What are the most effective ways to test and learn from programmatic media buying campaigns?

1 Define your objectives and KPIs

Before you launch any programmatic media buying campaign, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success. Your objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) should be aligned with your overall marketing strategy and business goals. They should also be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). For example, if your objective is to increase brand awareness, your KPIs could be impressions, reach, frequency, and click-through rate.

2 Choose the right platforms and tools

Programmatic media buying involves using different platforms and tools to manage your campaigns, such as demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), data management platforms (DMPs), and ad exchanges. Each platform and tool has its own features, benefits, and limitations, so you need to choose the ones that best suit your objectives, budget, and target audience. You also need to ensure that they are compatible and integrated with each other, so that you can access and analyze your data seamlessly.

4 Experiment with different creatives and formats

Another way to test and learn from your programmatic media buying campaigns is to experiment with different creatives and formats. You can use dynamic creative optimization (DCO) to create and deliver multiple versions of your ads based on your audience segments, platforms, and devices. You can also use different formats, such as display, video, native, or audio, to capture your audience's attention and engagement. You should monitor and compare the performance of your different creatives and formats and optimize them accordingly.

5 Track and measure your results

The final and most important step to test and learn from your programmatic media buying campaigns is to track and measure your results. You should use analytics tools and dashboards to collect and visualize your data, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, cost per action (CPA), return on ad spend (ROAS), and customer lifetime value (CLV). You should also use attribution models to understand how your different channels and touchpoints contribute to your outcomes. You should then use your insights to refine and improve your campaigns over time.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?