According to new advertising statistics available here, the steady extraction of the global economy from its worldwide recession is showing clearly in the advertising sector. In all areas of advertising the world over, growth rates are expected to rise, and in some areas more than others - Yet these figures can be somewhat misleading.

For example, in developed countries, the growth rate is expected to increase by 2.4% in 2011 AND 2.9% in 2012, as compared to developing countries where growth rates are expected to reach 9.1% and 9.8% respectively. The obvious conclusion to be drawn, at least at first glance, is that developing sectors offer more opportunity by way of advertising as docurrently developed regions. However, these numbers need to be taken incontext. The discrepancy in the level of quality and overall influencing power of media from developed countries like the US, as compared to developing countries like India, is massive. Therefore, to conclude that there is less opportunity for advertisers in developed countries due to a mere 2.4% increase expectancy, may not only be a misrepresentation of that numbers true power, but the exact opposite might be the real truth. It’s the equivalent of saying a national football team with a mediocre record would be the underdog next to your local neighborhood champions. You can’t compare, they’re simply in different leagues.

The misleading nature of these numbers in sector specific statistics also pops up again in media venue stats. According to the same article, TV is capturing the majority of advertising focus with a lion’s share of 40.8%, up from 39.2 in 2009. Internet on the other hand is up from 12.7% to 17.1%. One might be tempted to make the same argument of older developed market numbers being worth more than developing sectors like internet, but that would not fit within the contextual reality. TV is a highly segmented market with local and regional divides demarcating clear cut segmentation between the sectors. When a commercial airs in a local township, that commercial will not reach anywhere far beyond its original local, and certainly it garner any global, or even regional coverage. Therefore the large 40.8% number is not nearly as powerful as it sounds from an advertiser’s perspective looking to branch out globally. The internet on the other hand, is a whole different kind of animal where advertising’s reach is far more readily made global, be grudging that 17.1% figure far more significance than one might otherwise like to give it.

Look at it this way: As the article notes, it is the spread of mobile and social media that is effectively fuelling the large leap forward in the internet advertising sector. If comparing the meteoric rise of global mobile carriers and social media giants, like Facebook and Twitter, can beviewed as indicators for the true power of internet advertising statistics, then such numbers can be compared to a body builder in really baggy clothing, i.e. first impressions can be deceiving.

The optimization of an organization’s varied processes enhances its lifespan and ability to survive - especially during harsh times such as the recession we are still recovering from. In fact, it's hard to think of any organizational process that would not benefit from optimization: from saving money on office supplies to maximizing the efficiency of internal systems. 

In the digital advertising world, optimization is being used to improve processes, to enhance the effectiveness of online-advertising campaigns and to increase the margin between the benefit of the campaign and its cost. In most cases the goal is finding a balance between this margin and the quantity (volume) achieved. More often than not the cost is calculated as the price of (effectively) obtaining a client, whereas the benefit is calculated as the income obtained from the same client (net, after selling costs).   

For the most part the goal is maximizing results. This means finding a balance between the desired margin and the volume achieved. It is usually the case, at least in online advertising, that we are willing to give up on some of the return in exchange for a greater volume. As an advertiser, we are willing to pay more to obtain a client if it results in us ultimately converting more customers. A volume discount does not usually work in our industry.

When managing a digital campaign, in order to get results, you must manage the process. Here, as mentioned before, in order to achieve a balance between a satisfactory margin and the desired volume, one has to manage the value chain of the campaign, with the understanding that each component in the chain not only influences the final outcome but also has an effect on every other link in the chain. For example, a creative concept with a high click-through rate will usually lead to a lower conversion rate.  The value chain is combined of and has effect as follows:

·         Promotional offer - directly affects the ability to convert customers while inversely impacting on their value.

·         Creative concept - directly affects the click-through rate while inversely impacting on the conversion rate. 

·         Media - directly affects the click-through rate while inversely impacting on the conversion rate. 

·         Landing - directly influences the conversion rate while inversely impacting on the value of the customers. 

Optimizing the whole value chain requires finding the correct combination of the different components so as to bring about the desired results.

