Sebanti Roy Chowdhury

5 Changes That are Shaping the Future of Contextual Ads As AI technologies become more sophisticated on one hand, privacy regulations are evolving on the other. Perhaps privacy concern is the biggest challenge that the ad tech industry has faced so far. Strict government directives like the General Data Protection Regulation followed by the California Consumer Privacy Act hand over the control over data to the consumers. This move is going to make it difficult for programmatic advertising, built on cookie-tracking mechanisms, to reach the right target audience. While the ad tech industry grapples with new ways to comply with the emerging privacy parameters, contextual is becoming the guiding light towards the way ahead. Contextual intelligence is an innovative technology empowering marketers with a new approach for reaching key audiences. Listed here are the new developments in the field of digital advertising that are cementing the future of contextual as a breakthrough for advertisers. 1. Brand suitability is the new buzz Old keyword-blacklisting based brand safety efforts were already showing up as ineffective, when the recent pandemic struck. It has completely overturned how brands are planning their advertising strategies to tide over the crisis. Conversely, content sites are witnessing huge rush in traffic as internet users are keen on the latest coronavirus data as well as distractions through homebound-lifestyle related content. However, advertisers are cagey about placing their brands alongside negative news. Accordingly, programmatic vendors may try to protect brand images by automatically blacklisting content mentioning coronavirus, COVID-19, lockdown or quarantine. But supposing a positivity-breathing blog is about self-care in isolation, or on time-management in working from home plus home tutoring? It is likely to draw huge footfall, and blocking such stories will make advertisers lose out on effective ad environments. But contextual intelligence, based on the text and graphics on the content page being consumed, provide insight into the context of the entire content. It can connect the right ad with the right target audience at the right moment. As brands retool their plans to adjust to the post-pandemic landscape, they will be embracing AI-driven contextuals to expand their brand reach safely. 2. Cookie-independence Regulations to define the data that cannot be collected without explicit consent from consumers are driving the nail into the coffin of cookie-tracking. It tallies with marketer’s demand for transparency over compliancy and quality of data. Adding to the data-collection barriers are revision of privacy policies by browser companies. Google, Mozilla, and Apple are phasing out third-party cookie support. In this scenario, contextual ads driven by content and not audience data, can deliver on advertising goals. Thus, sophisticated ways of understanding context are enticing advertisers. David Goddard, chair of IAB puts this into perspective, ““Rather than showing you a Nike ad because you were shopping for shoes two hours ago, you’ll get a Nike ad because you’re reading about the Olympics, or training for a marathon.” 3. Optimizing campaign engagement A campaign’s performance and outcome both are crucial for the advertiser. At the performance end, the intent of the visitor on a particular page needs to be captured for better customer acquisition. The marketer has to grasp the tone of the content that interests their target to better align their messages to it. Such needs to analyze content for better campaign engagement will drive contextual technology and strategies. At the outcome side of the spectrum, contextual ads will have to be programmed to meet advertiser demands like a specific CTR or CPM. 4. Moving contextual advertising beyond text Perhaps one of the most exciting advancements in contextual advertising is the expansion of the capabilities of the technology beyond words on a page (or a screen) to audio, video, images, and more. For example, a growing number of video publishers and their partners are using contextual intelligence to accurately categorize their content, so advertisers can use their existing contextual intelligence solutions through the OTT, CTV, and digital video channels. With those ongoing and expanding integrations, advertisers are keeping pace with changing technologies and consumer consumption patterns through multimedia and multiple formats. This is giving marketers a true page-level understanding of content—including the audio, video, and images that lead to a deeper understanding of where to serve ads—so they are most impactful and relevant to consumers. GumGum's mission for the past decade has been to apply contextual targeting—or contextual intelligence—to focus on the visual components of web pages, using proprietary computer vision technology to capture visual details and marry it with the text to provide crucial insights into the context in which brands advertise. When properly combined with the first-party data that advertisers and publishers already have, contextual intelligence is just as powerful as third-party data, if not more so. First-party data will be king. Given current concerns, first-party data will become more important to programmatic buyers, for several reasons. First, marketers are increasingly concerned about consumer privacy as regulations like GDPR and CCPA — set to go into effect the first of the year — install stringent rules over what can and cannot be collected without consumer consent. This also ties into the demand for transparency from marketers, who want to know that the data they’re using isn’t just privacy-compliant, but of high quality. Second, browsers like Google, Apple and Mozilla are cracking down on third-party cookies, creating new barriers to data collection and consumer targeting. With identity resolution evolving, privacy-friendly targeting methods that deliver on marketing goals without cookies are more valuable than ever. Contextual targeting, for example, has been a core component in every medium, from print to television to digital. In the online