How to Choose the Right Advertising Channel

This blog is as a directory for all types of digital advertising channels we offer here at War Room. It’s recently been updated in May 2022 with some cool new channels. Take a look!

Weather

Weather ads are ads that automate based on the weather in your targeted location! The reason why advertisers love using them is because they can create hyper-relevant, greatly-timed ads that speak to your audience in the exact moment. It can be served across channels such as Search, Display, Social (all programmatically, too).Depending on the weather, consumer’s behavior, needs and responses may vary. For example, if it’s pouring rain, perhaps people are more inclined to order food delivery than dine in at a restaurant. By deploying weather-targeted ads, you can boost visibility and anticipate better results.

• Weather ads are a type of targeting ad, and can be served Search, Display, Social and other programmatic platforms

Facts:

• Great for these industries: Travel & Hospitality, Food & Drink, Apparel, Leisure & Entertainment, Home & Garden, Energy, Insurance etc
• When it’s a lower temperature outside (cold, wet, or snowy), people have an increased desire for psychological warmth. Activities or services that have a social element might perform better!
• Warmer weather & exposure to sunlight increases peoples’ willingness to spend money up to 56%.

Great For:

• Increasing Engagement
• Driving Conversions
• A healthy Return on Ad Spend
• Delivering a more Personalized Ad Experience
• Boosted Visibility During Key Moments

SMS

Ah, good ol’ SMS, text messages. Yes, even they have been made to have advertising options! SMS ads promote products and services through mobile phones. Through short and concise text messages, brands can bulk deliver their ads to subscribers worldwide.In a world where people are bombarded with emails and online ads, SMS ads are a cost-effective way to cut-through the noise and drive visibility with high open-rates. It’s a channel that would complement your other digital marketing efforts, such as email marketing and social!

An SMS ad is 160 symbols. You can use them to send messages for:

• Notifications (like, launch of new product)
• Exclusive deals for your loyalty program members
• Text-To-Win competitions
• Discount codes
• Promotion for sales on your website or stores

Facts:

• It usually takes a user to respond to an SMS ad within 90 seconds
• Response rates can be as high as 45% (in comparison to email responses, which averages around 6%)
• Click-Through Rate (CTR) is around 19%

Great For:

• Driving higher Open Rate
• Boosted Visibility
• Promoting Deals and Discounts
• Complementing other Marketing Channels

Performance Max

Performance Max ads utilize machine learning to automate the audience targeting and ad delivery format, based on the information provided when setting up the campaign. Based on the creative assets you provide, the creation of the actual ad will be automated too. Then, the ad platform will run your campaign based on your specified conversion goals.

Performance ad placements will be served across different channels dynamically. It greatly complements PPC Search Ads.

You can choose to set up Performance Max Ads based on these conversions:

• Sales
• Leads
• Website Traffic
• Product & Brand Consideration
• Brand Awareness & Reach
• App Promotion
• Local Store Visits & Promotions

Facts:

• Beneficial for any type of business
• Potential to reach up to 3 billion users worldwide

Great For:

• Driving Higher Conversions (whether it be lead generation, purchases etc)
• Acquiring More Data Insights
• Attributing Data to proper channels to get a better understanding of the Customer Journey
• Optimizing Campaign Performance

Discovery

Discovery Ads are mobile-optimized image ads that are visually rich. They target based on audience data (versus, say, keywords). It utilizes Google’s data on users’ site visits, map searches, videos watched and apps downloaded to serve ads to the right people.
Discovery Ads are meant to be browseable, feed-based and focused on higher user intent. 

Here are some examples of Discovery Ads the brand, Ugg had ran:

Types of Discovery Ads:

• Single Image Ads
• Multi-Image Carousel Ads

Facts:

• 86% of online consumers say they’re on the lookout for shopping ideas as they watch videos or explore content across the web
• Potential audience reach of 3 billion users

Great For:

• Driving Engagement
• Delivering Scalable Ads
• Reaching New Audiences
• Retargeting

Twitch

Twitch is one of the most popular entertainment, live-streaming platforms. Aside from being the top-watched streaming platform for gamers, it has now expanded to other entertainment topics, like cooking, music and art. Twitch streams are live broadcasts, with a chat window on the right side, where audiences of the livestream can interact with the streamer and one another.This Amazon-owned platform has a highly active, social, and engaged userbase. It’s a great ad channel to serve visual ads (especially video).

