How to organize ad operations, customize the campaigns, redesign ad spots and look for effectiveness variances.

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2. Client wished to stay anonymous
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Client is a leading online publisher in
Europe.
This makes them also one of the
biggest Gemius’s clients for the
adserving platform – AdOcean.
Both: CPM and CPC are popular in
market where Client operates.
However average CTR ratios are very
low. This highlights how important
campaign performance is.
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3. Solution - AdOcean
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4. Problem
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After Client implemented AdOcean and completed a full inventory overview, the remaining bits of
adspace were sold out quickly .
To achieve growth, Client had to free up some of that unproductive inventory.
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5. Team organization
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Client has a dedicated person - Director of ad operations and products - responsible for optimizing
adspace and improving advertising products.
Ad operations provide sales people with information on technical possibilities and impression
availability. They pursue higher efficiency, greater revenue potential, and are entitled to reject some
of the sales whims.
AD OPS
AD SALES
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6. Challenge
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The AdOcean adserver offered several new functionalities. Sales benefited by making them available
to advertisers.
But soon it became clear that Client needs to set some internal rules for optimization of all campaigns.
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7. Solution – campaign enhancements
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It was a strategically good decision to implement frequency capping for all campaigns in order to decrease
the consumption of impressions. Capping came at no extra costs to the advertisers.
In case of CPC campaigns, more campaigns got geographically targeted and were displayed only in
relevant content with the help of keywords. If not required by advertisers, Client made such
improvements on their own.
Targetings, just like retargeting strictly narrowing down the audience and substantially decreasing the
total number of impressions, were sold for additional money.
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8. Solution – automatic optimization
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“Best performing” was used to optimize the choice of placements and creative material pairs that deliver higher
CTR ratios.
eCPM optimization improved revenue performance of campaigns that were competing for the same impression.
CTR optimization between orders
of CPC campaign A
CTR optimization between orders
of CPC campaign B
CPM based campaign C
eCPM optimization between all non-guaranteed campaigns A, B, C
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9. Results
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After 13 months of gradual improvements, Clients’s average CTR increased by 233%
Currently they have the highest expected CTR in the country and it gives them a great competitive
advantage.
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10. Results
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The Client significantly saved impression inventory from CPC campaigns.
Generated more revenues from more clicks and attracted more premium campaigns .
Client was able to sell more campaigns within same inventory warehouse.
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11. Yet another challenge
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Client planned redesigning banners to achieve better
performance and evaluate their split to different price models.
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12. Solution
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Publisher statistics accumulate all
campaign CTR and provide split by ad
formats. Low performing ones were
closed or combined to serve larger
formats.
Placements with low in-screen ratio
were moved up the page.
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13. Solution
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Client’s inventory is split into such main categories:
priority 1
Exclusive
premium, usual
ly flat fee or
high CPM
campaigns
priority 2
priority 3
priority 4
Guaranteed
premium, usually
CPM campaigns
with strict plans to
fulfil
Commercial
nonguaranteed,
usually CPC
campaigns with
flexible plans
Self promotional
campaigns, usua
lly no free
impressions left
for this category
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14. Solution
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In the beginning there were placements dedicated only to premium campaigns and others to
performance campaings. Such split had to be justified and optimized by eCPM values.
Client created clear benchmarks for each placement:
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15. Results
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Rules for splitting the inventory became more flexible. Some performance campaigns could get
into premium placements if they were driving enough revenue.
It allowed Client to learn their “sweet spots” for performance campaigns.
Relocating allowed premium positions to get more “share of voice” and attract more branding
campaigns that are sold per higher CPMs.
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16. Results
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The ad operations team continues searching for eCPM irregularities on daily basis. From time to
time, sales team is asked to revise the deal with advertiser, to re-negotiate or improve the
advertised product’s offer.
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17. Results
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Client achieved a 145% increase in eCPMs on top
respective revenue increase from current and new advertisers.
8 placements. It generated
placement B
placement D
eCPM
placement E
placement F
placement G
placement H
placement I
placement J
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18. 4 take-aways
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Appoint an independent person for ad operations.
Set internal rules and benchmarks for optimization.
Redesign placements and reorganize a campaign’s split according to eCPM values.
Learn your “sweet spots” and keep enriching your inventory.
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