startup marketing

On His Hustle As An AdTech Entrepreneur, Industry Insights, And More: Interview With Digitalks Founder, Mohit Jain

Mohit Jain has been working in the AdTech space for over a decade in various capacities, the recent being the founder and chief consultant in his own venture- Digitalks in Dubai. He is passionate about data analytics, and particularly enthusiastic about the endless possibilities with the integration of technology and marketing. He has spent the last 15 years working focused on digital advertising & data and has worked with some of the biggest & brightest agency names in the MENA region.

Today he shares with us his thoughts and insights about not just the latest developments in AdTech, but also his hustle as an entrepreneur at Digitalks.

Mohit, firstly, tell us what made you take the leap from your already established career to starting your own venture, Digitalks?

I have just loved working with the agencies throughout my career span and that’s where I learnt the skills which made me whatever I am now but at some point, the work became quite repetitive, dealing with similar challenges over & over again, enormous work pressure and 14 – 16 hours working days was impacting work-life balance. On top of that, I wasn’t able to develop new skills to keep up with the pace of the industry. That’s when I decided to take this leap and take control. I am very glad I took this decision at the right time.

What unseen opportunities do you aim to tap with Digitalks?

I don’t know about unseen but I am trying to position Digitalks in between a world that sits between Marketing & IT i.e. Ad Tech. I think of us as “technical marketers” who understand how marketing communications succeed in the digital world and who can code at the same time and tie both worlds together with the help of data and that is why we call ourselves “Data Whisperers”.

Speaking about AdTech, what recent developments are you most thrilled and concerned about? You can cite one example for each.

Frankly, I am more concerned about how advertisers make use of existing AdTech they have access to.

Agencies are great in promising bells and whistles and sharing incredibly beautiful stories using words such as big data, artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, etc but they fail miserably in fixing the foundations and most basic things in their AdTech. I’ll be very happy if they can simply just use Excel and Google Analytics properly to their full potential, to begin with.

 

How much importance or budget do today’s Advertisers give to data compared to their marketing budgets? Do they have separate budgets allocated for data alone (similar to marketing budgets)? 

The true fact today is that the budgets for projects related to data come out from overall marketing budgets. Unfortunately there are not many advertisers who set budgets aside specifically for data specific work in the region we operate in but the situation is rapidly changing. Businesses seek more accountability and this can be only measured by data so things are already shifting. I believe that Covid-19 pandemic is going to further strengthen the budgets in this direction.

Is DMP mandatory for all the Advertisers who are spending their budgets across multiple platforms. Isn’t that a costly affair for small & mid-sized Advertisers?

DMP is an enterprise technology and definitely not for SMEs. In my opinion, DMP is a dying technology which is severely impacted by walled gardens from Google & Facebook, the war of browsers against cookies, GDPR & similar laws, and most importantly it is dying because DMP ad tech companies oversold & overcharged advertisers to a great extent and then they failed miserably in delivering the business results.

Marketers often get confused between DMP & CDP. Can you please simply state the difference between them both and which one should the Advertisers pick first?

Both of these terms can be confusing for someone who doesn’t work with these platforms closely. The confusion is understandable as both technologies claim to collect, unify, segment and activate customer data across digital channels. In simple words, think of a DMP as a big database that collects addressable “cookies” of your prospects & customers and provides a capability to push this data to outside activation platforms so you can reach them with the right message wherever they are or use this data to personalize their experiences on your website or app.  On the other hand, think of CDP as a “data pipe” to pass your own customer data to multiple places depending on the use cases such as when someone fills up a lead form on your website you want to send this data to your CRM, to your email marketing vendor, to your SMS vendor, Google’s & Facebook’s of your world so you can target these users online and then also trigger a workflow to your contact centre partner in India so they can schedule a call with your sales team.

What’s your take on Google disabling the third-party cookies in Chrome? How is it going to affect the data industry of advertising?

