How To Scale Your PPC & Advertising Way Beyond Google Ads [Podcast]

Success in the fast-paced world of advertising requires a focus on innovation and adapting to the latest trends. This includes staying informed about changes in the use of cookies, the growing importance of identity, and exploring opportunities in emerging platforms such as connected television (CTV).

John Gentry, CEO of OpenX, joins me at SEJShow to discuss ad exchange opportunities, distribution outside of Google and Microsoft, how bidding works, increasing opportunities for mobile and CTV advertising, and the role of identity and cookies in ad targeting.

Gain insights on how to take your advertising and PPC efforts to new heights.

The key is to make an offer in front of someone who has shown interest. Reach out to the consumer in real time and understand that they want something — they want a car, they want tickets to a baseball game. So you respond to them at that exact time, which makes this work compelling. The great charm of this model was the real-time response to the user’s needs. – John Gentry, 04:26

Paid search is a great entry point into an ecosystem of ad models working together to define this intent. And then, if someone doesn’t make a purchase decision at that moment, then you can remarket/retarget. You can then remind them, or at least have the data. Maybe they’re somewhere in the funnel where you look at a blog post, buyer’s guide, or comparison page, and then follow them. – Lauren Baker 05:07

The program came out of this idea to take the intent and see if you can respond to the user within a certain time frame. The goal here is to try to keep that offer in front of the user when you think you understand the consumer wants to buy something. Automated ads expand this opportunity to be in front of that user and target that user with a different time period. – John Gentry, 05:53

[00:00] – about John.
[05:07] – That’s where the software comes into play.
[06:59] OpenX overview.
[09:46] How is first-party data different from cookie-based advertising?
[11:21] – How buyers match the data.
[18:19] More about the open public.
[19:38] – Will there be an alternative to Google?
[22:34] How will artificial intelligence change the search experience?
[25:42] How does CTV targeting work?
[33:09] Ways to keep OpenX sustainable.
[39:28] – The next big thing to look out for.

Mentioned sources:

OpenX – https://www.linkedin.com/company/openx/

The ability to target the individual user level is very powerful. All of these things are protected, encapsulated, and implemented securely. There’s been a recent move towards cleanrooms, which are secure ways of sharing data in which you guard the person who owns the data; The company owns the data that does not leak. And there’s a lot of investment in that, which is excellent because that goes back to privacy. How do we do, how do we maintain these things? How can we target ads in a way that protects people’s personal information? – John Gentry, 17:10

With CTV, you can now understand which household is watching that content, which means you can now look at the behavior of those households to understand potential attribution directly from the ad. This is a massive game changer. And I think that’s the big step. What we’re seeing advertisers do – the first thing they did when streaming came along – they realized that the live audience was invaluable. I think what we’re seeing now is kind of the expected and unsurprising transition to more processability and the ability to understand how I can target a specific family. – John Gentry, 26:22

Are we seeing consumer behavior move with AI? Because if the user switches to AI, that will be a new form of marketing, right? This is a place we have to reframe. How do we communicate with the consumer and help them find what they need or address what is going to happen? So I think that’s a great area in terms of where things are going to go on the advertising side. – John Gentry. 40:06

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Connect with John Gentry:

A veteran of the technology and media industries, John Gentry serves as CEO of OpenX, a world-renowned provider of digital advertising technology.

Prior to joining OpenX, he was Head of Spot Runner, CRO for Green Dot, SVP, and GM of Overture Services’ Affiliate Business. In addition, he has held executive positions at Disney/ABC and Discovery Communications.

Having 20 years of leadership experience, an engineering background, and a product innovation background makes him an ideal leader to navigate the changing times. With his invaluable contribution to OpenX, he is committed to further accelerating the OpenX fast lane.

Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gentry-93561/

Connect with Lauren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal:

Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker

Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker