In a recent report on Web 3.0, Viant Technology Inc. noted a variety of industries experiencing rapid digitalization during the pandemic. The authors of the report said companies “powered through 10 years of digital transformation during a very long year-plus.” And they noted that the “ever-adaptable consumer changed just as fast and maybe faster, replacing personal linkages with digital ones in record time.”
Well, buckle up, because there’s another transformation occurring.
Web 3.0, or as Viant Technology calls it, the “New Open Web,” is being driven by growing demand by consumers for digital privacy. They are also seeking more meaningful connections to brands and merchants. They crave a more personalized experience and relevant engagement from the brands they support.
“At the same time, the mechanisms by which marketers connect with consumers are in flux,” the report noted. “Due, in part, to these same consumer pressures, cookies and device IDs — once mainstays of programmatic advertising — are on the way out. The digital advertising industry is scrambling to find new ways to reach consumers, trying to keep up with a future that has already arrived.”
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For its part, Viant Technology offers Adelphic, which is an industry-leading omnichannel demand-side platform that helps marketers deliver programmatic ad campaigns across channels and at scale. The results are startling. For example, a global footwear brand using the platform experienced a 150 percent boost in foot traffic to its stores. And a children’s clothing brand saw an $18 return on ad spend, or ROAS, versus its $5 goal while conversions grew 162 percent, which was 2 percent above its goal for new customer acquisition.
But what are some of the opportunities of the New Open Web, and what do marketers need to know as the market transforms once again? Tim Vanderhook, chief executive officer of Viant Technology, said this is “a moment of renaissance for digital advertising, and the potential of the open web is greater than ever for marketers.”
Vanderhook said the open web “emphasizes choice in where and how to connect with customers across the expanding digital landscape — across different content experiences.” The CEO said new emerging channels, such as streaming audio, digital OOH and in-game advertising, “provide new ways for marketers to connect with their audiences outside of walled gardens in moments that matter. We’ve already seen how connected TV has changed the landscape.”
And as the open web evolves, which includes “cookie deprecation,” Vanderhook said, industry marketers need to shift to a people-based standard — which puts the user first and delivers a better experience. “Our technology runs on a people-based standard, which can give companies a higher return on their media investments and break down data silos,” he added.
There are other opportunities, too. Vanderhook said Web 3.0 comes into existence with new technologies such as blockchain, “it will open up new opportunities in the open web. We will see an internet that values independence rather than controlled spaces such as walled gardens.”
“As the web becomes decentralized, large gatekeepers will not control marketers’ access, instead, consumers will invite advertisers in,” he noted. “It’s a moment of reset between consumers and brands and there’s a tremendous opportunity for brands to connect in better ways with their customers.”
When asked where he sees ad spending shifting in the next year or so, Vanderhook said CTV ad spend will likely continue to grow “as more consumers are engaging in connected TV platforms and moving away from linear or traditional TV. Citing a 2022 AdExchanger article, he said, “at least one CTV device can be found in over 80 percent of American homes, and CTV ad budgets are expected to double by 2026.” Also, the CEO said his company expects to see more investments in emerging channels — which includes digital-out-of-home, digital audio, and in-game advertising. This offers brands a chance to engage with their customers in new places, he said.
Regarding trends retail marketers and brands need to know, Vanderhook offered several key ones to keep in mind. The first is that retail marketers need to create hybrid consumer experiences as well as demonstrate return by utilizing and connecting both online and offline marketing. “This will help ensure that marketers are reaching more households and getting more conversions while improving the overall consumer experience,” the CEO explained. “By connecting online and offline advertising, advertisers are able to improve their measurement and effectively track and optimize their media investment and ROAS.”
Vanderhook also said retail media and retail media networks are opening new opportunities. “The massive — and likely permanent — shift to online buying means that brands have to reach customers in a virtual buying environment, right at the point of purchase,” he said. “This channel helps brands maximize the impact of retail ad spending and to run point-of-purchase media independent of Google and Amazon. The emergence of retail media networks provides companies with troves of first-party data (such as retail purchase data) to generate billions of advertising networks.”
The CEO said tech capabilities are now enabling online and offline measurement “and this closed-loop attribution is driving the growth.” Vanderhook said as cookies deprecate, and marketers adapt to the privacy-first web, “marketers should be pursuing a first-party data strategy — whether leveraging these networks or leveraging their own data as retail media networks.”
Lastly, Vanderhook said marketers should also be prepared “for the acceleration of the path and transition from cookies to a more people-based marketing approach.”
“Much of the web is already cookieless — including environments such as CTV and mobile apps,” Vanderhook noted. “Marketers should ensure that they are considering CTV and emerging media channels that enable them to reach and engage their audiences, where they are spending their time the most.”