Amit Lelan
Contextual targeting is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for brands looking to connect with their audiences on video streaming platforms such as YouTube. It is a different and more relevant and effective method of targeting than traditional targeting methods that rely on user demographics and behavior. Contextual targeting, on the other hand, focuses on placing ads in line with the content being consumed.
For example, an ad featuring Ranveer Singh will be placed alongside a video of him giving an interview, while ads for beauty and personal care brands will be placed alongside videos of fashion events. The ads are placed in an environment that is directly related to the content being consumed. This approach not only makes the ads more relevant, but also meets consumer preferences for more personalized and less intrusive ads.
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A modern approach to contextual advertising using AI
Is your brand being duped by “clickbait titles, tags and descriptions”? Place your ads based on visuals and not just the keywords used in the title. YouTube offers demographic and keyword based ad placements but it has limitations in a diverse geography like India, with regional nuances and multiple languages.
Content, context and sentiment are key in a modern approach to contextual advertising, which starts with identifying the content of the video. An independent third-party Indian tool with Indian AI-ML technology can add a layer of brand safety to targeting and identify relevant ad placements by identifying unsafe placements based on sentiment and video content.
AI and machine learning algorithms have changed the way ads are placed over the last few years, with advertisers now focusing on reaching more relevant audiences. Vast amounts of data, including context-based ad placements and user behavior, are monitored to serve customized and relevant ads.
In contextual advertising, growing concerns over data privacy and regulatory scrutiny have led to an increased demand for privacy-focused targeting solutions. Instead, advertisers are exploring alternative approaches to audience targeting rather than relying on intrusive data collection techniques.
How a Japanese apparel brand goes global and optimizes performance with contextual advertising
A well-known retail apparel brand was faced with the challenge of effectively targeting their ads on YouTube at a contextual level that was heavily reliant on keywords. As a result, their ad engagement rates were less than optimal. As a result, working with us improved the visibility and contextual relevance of their ads. The various attributes that were addressed for the retail apparel brand included:
The ad brief includes kids clothing, activewear, kids pants, kids trends, kids sports, the target audience is parents (20-45 years old) and kids (10-19 years old), the geographic location is specified as India with emphasis on metropolitan cities, the target emotions are happiness, friendship and joy, covering video scenes featuring high safety rating, sporty clothing, affordable, kid safe and comfortable clothing.
Today’s latest tools, powered by frame recognition and NLP that enable AI-driven analysis across YouTube videos, identify relevant YouTube videos to include in your URL list, which are automatically included in Ads Manager in near real-time to optimize relevant ad placements.
As a result, the retail apparel brand achieved notable results: a 10% improvement in contextually relevant targeting in a brand-safe environment, a 5% increase in VTR, and a 7% increase in CTR.
Why advertisers are moving to YouTube contextual advertising
Contextual advertising focuses on content instead of user data, providing a compliant and effective alternative. By matching ads with relevant content, it makes ads more relevant, improves brand safety and provides a better user experience. Benefits of contextual advertising include:
Effective contextual targeting and relevance: Another benefit is the ability to precisely target audiences based on their interactions with your desired content. Contextual advertising helps marketers by monitoring the context of web pages, apps, and other digital platforms to tailor ads as per the user’s interests and needs.
Optimize the user experience: Rather than serving consumers generic ads, contextual ads heavily influence the user experience by delivering ads that blend perfectly with the surroundings, creating a seamless experience.
Ad relevance and safe ad placement: AI-ML techniques have improved the efficiency of contextual ad placement, spurring market growth that has a significant impact on some of the world’s largest digital advertising businesses.
Increased engagement: Ads for protein supplements are more relevant to a fitness blog than ads for beauty or cosmetics, and are more likely to grab the audience’s attention and drive engagement. Contextual ads increase consumer engagement by showing them the right ads based on the content they are viewing. Based on relevance, it delivers higher click-through rates and higher conversion rates.
Conclusion
Contextual advertising ensures safe ad placements. Ads appear in appropriate and relevant content environments, thus reaching relevant audiences and protecting brand reputation. Focused on analyzing the context of web pages and digital content to avoid placing ads next to harmful, controversial, or inappropriate content. Brand relevance enables AI-based context-level targeting focusing on elements, logos, faces, keywords, objects, emotions, and more, allowing brands to select the right ads in the right places. Custom targeting allows brands to reach more relevant audiences with a high return on investment.
The author is co-founder and CEO of mFilterIt (Opinions expressed here are the author’s own and not necessarily those of financialexpress.com)
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