It does mean the honeymoon is over for some companies and it is going to impact the audience sizes available in your DSP based on interest and affinity however as the biggest budgets are going to Google, Facebook, Amazon and new social channels such as Snap and TikTok – these guys have built their companies on data they own so I am sure nothing is going to change for them as they will figure out a way however for consumers it does mean more “privacy”. I think it was a very smart move from Google as they prepared themselves clearly to tackle this situation before they announced the change to the world. They gave themselves a 2 years deadline too. Cookies track consumers on the web but things would really change when this rule will be applied on mobile apps as well where cookies are not present and the glue is the device ID of the consumer which is a more powerful piece of data than a cookie. It would be interesting to see how the future will unfold on this front.

Should Advertisers keep buying third-party data from DMPs for their campaigns on programmatic? Is it really worth spending those additional dollars on this data?

It depends on what is your objective. If you are a CPG advertiser looking for mass reach, then these 3rd party datasets can be useful but if you are a performance-driven advertiser then in my experience these 3rd party datasets don’t bring the results they seek. 3P data bought from a DMP or through a DSP is more or less the same but the data volumes of a DMP-based 3rd party data could be higher depending on how that segment was configured.

Coming back to your company Digitalks, how do you plan to increase your verticals and business overall? Is there any expansion plan on cards? 

We are a talent-driven business and expansion for us means bigger team sizes. A lot of companies prefer the “hire fast fire fast” approach but that is not my style.

I am not too concerned about the business as there is too much work out there if you know what you are doing. In addition, I don’t want me or my team to end up working 18 hours a day.

What would you suggest to the young Digital Advertising professionals who are looking to build their career around data science? Is there any specific course or education that you would want to recommend to them to enhance their skills?

I think the first piece of advice I give to young professionals entering into the world of data is to understand where they want to start first. I see 3 very broad categories-

1. Folks who focus on data collection and who can code, build data pipes, build data lakes, work with APIs, etc
2. Folks who can take this data and give it a shape in the form of a report, dashboard, analysis, etc
3. Folks who can go beyond and use this data in machine learning, artificial intelligence, statistical modelling and beyond.

At some point when you keep working on multiple projects, the lines become blurry and you start learning skills outside your core focus area naturally. Once you determine where you want to start then choose a course of your choice. There are so many providers out there that the choices have rather too many and confusing to choose. Coursera, Code Academy, EDX, Udacity, Udemy, Data Camp, Pluralsight, etc… the list goes on and on. However, folks who are interested in developing skills more focused on digital advertising & surrounding ecosystems than I highly recommend CXL.com.  In all cases, newcomers should first start using the free training courses from Google, IBM, Harvard, Coursera and other technology providers which provide specific pieces of training related to their platforms.

The last question- During this unprecedented Coronavirus phase, brands are becoming conservative about their marketing strategies and spends. How do you think this will affect the overall Digital advertising industry? Does data have a role to play here to help the marketers float through? 

The need for measuring every dollar spent is always critical but now due to the CoronaVirus situation, this demand is at its peak. Data has played a great role and will continue to do so in bringing this clarity to advertisers. The advertising budgets were already shifting to online but I think CoronaVirus will work like jet fuel and will speed up the journey of all advertisers who were missing out and will also fuel more money coming to online channels from offline channels. 

More and more consumers will go online and as a result demand and supply both will increase however I think brands will be more driven to spend on performance campaigns than just branding campaigns. That right mix between branding & performance will make or break sense from a brand’s advertising budgets. Data will continue to proliferate and how advertisers make use of this data will be the only differentiator left between a successful brand vs average brand. 

How Companies Like Snapchat Are Saying ‘NO’ To Targeted Ads

Do social media sites track you? In recent years, we have seen social media giants being fined multi-million dollars for breaching privacy.

A simple click, a like, a plain share, used in measuring the effectiveness of the advertising campaign kept users in the dark about how their data was being tracked. And all this began with the need for targeted ads.

Targeted Advertising is a means of advertising where consumers’ online activities are analyzed through cookies and data-mining, and in doing so, intrudes the privacy of the consumer.

Snapchat, the ‘on-the-go’ platform for users, started gaining in popularity amongst the top social network marketing platforms due to its organic, unfiltered, and real-life content.

(Image Credits: Michael Cohen/ Getty Images for New York Times)

Why is Snapchat is continuing to say NO to targeted Ads?

In October 2019 talks at GS, Snap Inc. Co-Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel aptly discussed how social media and digital marketing have transformed the way people communicate. He has rightly touched upon the debate surrounding the privacy of social media users.

