

As the digital media landscape evolves, one perennial debate remains: performance marketing versus brand marketing: which matters more? At Dstillery, we’ve discovered that it’s not an “either-or” question—it’s about finding harmony between these approaches to drive measurable growth while building long-term brand equity. With the upcoming MediaPost Performance Marketing Summit in Deer Valley, UT, there’s no better time to explore how integrating these two disciplines can transform your advertising strategy for 2025.

Performance Marketing: The Sprint to ROI

Performance marketing can sometimes be misconstrued as solely about clicks, conversions, and measurable returns. More accurately, well-planned performance marketing is vital to any strategy, ensuring campaigns are tied directly to outcomes. Yet, in our hyper-quantified world, the danger can lie in focusing solely on short-term wins at the expense of long-term growth. Both pursuits are valuable and not mutually exclusive.

The industry leaders headlining MediaPost’s agenda highlight the sophistication of modern performance strategies, from precision targeting to multi-touch attribution. The key is not just to measure performance but to optimize campaigns while maintaining a broader brand vision.

Brand Marketing: The Marathon to Mindshare

Brand marketing, on the other hand, builds a company’s reputation, affinity, and trust over time. This “slow burn” is no less essential in driving sales; in fact, research shows that brand equity can multiply performance results.
In my MarketingProfs article, “Brand Awareness Measurement: A New Perspective,” I explored how companies often struggle to measure the true impact of brand campaigns. Our solution at Dstillery applies award-winning innovation, including advanced AI modeling and predictive behavioral targeting, to ensure your campaign is reaching your best customers. The future lies in connecting the dots between brand strength and performance metrics.

Why Choose? The Case for Integration

The most effective marketing strategies no longer draw hard lines between performance and brand. Instead, they fuse these disciplines into a seamless, cohesive approach. At Dstillery, we’ve worked with global agencies and brands to align short-term and long-term goals using data-driven decision-making. For example:

– Re-framing Target Market Groups: Use Dstillery Insights to refine your target market prioritization or adjust for seasonality. If campaign results reveal that GenZ audiences respond more positively to short-form video ads, then shift your strategy to allocate more budget toward platforms like Instagram to maximize engagement.

– Simultaneous KPIs: Measure short-term ROI alongside brand health metrics, like awareness and favorability, to ensure no aspect of your marketing suffers.

– Iterative Feedback Loops: Performance data can fuel brand decisions and vice versa, creating a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement.

Takeaways for the MediaPost Performance Marketing Summit

The MediaPost Summit promises a deep dive into the future of performance marketing, but attendees should look beyond tactical excellence. The challenge — and opportunity — is to balance these skills with brand-building strategies that can scale and sustain success.

Here are a few questions to ponder as you prepare for the summit:

– How can we use performance data to refine social strategies?
– Are our KPIs reflecting both short-term wins and long-term growth?
– What technologies or methodologies (like those in Dstillery’s portfolio) can help bridge the gap between branding and performance?

We’re also a proud sponsor of the event and will share insights during our presentation titled, “How To Target & Reach The Right Audiences in 2025.”

A 2025 Marketing Mindset

In 2025, the most successful marketers won’t think of performance and brand as separate entities. They’ll see them as two sides of the same coin, working together to achieve exponential growth. Whether you’re attending the MediaPost Performance Marketing Summit or reflecting on your plans for the year ahead, the time to integrate these strategies is now.

Curious to learn more? Click here to explore how Dstillery’s top-performing audiences help brands achieve measurable results while building long-term equity.

MediaPost Data & Programmatic Insider Summit 2024 Event Recap

Posted on August 27, 2024 by - Trends

The 2024 MediaPost Data & Programmatic Insider Summit, held from August 21-24 in the picturesque Lake Tahoe, California, brought together leading minds in digital marketing. The event focused on the ever-evolving challenges of data deprecation and new ways of leveraging data in the digital ecosystem. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Sierra Nevada range, this year’s summit was a deep dive into innovative solutions for a world without third-party cookies, exploring everything from Retail Media Networks (RMNs) to AI-driven programmatic buying.