Types of Twitch Ads:

• Banner/Display
• In-Video Ads

In the following placements:

• Homepage Headliner
• Homepage Carousel
• First Impression Takeover
• Twitch Premium Video
• Super Leaderboard
• Medium Rectangle

Demographic & Usage:

• 30 million daily users around the world
• Almost 50% of Twitch users are between the ages 18 to 34
• The core demographic of 65% male users (73% are under 35 years old)
• 62% of viewers in eSports/gaming personalities on a daily basis
• 56% of users tend to buy brands they see advertised

Great For:

• Connecting With a Younger Audience
• Expanding Audience Reach
• Generate Brand Engagement
• Driving Brand Awareness

Telegram

Telegram provides a free and secure messaging service for over half a billion monthly active users around the world. They can send private messages, chat in private groups and subscribe to public, one-to-many channels. Users can look up world news, courses, business tips, etc all in one place. The app has an easy interface and combines tons of popular topics—you’re bound to find one that fits your audience base!Telegram ads are delivered like a chat message called Sponsored Messages, which can be personalized and the platform has a strong emphasis on user privacy.

Demographic & Usage:

• 500 million monthly global active users

Great For:

• Delivering Contextual-Based Ads
• Preserving User Privacy
• Connecting with Your Target Audience

Paid Search Ads and are typically found at the top of the search results page once a user types in a keyword. The ad format is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and captures people who are actively looking for a product or service. In fact, PPC visitors are 50% more likely to make a purchase compared to organic visitors!

The two biggest search ad platforms are Google and Microsoft Bing.

Google Search

Brands pay for text ads to appear in the search results on Google.There are 6 types of Google Search Ads:

• Text
• Dynamic Search
• Call-Only
• Shopping
• Image
• Video

Facts:

• On average, internet users conduct 3-4 Google searches on a daily basis
• Google owns 76% of the search engine market
• The average Click-Through Rate (CTR) of the paid ad in first position on Google search is 7%
• 96% of brands are spending money on Google Ads

Great For:

• Increasing qualified website traffic
• Driving conversions
• Increasing sales

Microsoft Advertising (Formerly Bing Ads)

Bing is the search engine of Microsoft and offers Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.Types of Microsoft Ads:

• Expanded Text Ads
• Dynamic Search Ads
• Responsive Search Ads

Demographic & Usage:

• Bing owns 34% of the worldwide desktop search engine market share
• Bing Ads can reach 63 million users that cannot be reached by Google Ads
• Bing has an older demographic, the average age of user base is 45 years old
• 1 out of 3 Bing users have a household income of $100,000+

Great For:

• Targeting an older audience
• Targeting an audience with bigger purchasing power
• Increasing website traffic
• Driving conversions

Quora

Quora is an online community for people to ask questions and provide answers to all types of topics. Professionals, students, and industry leaders are active in sharing their knowledge on this platform. This advertising channel is a combination of social and search.Types of Quora Ads:

• Images Ads
• Text Ads
• Promote an Answer

Demographic & Usage:

• 54% of Quora audiences have an average annual household income of $100k+
• 65% of Quora users have a college degree
• 37% more likely to be a manager
• Businesses see 4x more conversions with Quora Ads

Great For:

• Reaching an audience with strong purchasing power
• Driving high-quality traffic
• Boosting brand authority
• Increasing conversions

45% of people seeing Display Ads are in the middle (or the “Consideration Stage”) of their Customer Journey. Great visuals can boost interest in your products and services and push them onto the next stage (which is “Conversion”)!

Display ads are visual banners that can be found across the internet with specific placements on websites.