In spite of NO targeted ads, why are companies keen to use Snapchat to market their products?

The answer lies in their statistics –

– By December 2019, Snapchat reached 218 million active daily users (Statista Report – 2019).

– Snapchat users, open the app over 20 times a day and spend an average of 30 minutes creating 3 billion snaps a day on the platform.

– Of the Snapchat users, the millennials and Generation Z, almost ¾ of them are under 25.

– Snapchat has more than 14 billion video views per day

– 18% of all social media users also use Snapchat.

– 76% of Snapchat users are also online shoppers.

 What Marketing goals do marketers aim with Snapchat?

1. Brand awareness

Almost 4 out of every 10 Snap chatters discover brands through Snapchat celebrity endorsements and online posts by expert bloggers or via vlogs (as per Global web index, July 2018).

2. Lead Generation

For those trying to expand the top of your marketing funnel, Snapchat advertising lets you create ads within Ad Manager to drive users to download, form fill, or register.

3. Driving local traffic to your website

Custom audiences are a success on Snapchat’s platform. The smaller the audience size, and the more specific the user types, it is easier to reach them. You can choose audience sizes and specific cities/countries to target.

4. Increase Video Ads

Since ads are video-based, Snapchat provides a platform on its site for creating and editing video ads. This means without expensive outside or third-party editing services you can utilize the budgeted amount to increase the number of ads on Snapchat.

5. New audiences

If your product can appeal to a younger demographic but you are unable to connect with them on other platforms, then Snapchat could be your best bet.

6. Website views and conversions

A Snapchat ad encourages the user to swipe up, read more, or check out the website leading to a direct conversion through Snapchat advertising.

7. App Installs and Engagement

Snapchat advertising is uniquely targeted to mobile users in a way that Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and others can relate to but never quite imitate. The target audience is only a touchscreen away from the app store – or a tap away from a deep link placing them right where you want them in-app.

What are the available ad formats on Snapchat?

Snapchat offers three different kinds of ad formats.

i. Snap Ads: Snap Ads appeal to the widest range of advertisers. They come in three forms. Long-form video, website traffic, and app install.

ii. Filters: Filters show up when you take photos on the app. They are designed for brick-and-mortar locations or for large live events.

iii. Lenses: Like filters, lenses show up on selfie shots and are best reserved for wide-spread brand-awareness campaigns.

How will my marketing campaign work on Snapchat if there are no targeted ads?

Like on every social media platform test the waters. The advantages of Snapchat are,

a. Assess if your target market uses Snapchat

Depending on your product/service and the profile of your users, you can have a fair indication, if your target audience uses Snapchat. Or how about asking your Twitter followers if they are on Snapchat? Don’t simply conclude basis demographics that your product/service may not be fit to be marketed on Snapchat. CNN would not be on Snapchat if it thought youngsters are not really interested in world news.

b. Compare Snapchat data to your own demographic data on current customers

According to eMarketer, 6.4% of Snapchat users are going to be between the ages of 45 and 54 which is up more than 2% from 2017 and will be growing in numbers. Further 70% of users are women. Of these, 71% are less than 25 years old, and 38% of them enjoy an income of over $50,000.

Once your product fits the age, gender and lifestyle demographics of your current audiences, Snapchat may turn out to be a good place for your product.

c. Spend a small amount

As per Hootsuite, filter-based Snapchat Ads are as low as $5. The price only increases with the size of the reach. For example, Hootsuite found that an entire city cost $3,000 for them, while the immediate area around their office was only $13 for two days. This gives a first time advertiser to try out the platform without major spending

Conclusion

One of the reasons for the stupendous growth of Snapchat is the position it holds in terms of augmented reality. (Just launched Snapchat’s AR filters that are turning the floor into lava). Universal Pictures wasn’t the first company to place an advertisement on Snapchat, but it was the first to pay Snapchat for an ad. Taco Bell recently told Adweek.com that about 80 percent of its followers open its snaps and 90 percent of those people view the messages in their entirety. It’s easy to understand why brands might be willing to overlook some of Snapchat’s weaknesses when you compare it to the low single-digit engagement averages for organic posts.