environment, contextual ads do not rely on cookies, appearing alongside relevant content. They are driven by the context of a page, not just the data profile of an audience. For example, if a user reads an article on health and wellness, they might receive a fitness brand ad. “Contextual makes it possible for advertisers to engage audiences at the exact right moment, while they’re in a certain state of mind,” added Arya. “Meanwhile, publishers benefit because their content is monetized with the most relevant advertisers, boosting overall campaign performance and improving the end-user experience. Combining the power of contextual advertising with the industry’s efforts towards privacy-friendly identity and addressability will give advertisers a truly comprehensive toolkit to engage consumers online.” ads that are contextually relevant are more engaging, more memorable and more likely to drive purchase intent than ones that aren’t. As advertisers adjust to the new landscape and prepare for other unforeseen challenges, contextual intelligence will be an even more essential tool for expanding brand reach while ensuring brand safety. While third-party cookies have never been the ideal customer identifier, they became the foundation for programmatic advertising because they enabled advertisers and publishers to track user behavior and cross-device usage, measure conversions and target.  is a win for premium publishers with niche audiences," said Axios' Schwartz at the D.C. breakfast. "Even if you have no data on your audience, the topics that you cover are so contextually aligned with what the advertiser is trying to do. ... Advertisers will go away from the middle and toward true niche publications that have distinct content so that you can align your messaging very directly." From contextual targeting to contextual intelligence For advertisers, the holy grail remains digital’s tantalizing promise of the right ad, for the right person, at the right time. The industry has looked to third-party cookies and programmatic to try to achieve this, with varying levels of success, for years. Emotion-based contextual commerce It is clear that the consumer path to purchase is no longer linear and we are now seeing multiple touch points guide the path. So how can we become more than a touch point? The simple answer is to address the consumer journey and reach users through contextual conversations with technology. Consumers now expect experience and it is vital that the industry pivots how they deliver marketing messages to provide interactive, contextually relevant experience creative. There is going to be an enforced revolution with immersive experiences beginning to define the future of brands with humans craving meaningful interactions in highly relevant contextual environments. In 2020, it is important to work closely with content creators, brands and media owners to drive innovation in commercial solutions. Consumers act before they think and 90% of the 30,000 decisions made by users monthly are emotional and yet marketing companies talk to us as if we make decisions rationally. We need to understand that people buy based on emotion and justify with logic which means that emotional, contextual and conversational commerce is the future for advertising. Yet content isn’t the only context to consider: The media platform, device, time and even location where consumers view an ad can also affect their response to it. It’s important for marketers to understand not just if but why consumers connect to particular content in order to use what the Advertising Research Foundation calls emotional targeting. By exploring what drives preferences for platforms, content and interest in the brand itself, advertisers have an opportunity to connect with consumers on a deeper level. https://adage.com/article/gumgum/why-contextual-intelligence-key-new-cookie-less-world/- https://www.thedrum.com/industryinsights/2019/11/21/the-five-changes-shaping-the-future-contextual-advertising https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2019/12/18/predictions-2020-the-rise-of-contextual-advertising/ https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/whats-next-ad-tech/- https://www.adexchanger.com/online-advertising/can-contextual-targeting-replace-third-party-cookies/ https://www.cheq.ai/12-of-the-most-bizarre-brand-safety-keywords https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/blog/5-programmatic-advertising-trends-for-2020/ It’s unfathomable to think a company spent 1/190th of the advertising budget of their closest competitor and outsold them by 3X, but that’s just what Tesla did. Mercedes Benz is an advertising powerhouse, yet was outdone by something more powerful, context. While Mercedes Benz was telling the world to buy their cars, Telsa was having a conversation about living fossil fuel free. That allowed them to break through, and drive sales without the need for advertising.  Advertising is designed to distract away from the consumer's task at hand, while context seeks to match it. To see the power of context look no further than Facebook. Each time you log on to Facebook there are over 1,000 posts awaiting you, yet their algorithms only show you the ones contextual to you to the moment. This is why we've seen organic reach on social media decline below 1%. Without context to the moment, there is no way our messages will make it through. Context is the future of marketing because consumers demand it, the new media environment supports it, and it is proving to be a much greater driver of consumer action than advertising.  https://www.convinceandconvert.com/digital-marketing/trends-in-digital-advertising/ https://streetfightmag.com/2020/01/14/5-ad-tech-predictions-for-2020/#.XvUR0W0vOUl https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/leading-contextual-advertising-company-media-.html https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/05/21/what-can-publishers-expect-post-pandemic-cookie-less-adtech?utm_source=Bibblio-Related&utm_campaign=editorial-content https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/05/21/what-can-publishers-expect-post-pandemic-cookie-less-adtech