Types of Display Ads include:

• Static Banner
• Animated
• Interactive
• Video
• Lightbox
• Interstitial
• Interactive
• Social Display

Google’s list of Top Performing Display Ad Sizes are:

Stats:

• Google’s Display Ad Network reaches 90% of internet users worldwide. It serves more than a trillion impressions served to over 1 billion users every month
• Online Display Ads will make up 21% of the total global ad spend in 2021

Great For:

• Building brand awareness
• Increasing website traffic

Display Retargeting

Did you know that 22% of people clicking on retargeting ads are in the final stages prior to purchasing?
Display Retargeting Ads help you reach people who already were interested in your brand — and seal the deal. The most common type of Retargeting Ad are abandoned shopping carts where ads follow you around the internet reminding you that you hadn’t completed your purchase.

• Text
• Dynamic Search
• Call-Only
• Shopping
• Image
• Video

Demographic & Usage:

• People are 70% more likely to purchase a product when a brand runs retargeting ads
• Website visitors who are retargeted are more likely to convert by 43%

Great For:

• Improving brand recall
• Driving conversions

Video is the 2nd largest search method online, which is why 87% of digital marketers are using video content in their digital marketing strategies. Aside from text ads like Paid Search and Display Ad images, video ads are the most visually engaging ad format. Youtube is by far the biggest video advertising channel.

Types of Video Ads:

• Bumper
• In-Stream
• Out-Stream
• Interstitial
• Masthead
• Over-The-Top (OTT)
• TrueView Video Discovery

Demographic & Usage:

• Youtube has a monthly active user base of 2 billion people
• Compared to other TV networks, YouTube reaches the most 18-34 year olds
• 1 out of 3 Boomers search on YouTube to learn more about a product/service
• Over 70% of YouTube videos are watched on mobile devices

Great For:

• Targeting audiences from all walks of life
• Expanding brand awareness

Native is a form of paid advertising that blends in with the look, feel, and function of its displayed platform. It is non-intrusive and typically content-rich. You typically find Native Ads in online news sites’ advertorials, social media feeds, and recommended content on webpages.

Types of Native Ads:

• In-Feed
• Branded Content
• Content Recommendation
• Promoted Listings
• In-Ad with Native Elements

Demographic & Usage:

• Native Ads are viewed 53% more frequently by consumers than Display Ads
• Native Ads increased purchase intent by 18%
• 32% of people said they would share Native Ad content with friends or family
• 70% of people say they would rather discover products/services through content versus traditional ads

Great For:

• Educating people on your brand offering
• Building trust with consumers
• Creating brand awareness
• Increasing website traffic

In-App ads appear in mobile apps on smartphones and tablets. They have in-depth data tracking and targeting functions.Types of In-App Advertising:

• Mobile Banner Ads
• Interstitial Ads
• Rewarded Video Ads
• Mobile Native Ads

Facts:

• Smartphone users spend 89% of their total mobile device time in mobile apps, VS 11% on the mobile browser
• Mobile app Click-Through Rate is 0.58% and Mobile Web is 0.23%
• In-app ads perform 11.4 times better than regular banner ads

Great For:

• Reaching highly engaged audiences
• Increasing clicks
• Connecting with users on mobile devices

Apple Search is an excellent advertising channel for mobile apps. It helps people discover your app at the top of App Store search results.

• Mobile Banner Ads
• Interstitial Ads
• Rewarded Video Ads
• Mobile Native Ads

Facts:

• 70% of App Store visitors use the search bar to find apps
• 65% of app downloads occur directly after a search on the Apple app store
• 50% average conversion rate

Great For:

• Boosting brand exposure
• Increasing mobile app downloads

Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) is the delivery of visual ads through digital screens in public spaces that typically has high foot traffic (transport hubs, airports, malls etc). They can be billboards or signs and are dynamic — meaning brands can run ads that update based on time, or the environment (such as weather).

• Mobile Banner Ads
• Interstitial Ads
• Rewarded Video Ads
• Mobile Native Ads

Facts:

• 82% of survey respondents recalled seeing a DOOH ad in the past month, and the majority of them viewed the format in a favorable light
• Because DOOH ads are served in person, they cannot be blocked out by AdBlock
• This is one digital advertising channel that does not track actual ad impressions or reach

Great For:

• Creating brand awareness
• Maximizing ad reach
• Reinforcing brand recall
• Driving foot traffic
• Increasing conversions