15 Facebook Ad Copies For Your Next Ad Campaign! (Every Industry Could Take Some Inspiration)

As of October 2019 Survey by Hootsuite, Facebook’s potential advertising reach globally is 1.93 billion. 32% represent people over the age of 13.

                                                       Image Credit: Hootsuite

Statistics also reveal that the average user clicks 12 ads in 30 days, which shows people interaction with Facebook ads.

                                       Image Credit: Hootsuite

Facebook ads are piquing user’s interest. You will not only see visually appealing ads but also close to your interest. You will see ads of the brands or products which you might be thinking to buy or most interested in. This makes them compelling and engaging.

There is a lot of competition and only THE BEST Facebook ad examples get the 12 coveted clicks. In today’s article, we will take a look at some best Facebook ads I could find and list and examine what makes them effective. You can use them as a guide to comprehend what types of creative, copy and offers work the best to model the success of these campaigns and help to expand your customer base and generate desired returns.

15 Winning Facebook Ad examples 

1. Allbirds

                        Image Credit: Disruptive Advertising

• The animated character on the static shoe image grabs your attention.
• The testimonial in the form of a quote builds trust as people believe more in real testimonials or reviews than ad copies.
• It is eligible for returns if the gift isn’t comfortable or fit well.

2. Coschedule

          Image Credit: Social Media Examiner

• The colorful design of the ad captures the attention right from the start.
• Provides facts and data in the intro of the ad which establishes trust, targets the specific audience and provides the benefits of the product.
• The ad begins with a question, “ Ready to get organized?”- implies that they are promising a benefit to their target audience which might interest them to know more about your offer. The image of the editorial calendar explains how the product helps to achieve the promised benefits.

3. Best Buy

            Image Credit -Digital Marketer

• The best part of the ad is that it tells how you can use the product and not what product offers you.
• The video is attractive and compelling showing the unique quality of the product as well.

4.  James Allen Jewelry

         Image Credit: Disruptive Advertising

• An emotional and heart touching ad, connecting to the audience instantly.
• This video shows a man proposing to his girlfriend and imagining her showing off her ring to whoever she meets for the rest of her life.
• The joy and relief of having the ring on her hand outweigh the joy of saying yes.
• Well, in reality too an engagement ring is a very special piece of jewelry for a woman and this ad captures the emotion and moment very well.

5. FreshBooks

                         Image Credit: KlientBoost

• Straight and simple ad but with a powerful message. The start of the ad says ” FreshBooks makes online accounting easy so you can stay focused on running your business.” which defines their target audience clearly – people who spend more time on accounting than their business ie. small business owners.
• Well defined target audience, strong content, bright colors and relatable design are the USP of the ad. Research states people make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with products or people.
  

6. Shopify

                         Image Credit: Karola Karlson

• Shopify announces new product Shopify pay in this ad for its new and existing prospects.
• The image shows the product and the headline explains the benefit of the product – accelerated payment option.

7. Purple Carrot

                           Image Credit: Disruptive Advertising

• Purple Carrot is a boxed meal-kit and with the holiday season approaching they are making a broad emotional appeal which is effective in this case.
• The carousel ads of multiple meals help in conversions as it shows the various options provided by Purple Carrot. For example, if someone doesn’t like any dish, there are other options for them. Carousel ads help in building potential customers.

8. Ocean Basket Mediterrasian

• Facebook Canvas Ads recently renamed as Instant Experiences is used in this example extensively. It offers a unique visual experience to the audience.
• The upbeat music to each slide, engaging and high-quality video, and intriguing content to explain what the brand has to offer. As you keep progressing in the video, you can see more information on the final product and just in time you see a CTA in the end.
• The ad includes carousel advertising and a full spectrum of social media interface. The idea of the ad is to give the audience a glimpse of Ocean’s Basket Sushi as a feast of flavors and enticing the heart and mouth with the delicacies.

9.  The New York Times

                           Image Credit: Hubspot

• This ad by the New York Times is a classic example of photo ads. The ad with an intriguing illustration depicts the audience – millennials. The drawing is visually compelling and non-traditional that immediately draws attention. 
• If the main product to advertise is a reading article then the publisher needs to be creative with images and they should complement the written content.
• The goal of the ad is increasing the page’s likes and the call-to-action compels to read more about the article.