The idea is to try different ingredients and different combinations (multivariate testing). This means trying different marketing proposals, supported by an alternative creative concept, diverse media, appropriate landing pages and varied conversion funnels. 

The optimization process never ends, there are countless possibilities and always a better path to take, and its goals can and should change relative to the goals of the  business and the desire to achieve the initial objectives of the campaign.

Such optimization cannot be done without appropriate technology but technology alone is not enough. Skilled teams are required by both the advertiser and the media company. Both must be willing to work hard together to achieve the campaign goals - work which includes amongst other factors both parties sharing information in a transparent manner.

DSNR Media group (DMG) knows that everyone needs a break now and then, and so was born the idea of a FunDay SunDay for DMG's Technology & Mobile teams.

As an army marches on its stomach, it all began in a fancy restaurant with a delicious breakfast followed by coffee and cake while enjoying a view of the ocean.

But before everyone nodded off it was time for a bit of healthy competition. With the adrenalin levels rising and the wind ruining everyone’s hair DMG employees were soon experiencing the thrills of go-kart racing.

After the winners were announced and medals presented all raised there Champaign glasses in a toast to a great outing and promised to enjoy a similar fun day very soon.

Optimization has been a popular word in business since the hi-tech age hit in the early 90’s. However, as technology became more complex, so did the practical meaning of that word. It just became something that people would use in marketing copy or during a presentation to impress some big wigs in suits.

Optimize, optimize, optimize.

What exactly do you mean by optimize?

Because if by optimization you mean taking a business process that has already been digitized, and breaking it down even further with more specialized technology, what you’re really getting is an un-optimized complex jumble of highly specialized processes.

Knowing this, when businesses pitch optimization, what they usually mean these days is simplification, i.e. which of the complex business process offering will a) cost me the least for b) the greatest return on investment.

Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?

The problem is that simplification by itself is not optimization, and neither is ignoring the potential benefits of complexity simply because it’s, well…complex.

True optimization means finding a way to aggregate every element of complexity through a simplification filter that still allows for the exploitation of each and every element of the business process in a case specific adjustable fashion.

In the short run this will most probably require more initial investment, time (initial setup), money (initial investment), or otherwise – But in the long run, if you did your homework, your job will become far easier and the return, far greater.

Now let’s apply what we just said to digital advertising:

Generally speaking the average digital advertiser tries to spend the least amount of money per customer conversion, in an amount to “optimize” his specific conversion revenue. However, based on what we said, there has got to be a better way to go about this.

If we can only find a way to take all major aspects of a digital advertising campaign, each one affecting a different element of the conversion process:

·         Bid marketing- directly affects conversion percentage, indirectly affects customer value.

·         Creative concept- directly affects click through rate, indirectly affects conversion percentage.

·          Media- directly affects conversion, indirectly affects click through rate.

·         Landing page- directly affects conversion percentage, indirectly affects customer value.

And find a way to balance their weighted use properly throughout a campaign to affect the greatest overall conversion rate…Well now we’d be optimizing.

The Israel Mobile & Communication Association (IMA) held its 3rd Mobile Marketing Conferencein Tel Aviv on Monday 5 July. Bringing together some of the leading figures and commentators in the Mobile Marketing industry, the conference provided aplat form for the presentation and discussion of where the industry is atand where it is going. Amongst others, speakers included Russell Buckley (VP Global Alliances, AdMob, Global Chairman of MMA), Jeff Pulver (Founder #140 conf), Harald Neidhardt (CMO and co-founder of SMAATO) and Lucy Lombardi (TelecomItalia). A variety of topics were covered ranging from Social Media Marketing and the FIFA World Cup as a recent case study to technological developments and the latest trends in mobile advertising.

DMG’s CEO Peles was amongst the speakers and in a talkentitled Brining Results to Mobile Advertising he outlined how mobile advertising is following in the steps of internet advertising. Where measurement & ROI are considered standard when applied to the internet, he emphasized how these will soon play the same role when it comes to the mobile. He went on to elaborate on how Traffiliate, DMG’s unique optimization technology for mobile generates our result based concept and ultimately increases the conversation rate for mobile ad campaigns.