44% of people who see Social Ads are at the beginning (or “awareness stage”) of the Customer Journey. These ads are served to users on social media advertising channels. Different social platforms have different user demographics. Find out which ones you should consider for your next ad campaign!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Pinterest
• Snapchat
• Reddit
• Tumblr

Facebook

Facebook is the most used social media platform around the world. It is an engaging platform that reaches both B2C and B2B businesses and people of every age. People create and share articles, images, videos and thoughts amongst their friends. Facebook ads are sponsored posts that can be set to different objectives such as lead generation or website traffic.Types of Facebook Ads:

• Image
• Video
• Carousel
• Instant Experience
• Collection

Demographic & Usage:

• 2.7 billion monthly active users
• 65% of users are between 18 and 34 years old
• Users from the Silent Generation (born in or before 1945) have doubled and the number of Baby Boomers has increased exponentially

Great For:

• Building brand awareness
• Targeting audiences from all walks of life
• Driving engagement
• Generating conversions

Instagram

Instagram ads are sponsored visual content in the format of posts or stories. Because Facebook and Instagram have a shared ad platform, it expands the opportunity for brands to cross-promote.Types of Instagram Ads:

• Stories ads
• Photo ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Collection ads
• Explore ads
• IGTV ads
• Instagram Shopping ads

Demographic & Usage:

• Instagram has 800 million active users
• More than half of the global Instagram population worldwide is aged 34 or younger
• 60% of people say they discover new products on Instagram
• 1 out of 3 most viewed stories are from business Instagram accounts

Great For:

• Reaching a younger target demographic
• Driving brand awareness
• Increasing website traffic
• Generating conversions (leads)

LinkedIn

Whether your company is B2B, B2C, a non-profit or educational institution, LinkedIn is the best advertising channel to reach business professionals. It’s great for prospecting, nurturing leads, and driving conversions. 

Types of LinkedIn Ads:

• Sponsored Content
• Direct Sponsored Content
• Sponsored InMail
• Text Ads
• Dynamic Ads

Demographic & Usage:

• Ad exposure on LinkedIn can increase purchase intent by 33%
• The largest age group is 46-55 year olds
• 4 out of 5 LinkedIn users drive business decisions
• 2x the buying power of average web audiences

Great For:

• Reaching business professionals
• Prospecting
• B2B lead generation
• Boosting purchase intent
• Driving sales

Twitter

Twitter is a microblogging social media platform with a highly active user base. It’s typically used to receive news, follow celebrities or politicians or share thoughts and memes. 

Types of Twitter Ads:

• Promoted Ads
• Follower Ads
• Trend Takeover

Demographic & Usage:

• 1 out of 3 of Twitter users are 25-34 year olds
• 68% of Twitter users are male
• Degree-holders make up 42% of Twitter’s user base
• In a survey, 73% of Twitter users found the ads in their feed informative and 67% said the ads were relevant and not intrusive

Great For:

• Expanding brand awareness
• Growing a social following
• Driving engagement
• Increasing impressions and clicks

TikTok

TikTok is a video-based social media app on iOS and Android. People create, discover, and share short videos of any topic you can think of. 

Types of TikTok Ads:

• In-Feed Ads
• Brand Takeover
• TopView
• Branded Hashtag Challenge
• Branded Effects

Demographic & Usage:

• TikTok reaches 1 billion monthly active users in 2021
• 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24 (Gen Z)
• People spend an average of 52 minutes a day on the app

Great For:

• Reaching Gen Z audience
• Promoting your brand in an engaging manner
• Driving awareness
• Increasing website traffic
• Increasing ad clicks

Pinterest

Pinterest is a social media platform that focuses on image sharing. Users can curate different themed boards such as recipes, fashion, home decor etc. 90% of people use Pinterest to “window shop” for product inspiration. It’s great for eCommerce businesses to showcase their products. 