10. Boston Sports Club

                     Image Credit: Hubspot

• Bustle boosted a post that promotes one of its articles on Facebook. It is already posted organically on the page and paying to boost it can highly benefit the content that has mass appeal.
• Bustle’s boosted ad attracts many Bustle and Amazon followers. We are familiar with the Amazon Prime logo and color, but it’s a neon sign in the image and a high number of examples pique viewers’ interest.
• It is a brilliant ad that creates curiosity in the minds of the audience and compels them to click and learn more about the article.

11. Bustle

                                    Image Credit: Hubspot

• Bustle boosted a post that promotes one of its articles on Facebook. It is already posted organically on the page and paying to boost it can highly benefit the content that has mass appeal.
• Bustle’s boosted ad attracts many Bustle and Amazon followers. We are familiar with the Amazon Prime logo and color, but it’s a neon sign in the image and a high number of examples pique viewers’ interest.
• It is a brilliant ad that creates curiosity in the minds of the audience and compels them to click and learn more about the article.

12. GlobeIn

                             Image Credit: Design Pickle

• GlobeIn handmade crafts sourced from different regions and delivered at the doorstep. The highlighting point of the ad is the message on how the product will benefit consumers and the community.
• People support and invest in socially conscious businesses that contribute to the betterment of society. The ad capitalizes on the idea that when a customer purchases the product, it supports fair trade, ethical wages, and hardworking, labor class people.
• The ad shows the unique work of artisans and makes an emotional appeal that helps to engage the audience.

13. Hygge Bands

         Image Credit: ROI Overload

• This slideshow ad show multiple images of people wearing different Hygge bands on their runs. Slideshow ads can be a substitute for video ads if you are short on budget. 
• The ad makes good use of emoji and shows the product in use making it relevant and relatable to the audience.
• The ad has a good deal to offer ‘Buy 1, Get 3 free’ which is tempting and encourages buying behavior.
• Another highlighting factor is the lifetime warranty, PayPal payment, and quick shipping. This gives potential customers the confidence to try the product if they are not aware of the brand.

14. Grammarly

https://www.facebook.com/grammarly/videos/295947004582379/?t=0

• Simple, Subtle, heart-touching and engaging- these adjectives define the ad. Grammarly has used a fascinating story of a user and elegantly woven into the product. The story complements the product naturally.
• The goal of Grammarly is branding and they have used a  storytelling approach that has reached around 5 million people.
• Always end your ad with a CTA and here it is “Write the future”. The engagement rate of this ad was very good and as reported by AdEspress, the video-view rate increased by 33% and cost-wise they landed $0.02 video-views and a CPC of $1.87.

15. Project Repat

              Image Credit: Sprout Social

• It is not necessary to have a massive budget for your ad creative. Project Repat goal is the find interested buyers who are unaware of personalized T-shirt quilts.
• Initially, for the holiday campaign, they used lead ads to target specific groups and built a 1% lookalike audience based on emails collected from the response from lead ads. Later, they tried different formats and styles but what clicked is the ad creative featuring user-generated content that entices viewer attention and converts. 
• They retargeted the ad across social media platforms to a Custom audience from the website and another Custom audience who had engaged with its ads by viewing, clicking or liking them. 
• The result was phenomenal with 3.2x quilts sold during the holiday season.

The Essentials of a Great Facebook Ad

Although the essence behind each ad is different, the elements more or less the same. Some of the key elements are:

• Headline: Title of the Ad
• Text: It appears directly above or below the image and a viewer notices the first thing. Keep it short and concise. 
• Description: Only if needed, you should use more text in your ad to describe the product in depth.
• Media: Image or Video used in an ad which engages more audience.
• Call-to-action: An excellent way to ensure the audience takes action after viewing the ad.
• Ready for Your Next Facebook Ad Campaign? 

With various Facebook Ads examples, I hope it sheds some light and helps you determine your strategy to create an engaging Facebook campaign and connect with your audience. Hopefully, these ads gave you an idea or inspiration that you can implement in your next Ad campaign because when it comes to creativity sky is the limit.