Redefining Strategies in an Evolving Landscape

The event consisted of a series of insightful presentations and panels. A fireside chat with Melissa Bonnick of JPMorgan Chase was a highlight. In it, she discussed how diversity fuels innovation in programmatic advertising. She emphasized the importance of diverse and authentic execution styles in maintaining brand safety while innovating in today’s digital landscape.

A pivotal panel discussion, “RMNs and The New Media Shopping Cart,” led by Cory Treffiletti, explored whether RMNs are set to replace Google as a key ad strategy pillar. The panelists explored the effectiveness, costs, and integration of RMNs within broader media plans. Panelists from Mindshare, Kinesso, and Monster Energy shared their perspectives on how the walled gardens are reshaping data-driven media strategies.

Mikey Mizrahi from Reckitt presented a compelling case study on how practical automation can streamline workflows, reduce burnout, and improve accuracy in programmatic advertising. This session was a testament to how AI, when applied strategically, can significantly enhance the media planning and buying processes.

Lenovo’s Lyle Currier took the stage for a keynote Q&A, discussing how a return to contextual targeting is helping the brand grow in a highly competitive market. Many speakers echoed the relevance of contextual targeting, including Jennifer Zeghibe from Dstillery. She mentioned how our patented behavioral targeting technology, ID-free®, is now available via Contextual Integration on The Trade Desk. Our innovative approach provides a scalable, privacy-compliant ad targeting solution that aligns perfectly with the industry’s shift away from third-party cookies.

SVP of Digital at Dentsu, Manny Hernandez, took time during his presentation to reflect on the journey from 2020’s initial predictions about the impact of cookie deprecation to the present state of digital advertising. He discussed how the industry had to quickly adapt, with media buyers preparing for a future without third-party cookies. Manny reviewed the progress made over the past four years, highlighting the solutions currently being tested by marketers, and shared key learnings and observations that have emerged as the industry navigates the ongoing transition to a cookieless environment.

5 Key Takeaways

1. RMNs are here to stay: With their rich first-party data and point-of-purchase access, RMNs are becoming a cornerstone of data-driven media strategies despite their higher costs.

2. AI in media buying: Practical applications of AI are proving to be game-changers – from automating routine tasks to enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of media campaigns.

3. Contextual targeting makes a comeback: As cookies phase out, brands are returning to contextual targeting, leveraging new tools and partnerships to deliver effective campaigns.

4. Diversity fuels innovation: Embracing diversity in thought, execution, and media spend is key to maintaining brand safety while driving innovation in programmatic advertising.

5. Networking and knowledge sharing: The mix of formal sessions and informal networking activities provided a holistic experience, allowing attendees to seamlessly gain insights, forge connections, and unwind amidst the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe.

As the summit wrapped up, we all left with a wealth of new strategies, insights, and connections to navigate the data & programmatic world. The discussions in Lake Tahoe made it clear that while the adtech landscape is changing, there are many opportunities for those willing to innovate and adapt.

3 Key Takeaways from MediaPost’s Pharma & Health Summit

Posted on February 26, 2024 by - Healthcare

The event, not surprisingly, focused on the intersection of new product innovations, data privacy, and strategic digital marketing within the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Event sponsors and speakers shared a common zeal for promoting advanced strategies for enhancing engagement and preserving precision targeting in a privacy-first digital ad landscape.

Our Dstillery involvement, as sponsors, centered on our interest in generating increased awareness and trial for Custom Patient Targeting (CPT), the programmatic ad industry’s only truly ID-free offering, exclusively dedicated to Healthcare. Dstillery’s VP of Healthcare Sales, Michelle Lenzo, presented a session on reaching and exceeding campaign goals using CPT to effectively target a healthcare brand’s best audiences. While the session itself clearly fulfilled its purpose of generating interest, engagement, and requests for follow-up, what has truly made the difference is the continuous flow of meeting requests, as prospects and clients have reached out to learn more. In fact, the event inspired our Healthcare-focused White Paper, Seeking Treatment for Cookie Dependency, which you can download here.

Overall, the event itself exceeded expectations, in terms of participating agencies, brand leaders, and partner organizations, against the backdrop of an ideal retreat-style southern Florida venue. While every event organizer, whether publisher, industry association, or tech player, has its own unique style, MediaPost’s combination of a low-key, relaxed environment combined with cutting-edge educational content struck an ideal balance for discovering and enhancing professional relationships. Further, following the event, the results are speaking for themselves, as interest in CPT, and our many other ID-free® solutions is growing.

