If your advertising failed to meet goals in 2018, if you’re re-evaluating your marketing stack, and if you’re considering how best to invest your budget, time, and resources in 2019, take a moment to ask yourself these questions:
How did or will the software help to enhance the effectiveness of my production, trafficking, or measurement workflows?
How did or will the software fit into my existing technology stack or replace part(s) of my stack? And how well does this software integrate with the other software for supply partners, measurement vendors, data management partners, production tools, etc… that I’m already using?
Consider these three instances where your marketing tech might have failed you in 2018 so you can be better prepared for the new year.
1. It didn’t work with authoring tools or measurement providers
Two of the most pressing workflow concerns should be production and measurement— you have to be able to go about these with precision and ease. So if a particular software can’t ingest, manage, leverage, or transparently report on all aspects of assets you’ve already authored in real time, it should raise a big red flag.
2. It didn’t integrate well with your data management platform (DMP)
If you work with multiple data providers and data sources, your biggest concern should be easily leveraging all that great data for audience targeting and creative relevancy. Being able to reach the right audience with the right message is essential— so make sure your current or new software can ingest, utilize, and report on all of your audience data. If it doesn’t integrate well with your DMP, this will become a huge pain point later on, if it isn’t already.
3. It wasn’t compatible with your ad server or demand-side platform (DSP)
It’s critical that any other software you use or invest in (data management, creative management, measurement, etc)–works seamlessly with your ad server. Likewise, it should enhance both your trafficking and measurement workflows by removing complexity, instead of introducing more of it.
Ultimately, when choosing which technology to keep or to adopt, prioritize software that best solves specific core pain points. But also, and perhaps most importantly, invest in software that prioritizes strategic integrations and partnerships with the rest of the software you need.