Digital advertising, or paid media, encompasses the strategic deployment of online advertisements to reach target audiences efficiently and effectively. This includes any digital platform that supports advertising to deliver unique messages for any objective. Understanding the mechanics of digital advertising platforms, along with insights into audience behaviors and preferences, allows marketers to optimize their ad spend and achieve significant engagement and conversion rates. This lecture is for Advanced Digital & Social Media Strategy (MGMTX 466.05) at UCLA Extension.

1. Paid Media & Digital
Advertising
Advanced Digital Strategy MGMT X 466.05 UCLA

2. Lecturer: Valters Lauzums 2024
Overview & Concepts
Understanding the strategic use of paid advertising in digital media and different
platforms and technologies available to marketing professionals.

3. Where do I use paid
advertising?
Each channel you spend your ad dollars on should have a unique purpose
and role in your marketing strategy. Prioritizing paid media for the most
immediate revenue opportunities and places you otherwise cannot reach
with is the most common approach.

4. Media Mix Modeling is a statistical analysis technique used to
forecast the impact of future marketing tactics. Optimized
budget allocation with a holistic (full view of all channels)
ensures each dollar spent maximizes potential return.
● Historical sales data + marketing spend
● Other influencing factors (e.g., economic conditions,
competitor activity, seasonality)
Allocating Spend &
Media Mix Modeling
Data-driven decisions: choosing paid media
investment from historical data and known factors.

5. PESO Model (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned)
Shared media is amplifying content through your own audience,
including organic social media built on curated content, reviews,
forums, and other online communities.
Shared Media
Aggregating an audience that seeks you out for content and then
distributing your content to that audience including wholly-owned
content marketing efforts such as blog posts and podcasts.
Owned Media
Exchanging money for distribution, whether an ad or content,
including advertorial content, sponsored content, social media
ads, and membership-based publishing opportunities.
Paid Media
Trading content for an established authority’s audience, including
free placements from media relations campaigns, such as press
releases, bylined articles, and word of mouth.
Earned Media
The PESO model is a framework most frequently used in public relations to integrate brand communications strategy and marketing
strategy across different media channels in order to maximize impact from synergistic channel attributes.

6. Channel Overlap Types & Attributes

7. Digital ads are effective because it allows you to target specific
audiences that are relevant to your business. Not all ads are
precise, but precision is more effective per dollar. Larger brands
will be in a position to make trade-offs with reach, e.g.
remembering the slogan “Save 15% or more” from Progressive is
from reach, rather than precision targeting.
Precision & Data
Targeted advertisements are, on average, twice as effective as
non-targeted ads. Precision leads to higher engagement and ROI.
80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when
brands offer a message that is uniquely relevant to them.

8. Consumer
data privacy
Over-targeting users based on their personal
data can lead to ad fatigue, which creates
negative responses from audiences.
Reputational risk from a data breach has become less serious
due to the frequency of data issues. However, when users feel
their personal data is safe, they are more likely to engage
(positively) with a brand.

9. The advertising technology (adtech) ecosystem
encompasses a sophisticated array of technologies and
platforms that facilitate the buying, selling, and managing of
digital paid media across various channels.
This includes ad networks, demand-side platforms (DSPs)
that enable the purchase of ad inventory, and supply-side
platforms (SSPs) which allow publishers to sell ad space.
The ecosystem also integrates various advertising services
such as ad networks, ad servers, and analytics tools that help
optimize ad performance and measure effectiveness
Ad Ecosystem

10. Data Management Platforms
DMPs are crucial for organizing and analyzing large
sets of data from various sources, including
first-party data from direct customer interactions,
second-party data from partnerships, and
third-party data bought from outside sources.
Remarketing
Remarketing is a common digital advertising
technique that targets users who have previously
visited your website or interacted with your brand but
did not make a purchase or complete a desired
action. For most businesses, these perform well.
Ad Networks
Ad networks are intermediaries between advertisers
and website owners, helping to distribute ads across
a wide range of digital platforms efficiently and reach
broader audiences without having to negotiate
directly with each publisher.
Key Concepts
Digital Advertising Ecosystem

11. Paid Media Channels
Paid Social Paid Search
Programmatic/display automates the
buying and selling of display ads across
websites and apps, optimizing in real-time
for ad placement and targeting.
Programmatic
Podcast Ads Video Ads
Paid search advertising allows businesses
to display ads on search engine results
pages, targeting users based on the
keywords they search for.
Paid social involves advertising on social
media platforms, where ads are targeted
to users based on their demographic,
interests, and behaviors.
Podcast ads are integrated into audio
content, offering targeted advertising
opportunities based on listener
demographics and interests.
Video ads are multimedia clips displayed
before, during, or after video content on
platforms, engaging users through
dynamic and interactive content.
Retail media involves advertising within the
digital properties of retailers, targeting
shoppers with relevant ads at points of
high purchase intent.
Retail Media
Ad Platform Categories

12. Over 75% of all video plays are on mobile devices, emphasizing the need
for mobile-centric ad planning and mobile formatting.
Video Ads
Video ads have the highest CTR (1.84%) out of all other types of digital
content. The first few seconds of a video ad should capture interest, either
through striking visuals, intriguing narratives, or clear statements of
benefits to pique curiosity. It’s essential to maintain high production quality
and ensure the message is concise and focused. Ensure your ads are
effective even without sound, by using subtitles or on-screen text.
Video ads that are 15 seconds or shorter have a completion rate of 85%,
significantly higher than longer ads.
72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service through
video than other forms of content.

13. Key Platforms
Professional Techniques
Google Ads
Google Ads provides businesses with
the tools to execute paid search (also
called PPC) campaigns on Google's
search and display networks, offering
extensive targeting based on user
search history and behavior.
Meta Ads
Meta Ads uses the extensive data of
Facebook and Instagram, enabling
advertisers to reach highly specific
audiences based on detailed
demographics and interests, ideal for
creating highly-targeted ads.
TikTok
TikTok offers a dynamic ad platform for
reaching a predominantly younger
audience with immersive and
interactive video content, featuring a
variety of formats like in-feed videos
and branded challenges.
Amazon
Amazon Advertising allows sellers and
brands to place ads directly on
Amazon’s marketplace, targeting
consumers who are already in a
purchasing mindset with ads that are
integrated seamlessly into Amazon.

14. Making
Better Ads
Optimizing ads involves modulating your audience targeting and
adjusting content for improve relevance and user engagement.
Conversion Rate
The average conversion rate for digital ads across industries
is typically between 2-5%. This reflects the percentage of
users who take action after clicking on an ad.
Data Inputs & Review
Measure data analytics variables to understand and
tweak performance. What are users doing and why?
Ads with a high click-through rate, which averages around 0.1% but
varies dramatically per category, indicate that the ad is relevant and
engaging to the target audience.

15. Writing Copy
Focus on clarity, conciseness, and relevance. Successful
ad copy should quickly engage the audience with a
clear value proposition and a compelling call-to-action
(CTA). It's vital to understand the audience and using
language that resonates with them while ensuring the
message communicates what you are selling. Always
test different versions of ad copy.
Straightforward communication wins. Clear and simple ad copy is read
by 60% more people than complex and confusing ad copy.
When the value proposition is clear, ads can see a performance boost
of 80%, since this helps the audience understand benefits.

16. Best Practices
Headline Impact Emotional Appeal
Including phrases that convey urgency,
such as "limited time offer", can increase
the click-through rate by up to 14%. Be
careful not to do this excessively.
Sense of Urgency
Storytelling Readability
Ads that evoke emotions can increase
sales by up to 23%, highlighting the
importance of connecting emotionally with
the audience in order to drive action..
Engaging and thought-provoking
headlines are game changers for ads, e.g.
ads with questions in headlines have a
150% higher click-through rate.
Incorporating storytelling into ad copy can
lift conversion rates by 30% as it helps to
build a connection and engage the
audience with more information.
Are users actually reading your copy?
Improving the readability of ad copy, such
as adjusting the font size and spacing, can
boost engagement rates by up to 20%.
A/B testing different calls-to-action can
lead to an increase in click rates by up to
90%, demonstrating the critical role of
compelling and clear CTAs.
Calls to Action
Ad Copywriting

17. The use of high-quality visuals and engaging graphics keeps the viewer
interested and can help illustrate complex ideas. Incorporate a strong,
visible call-to-action at the end of the video, prompting viewers to take the
next step or understand a key message from the video.
Video Content
Your goal is to capture and maintain viewer interest. Start with a
captivating hook within the first few seconds. Integrate a clear, concise
message early to ensure that even those who don't watch the entire video
receive the key information. Optimize length for the ad placement, short
and sweet for social media, longer for platforms like YouTube.
Video Structure
Making Video Ads

18. Steal ads and
rework them
Analyze successful ads from competitors or leaders in your industry to understand what
makes them effective. By identifying key elements such as messaging, visuals, and
calls-to-action, you can adapt these ideas to fit your own brand's voice and objectives,
enhancing their impact. This approach encourages continuous learning and innovation,
allowing you to stay competitive and relevant

19. Thank you
Advanced Digital Strategy MGMT X 466.05 2024