Below are our top 3 Takeaways:

  1. Innovations in Pharma & Healthcare Marketing:
    Summit hosts kicked off and maintained discussions throughout the event on the increasing impact of AI on the advertising industry, the accelerating value of first-party data, and the challenges of achieving campaign results as new industry measurement standards are explored. Under this umbrella, many speakers highlighted the importance of understanding and predicting consumer behavior in real-timereal time without compromising privacy. Other notable innovations focused on cookieless tracking, the role of content relevance, brand suitability, and continuing pursuits to ensure diversity & inclusivity.
  2. Digital Marketing Excellence:
    Case studies and award-winning campaign successes demonstrated innovative creative and media applications of digital marketing within pharma companies, stressing the need for more omnichannel programs to provide holistic, seamless customer experiences. Presenters also addressed the importance of transparent, fresh, reliable data sources, focused on multi-dimensional personas, next-gen CRM capabilities, and the need for agency-client relationships to be open, collaborative, agile, and adaptable.
  3. Strategic Marketing Planning:
    In this area, it’s as if, what’s old is new again – or that the O.G. principles are getting a new life, in the era of Generative AI. Brands with in-house programmatic agencies emphasized continuous improvement through experimentation, powerhouse Holdco agencies debated the merits and challenges of AI-enabled global brand campaigns, and predictabiy, the spotlight on delivering ROI continued to glare, especially with so many privacy-focused questions around measurement.

The good news for Dstillery is that this event, and every industry gathering since, has underscored the value of our multi-patented and trademarked ID-free technology. Whether as part of our Healthcare-focused Custom Patient Targeting, our Custom Search Lookalikes, or Audience Brief Genius, we continue to believe 2024 is our year, with a bright, growth-focused future beyond.

MediaPost: The Power of Search in the Holiday Spirit

Posted on December 7, 2023 by - Trends

Press Events Resources 2023

Amid the backdrop of snow-capped mountains, with alpine air so clean you can taste it, 100 industry leaders are gathering for MediaPost’s Search & Performance Summit in Deer Valley, UT. On the agenda: how senior execs and their teams can embrace the sweeping changes 2024 is sure to bring – from accelerating impacts and opportunities in AI to performance marketing that’s privacy-friendly, at long last.

Wrapping up ’23

As Dstillery’s last co-sponsored programmatic media event of the year, there’s a clear optimism – and a dash of uncertainty – about what ’24 will bring. Along with our fellow “Summit Insiders,” we’ll explore how macro and micro influences change the game and open up new paths for growth.

Whether it’s the healthy outdoor, refreshing setting or the approachable, low-key vibe, session topics for this event have a decidedly different and uplifting tone. 2024 will surely be transformational for AdTech. Yet that shift is being met with optimism and an inspiring zeal for growth. While Google’s deprecation of cookies tees up challenges for audience targeting, the senior marketing, agency leaders, and tech leaders are here to embrace consumer privacy and to learn from one another. Media agencies and brand marketers are embedding cookieless testing into their plans, and committing campaign budgets to AI-modeled search with a greater focus on performance marketing.

Looking forward to ’24

My teammate, Executive Director Meredith Flynn, will share how Dstillery’s ID-free® technology is helping brands and agencies reach their best prospects and customers. We couldn’t be prouder of how our patented, trademarked ID-free solutions, already in market since 2021, are offering the only truly privacy-friendly ad targeting — using no personal identifiers. What’s more, our Custom Search Lookalikes help marketing leaders blend their own first-party data to create unique search audiences just-for-their-brands, powered by ID-free.

Perhaps one of the most distinctly positive aspects of MediaPost events is that our Dstillery team has the chance to meet virtually everyone participating. The relaxed, informal atmosphere offers rare opportunities to develop authentic, new working relationships.

Whether your holiday plans have you traveling to well-loved places, exploring new destinations, or simply relaxing and rejuvenating with family and friends, the Dstillery team wishes you the best. Here’s to reaching your most ambitious goals in 2024. May you find everything you’re searching for .