Types of Pinterest Ads:

• Standard Pin
• Carousel Ad
• Video Pin Ad
• Shopping Pin
• App Install Pin

Demographic & Usage:

• Shopping is the top priority for 48% of Pinterest users
• Women make up 60% of the Pinterest user base
• 80% of moms in the United States are on Pinterest
• Pinterest users are 3x more likely to click through to a brand’s website compared to any other social channel

Great For:

• Reaching a female audience
• Boosting brand awareness
• Driving website traffic
• Increasing sales
• Promoting an eCommerce business

Snapchat

Snapchat is a mobile app that makes any image or video you send accessible for only a limited time. It’s typically used for private photo sharing, video chatting, instant messaging amongst friends, and discovering visual content. It’s a trendspotting app.Types of Snapchat Ads:

• Image Ad
• Video Ad
• Filter
• Lenses
• Story Ad
• Product Catalog Ad
• Commercials

Demographic & Usage:

• 229 million daily active users
• More than half of US internet users between the ages of 15 and 25 use Snapchat
• Snapchat users are 60% more likely to make impulse purchases
• Millennials and Gen Z have a direct spending power of $1 trillion. Snapchat is great for engaging with an audience that is ready to shop

Great For:

• Connecting with Gen Z and Millennials
• Generating brand awareness
• Driving sales

Reddit

Reddit is a website platform that is made up of millions of communities of different topics where people can discuss and share content.Types of Reddit Ads:

• Promoted Post
• Promoted Video
• Category Takeover
• Front Page Takeover
• Trending Takeover
• Reddit Takeover

Demographic & Usage:

• Compared to regular consumers, Redditors have on average: conducted 4x more research and are 9x faster in making purchase decisions
• Reddit is the 7th most popular website in the United States
• 430 million monthly active users worldwide
• 1 in 4 US adults age 25-29 uses Reddit

Great For:

• Generating brand awareness
• Increasing website traffic
• Driving conversions

Tumblr

Tumblr is a social microblogging network. Users can post and share images, videos, and posts, follow each others’ accounts and discover new content in the dashboard.Types of Tumblr Ads:

• Sponsored Posts
• Sponsored Video Posts
• Sponsored Day

Demographic & Usage:

• 70% of users say the Tumblr dashboard is their favorite place to spend time online
• User base consists of teens and young adults

Great For:

• Generating brand awareness
• Connecting with a younger audience

Shopping ads make product purchasing easy for consumers. Show ads to those who are actively looking for products and direct them to click to purchase.Google Shopping Ads and Amazon Ads are the two biggest eCommerce advertising channels.

Google Shopping

Google Shopping is an online advertising channel that is perfect for eCommerce brands. It lists a product’s photo, name and price directly in Google’s search results. When they click on the ad, it takes them directly to your product’s page on the website. It helps with search result visibility:

Demographic & Usage:

• 70% of smartphone users research online before making a purchase
• 60% of clicks for paid Google Ad campaigns retailers run are Shopping Ads
• Google Shopping Ads make up 76% of all US retail search ad spend
• Google Shopping ads average Cost-Per-Click (CPC) is $0.66

Great For:

• Increasing website traffic
• Driving direct purchases
• Showing up at the top of Google search results

Amazon dominates the worldwide eCommerce landscape. With more than 2.5 million active sellers on the Amazon marketplace, cut through the noise by promoting your brand and its products with Amazon ads.

Types of Amazon Ads:

• Sponsored Product Ad
• Headline Search Ad
• Amazon Product Display Ad

Demographic & Usage:

• 90% of buyers agree that they are more likely to purchase Amazon products than other eCommerce sites
• 23% of online shoppers go to Amazon for product inspiration
• 80 million American households have an Amazon account
• 4000 items are sold per minute in the United States on Amazon

Great For:

• Increasing Amazon sales
• Expanding product reach

Convey your brand authentically with the right Chinese advertising channels to break into a whole new demographic!

WeChat

WeChat is the world’s third-biggest messaging app (behind Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp). It is a full-fledged app that features thousands of other mini-apps from brands, allowing users to order food delivery, book flights, make direct payments, and more.Types of WeChat Ads:

• Moments Ad
• Article Banner Ad
• Mini Program Ad
• One-Click-to-Follow Ad

Demographic & Usage:

• One billion monthly active users
• Daily average of app use is 90 minutes

Great For:

• Driving brand awareness
• Boosting audience engagement
• Increasing app usage

Baidu

Baidu is China’s biggest search engine since Google is banned in the country. It owns over two-thirds of the Chinese search market share. It is a Pay-Per-Click advertising channel. It was launched in 2000, making it one of the most mature and advanced search engines on the market.Baidu offers:

