DCO & Programmatic Creative – 6 Actionable Production Tips

We’re more than halfway through 2020 – if personalized content isn’t a foundational priority regarding your approach to production, it’s time to make some drastic changes. The average person is exposed to upwards of 5,000 ads per day, yet 72% of consumers only engage with personalized messaging (source). Consequently, it should come as no surprise that, for many brands, reach is no longer the principal concern – relevance is. 

Fortunately, we’re still living in the fledgling stages of a colossal data renaissance. As our analytics capabilities improve daily, so must our understanding of the production demands required to actually – effectively – utilize this data through technologies like dynamic creative optimization (DCO).

Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) is a form of programmatic creative that uses data aggregation techniques to alter the elements of a display ad based on the results of real-time split testing.

Real-time utilization of data can become very complex, very quickly. That’s why APR organized a Virtual Town Square around a panel of the industry’s leading marketing innovators: to discuss ways that brands can successfully utilize data to create more compelling content.

ANALYZE DATA BEFORE THE BRIEF

APR’s Jared Yeater states, “One of MarTech’s unique capabilities is to find, identify, and reach consumers with precision.” However, this potential is only fully realized when the data discussed is distilled down to comprehensible levels for all production members to understand from the beginning. Rachel Calomeni (Numerator) elaborates, “if you don’t have a good starting brief, you won’t make good creative.”

So, how does data fit into your creative briefs? In programmatic creative practices, like DCO, data should lay the foundations for the entire campaign. The more informed your brief is (i.e., the more data you have from square one), the more relevant your messaging – and all of its potential variations – will appear.

For example, if you’re a large food chain, sometimes your ads may appear in your prospect’s social feed during the morning, and other times during the evening. Your messaging will become far more authentic if you target that prospect with ads that reflect those relevant data-points (breakfast brews in the morning, dinner delectables in the evening). Additionally, your messaging may also benefit from capitalizing on local weather reports; a cold, glistening beverage is more appealing to a customer located in an area experiencing stifling temperatures, while a different customer in wintery conditions would respond better to images of steaming hot-cocoa.

Furthermore, programmatic creative is the most cost-effective when a large portion of the production work is completed at the onset, further incentivising the need to make data-based decisions when analyzing your audience and creating production briefs. These briefs – and what has informed them – should be communicated all the way down to the content creators, directors, and technologists. They need to build competency with the data just like marketers in order to make more informed decisions.

UTILIZE BESPOKE DASHBOARDS TO DEFINE ROI

As Paul Mildren (NEON) states, “more and more marketing teams are now being forced to [provide] evidence of the ROI of everything they are producing.” Accurate, relevant reporting is becoming more necessary as a result. For brands with a content ecosystem built across multiple platforms “aggregating the data from different MarTech tools [into comprehensive] dashboards to then begin drilling down into the ROI” affects creative direction, media spend, and the formation of new briefs as new data demands them.

A word of caution from Jared. “Beware… everyone will sell you a dashboard. How you aggregate your data is a critical decision you are making. Seek advice and expertise to ensure you place this responsibility in the right hands.”

DON’T LOSE TRANSPARENCY – CONSTANTLY DEMAND IT

When it comes to programmatic creative – especially DCO – it’s crucial to achieve as much transparency in your data reporting as possible. James Booth (Scoota) elaborates. “In theory, you can pin tracking tags to any element within a piece of creative if the platform is right. You can do this to analyze interaction rates, dwell-times, how far people are getting into your videos, etc.”

This kind of rich data is instrumental to the success of programmatic advertising, and James recommends treating the cultivation of this data as a routine within your production process. “For me, it’s like a hygiene factor. The best way [to manage a complex MarTech ecosystem] is through transparent reporting. Insist on it. Demand it.”

SEEK OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN PRODUCTION GAPS

Budgets are always of principal concern – and this is especially true in programmatic creative, where a surplus of production assets must be created and properly accounted for. Fortunately, opportunities may often be discovered in the gaps within your production process. Mark Lemmons (Shotzr) provides a mini case study to clarify:

“This can be as simple as a script analysis. For example, we had a client that was beginning a YouTube campaign. They knew from their data that it would be effective for them to target the creative [in their messaging]. They had testing that proved this – but their Agency was challenged by the fact that their budget had to be split up into a bunch of slices. So, we analyzed their scripts and showed them where their stock licensing could fill in the gaps in their content production, and where they could refocus their budget as a result. Suddenly, it became practical to focus on [programmatic creative].”

DON’T LET CREATIVES BUY-IN TO HARMFUL DATA MYTHS

Several of our panelists articulated the importance of having creatives involved in the data-driven decision-making of programmatic productions. Yet, as Jared Yeater warns, “MarTech, data, and automation [are often] talked about as an existential threat to creativity and storytelling.”

These technophobic myths seem to crop up any time advancements in automation occur, yet the writing is on the wall: automation doesn’t threaten our industry – it only creates more opportunities. Jared continues, “What I haven’t seen [enough of] is traditionally creative artists, thinkers, and strategists looking at these tools not as a threat, but something they can harness [to create more authentic experiences and stories across platforms].”

Disclosing the roles that datasets play in the production process with your creatives will only benefit your campaigns. “There are [obvious] roles for data as a creative,” adds Rachel Calomeni.  “If you understand these roles as a content creator, you’re going to have better outcomes and achieve more success.”

Lastly, ensure that your creative team views the entire campaign as a piece of living content – with different parts of an overall narrative – rather than individual channels/deliverables. For example, ask how programmatic creative can be utilized from a piece of software to build on existing traditional television content. This opens avenues for creativity while encouraging consistency across the campaign.

MAKE SMALL CHANGES, ITERATE, RINSE AND REPEAT

While creating the bulk of your media assets at the beginning of your campaign can create significant savings, your ability to make small changes and constant iterations become the true markers of success in programmatic creative. As Mark Lemmons states, “It’s not solely about pre-testing – it’s about continuing to test as you progress through a campaign, phasing out the worst performers, and feeding that data back into production for the next variations.”

Don’t view programmatic creative like DCO as a linear timeline with a beginning and end; your messaging will benefit more from the utilization of micro-tests executed throughout the entirety of your campaign’s lifespan. This also allows for the speedier production of newer iterations – and improvements – as a result.

CONCLUSIONS

Data and MarTech continue to play increasingly important roles throughout the production process. For programmatic creative, the opportunities these tools provide are quickly expanding. From creating more effective briefs, to personalizing messages with real-time split-testing, the sky truly is the limit (pending your local weather conditions, of course).