Choosing the right target audience in advertising is necessary for having success with your campaigns. But how do you pick the right audience?
Location data lets us understand real-world consumer behavior. We know that the things we do, the places we go and the events that we attend tell the story of who we are. It’s what shows off our true interests, values, and loves. Location data shows how we spend our free time – and our expendable income. This information is the new imperative for marketers. As we say, it’s the marketer’s holy grail. The ability to target your ideal audiences for your next advertising campaign could make all the difference.
Yet, with a bevy of target audiences to choose from, how can marketers choose the right audiences for their advertising campaign? It’s a question that we’re often asked by our agency and brand clients. We’ll share a few best practices from our experience in the location data space to help you better understand target audiences, and prepare you to evaluate the many different offerings now available.
Choose Which Type Of Advertising Campaign Fits Your Company’s Needs
So, where do you start? First, think about the type of advertising campaign that would best fit your company’s needs.
Types of location-based advertising can include:
- Out-of-home (OOH) advertising
- Connected TV (CTV) advertising
- Geo-targeted mobile ads
Of course there is also digital advertising via paid search, display ads, retargeting, paid social, and more.
Each type of advertising has its advantages. After you have selected what type of ad campaign you would like to pursue, then you need to define your objectives.
Define Your Advertising Campaign Objectives
Before choosing your target audience, carefully consider the objectives of your advertising campaign.
Here are some questions to get you thinking about your advertising campaign objectives:
- What are you planning to promote?
- What is the total market opportunity for my product or service?
- What are your ad campaign’s KPIs? What do you expect your ad ROI to be?
- Where can I get the most visibility for my ad? (Hint: Think about where your customers go frequently.)
- What target audiences are you trying to reach, and where would they typically go?
- Am I trying to acquire new customers with my ad, or to engage my current customers?
It’s important to consider these questions carefully as they will help you determine the best target audience for your campaign. After you have determined your ad campaign’s objectives, create your ad creative and finalize your messaging before you begin to evaluate location data providers and their available location-based target audience(s).
Evaluate Available Location-Based Audiences
Now that you’ve finalized the parameters of your advertising campaign, it's time to determine your advertising audiences.
First, location data gives insight into who is actually visiting your physical locations. Where do your customers live and work? What are their demographics? Where else do they go? This can all provide important insight into defining your target audience.
Once you understand your audience, you can test different advertising audiences to see where you find the best results and ROI.
If you're evaluating location-based target audiences, there are four key attributes that you’ll want to consider:
- Deterministic Data vs. Panel Data
- Scale & Reach
- Recency & Refresh Rates
- Frequency
To learn more about choosing the right audience and how Unacast can help, book a meeting with us.