• Paid Search Ads
• Display Ads

Demographic & Usage:

• Baidu owns over 66% of the Chinese Search market share
• 202 million daily active users

Great For:

• Targeting Chinese users with high purchase intent
• Driving website traffic
• Promoting brand products or app

Weibo

Weibo is a microblogging platform, like the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. It’s the second largest social platform in China, celebrities and influencers having millions of followers on it and it has an incredibly engaged user base. It is the primary social platform Chinese internet users to obtain news from and has capabilities for laser-focused audience targeting.Types of Weibo Ads:

• Display
• Search Engine Promotion
• Fan Headline
• Fan Tunnel

Demographic & Usage:

• 500+ million monthly active users
• 68% of users follow official brand accounts with the intent to receive promos

Great For:

• Boosting brand awareness
• Driving brand engagement
• Improving brand reputation
• Stimulating sales

Douyin

Douyin, which is known as TikTok in the Western world originated from China. They are essentially the same social video app, but they run as individual apps and networks, so if you want to connect with a Chinese audience, a Douyin account is a must.Types of Douyin Ads:

• Open Screen Ads
• Feed Ads
• Sticker Ads
• Music Advertising
• Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Ads

Demographic & Usage:

• 68% of Chinese social media users use Douyin
• More than 400 million daily users in China
• Estimated to reach 555 million users in 2023
• 98% of the user base is under 40 years old

Great For:

• Reaching young, affluent Chinese audiences
• Increasing brand engagement
• Stimulating sales

TMall

TMall is an online marketplace owned by Chinese eCommerce giant, Alibaba. It is so prominent that Amazon closed down “Amazon China” but kept their presence on TMall. TMall runs an analysis of brands to ensure they qualify for their platform, so consumers trust the brand validation. Chinese shoppers can buy authentic goods and foreign brands on TMall.Types of TMall Ads:

• Zhi Tong Che (Keyword Search Ad)
• Pin Xiao Bao (Keyword Search Ad)
• Zhi Zuan (Display Banner Ads)
• Super Recommendation (Algorithm-Driven Display Ads, shows relevant recommendations)
• Ju Hua Suan (Flash-sale Display Ads)

Demographic & Usage:

• 3rd most visited website in the World
• Biggest cross-border eCommerce marketplace in China
• Owns 50-60% of the Chinese eCommerce market share

Great For:

• Reaching Upper Middle-Class Chinese consumers
• Gaining brand recognition
• Driving eCommerce sales

JD

JD is TMall’s biggest competitor. It is an online marketplace platform and a B2C online retailer. It sells products directly to consumers and also hosts third-party brands as well. JD Worldwide, specifically, is the cross-border version that enables Chinese consumers to buy from international (non-Chinese) brands.Types of JD Ads:

• PPC Search Ads
• Display Banner Ads

Demographic & Usage:

• Owns about 30% of the Chinese eCommerce market share
• In 2020, active customer accounts increased by 30% to 472 million people
• 80% of users are aged 18-45
• 65% of users have university degrees

Great For:

• International Brands to sell products
• Breaking into the Chinese market remotely
• Reaching a Chinese audience base that’s young, educated & digitally-savvy

Youku

Youku is known as the Youtube of China. This Alibaba-owned video site is the largest user-generated content ecosystem. It has user-generated video content (short and long forms) and has been adding more films, TV shows, and other subscription content to become more of a streaming platform.Types of Youku Ads:

• Top Page Banner Ads
• Mid-Page Banner Ads
• Bottom Banner Ads
• Pre-Roll Ads
• Mid and Post-Roll Ads
• Pause Ads

Demographic & Usage:

• 500 million active users
• 60% of users are under the age of 30
• The monthly User Retention rate is 60%

Great For:

• eCommerce brands looking for local ad placement
• Delivering visual ads to engaged audiences
• Boosting brand awareness

Did you know that Audio Ads have a 24% higher recall rate than traditional Display Ads?

Brands can use audio advertising to deliver hyper-targeted, relevant ads anytime and anywhere.

• 1 out of 5 audio ads will be programmatic by 2022
• 60% of podcast listeners made a purchase after listening to an audio ad

We’ve included the two popular audio advertising channels, Spotify and Pandora, but there are also others like Youtube Music, Amazon Audio etc we will be expanding on in the future.

Spotify

Spotify is an audio streaming platform available on desktop and mobile that allows people to access and enjoy millions of songs and podcasts.Types of Spotify Ads:

• Audio Ads
• Video Ads
• Podcast Ads
• Custom Experiences

Demographic & Usage:

• Spotify estimates to reach 400 million monthly active users in 2021
• Millennials make up 55% of Spotify’s user base
• Spotify has over 30% of the music subscription global market share
• Daily average listening time in Europe is 99 minutes and North America is 140 minutes

Great For:

• Reaching engaged audiences at anytime
• Boosting brand awareness
• Increasing direct traffic

Pandora

Pandora is another big audio streaming giant. Compared to Spotify, Pandora’s listener base skews a little older and has higher disposable income.Types of Pandora Ads:

• Audio
• Video
• Display
• Content
• Experiential Events
• Studio Resonate

Demographic & Usage:

• The daily average listening duration is 2 hours and 15 minutes
• Largest user demographic is 35-44 years old

Great For:

• Reaching the middle-aged demographic
• Boosting brand awareness
• Increasing direct traffic

90% of travelers conduct their research online and 82% of them end up booking online.There are two types of travel-related ads, one is Metasearch, which is also known as hotel ads; the other is Online Travel Agencies (OTAs).

Metasearch

Metasearch engines are websites that are hotel databases. It allows hotels to save on commission fees by encouraging customers to book directly and bypassing the middleman, OTAs (known as Online Travel Agencies).

People are able to search for specific accommodations on metasearch engines, read reviews, and book directly. Metasearch Ads typically operate as a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) model.

The biggest Metasearch Engines are:

• Google Hotel Ads
• TripAdvisor
• HotelsCombined

Demographic & Usage:

Metasearch Ads guarantee a 25-50% increase in visibility in search listings

Great For:

• Maximizing presence in search results
• Advertising hotel inventory
• Driving direct bookings
• Saving on commission fees from OTAs

Online Travel Agency (OTA)

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are a one-stop-shop for consumers to plan and book their travels, including services such as hotels, airlines, tours, cruises, and other activities. They are like a hybrid of a travel agency and an eCommerce platform.

It’s a cost-effective way to reach international audiences which otherwise would be expensive to advertise through other channels.

Pro-Tip: Combine with Metasearch, Display, and Search Ads to maximize your ad reach!

The biggest Online Travel Agencies are:

• Expedia
• Kayak
• Orbitz
• Priceline
• Travelocity

Facts:

• OTAs collectively own 40% of the global travel market share
• 76% of users book hotels online via OTA
• 47% of users prefer OTAs because they’re easy to use

Great For:

• Growing brand awareness
• Increasing bookings
• Testing out promotions
• Reaching international audiences

Phew, that was definitely quite a bit of information to take in!

No matter which advertising channels you decide to promote your brand, the following tips should be your takeaway from this blog.

• Review your brand’s advertising objectives and build a strategy accordingly
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket — think about where your target audience spends their time online and diversify your ad channels to reach them through multiple touchpoints, which makes for effective retargeting!
• Set your budget then allocate your funds to different channels
• Research industry benchmarks to predict the range of your Return On Ad Spend

As a marketer, it can be overwhelming to manage multiple channels, consistently monitor the campaigns, and make real-time adjustments to optimize ad performance. It takes time and expertise. That’s why “programmatic” is an emerging type of advertising that brands are starting to use!

Programmatic ad tech automates a lot of the process with machine learning. An example is War Room’s programmatic platform, Kedet, which gives direct access to 90,000+ ad publishers’ inventory, conducts real-time ad buying and so much more. It also has the capabilities for hyper-targeting audiences and data integration, which enables in-depth analysis and a holistic, advanced approach to advertising.

Programmatic ad agencies combine cutting-edge technology with human expertise for building customized digital strategies for brands. We definitely recommend looking into this option if you want multi-channel advertising!