Kedet, Author at War Room Inc

How Gen Z Is Re-Defining Digital

They’re mobile-minded, TikTok-obsessed, and probably confused by your CD collection: Generation Z is not to be taken lightly as the next wave of digital consumers with enormous purchasing power. In this blog, we will take a closer look at this influential demographic and share some tips for advertisers to capture this audience! You spent all this time learning about Spotify, the differences between Tinder and Bumble, and the hundreds of other digital nuances that make marketing to millennials a very specific process.…Only to realize that there’s a new generation of consumers who are even more digitally-oriented than their older siblings: Generation Z. Now it’s more about learning how to do the Savage dance on TikTok, why so many people love “Rick and Morty” or “Fortnite” and finding which influencers to follow and sponsor to best get your brand out there. Here’s a quick overview of the differences between Millennials and Generation Z. Here are the topics we’ll be covering: Who Is Generation Z? How Marketers Can Win With Generation Z Best Channels To Promote Your eCommerce Business To Gen Z Who is Generation Z? Generation Z refers to the demographic that was born between 1997 and 2012. As of 2021, they would be around 9 to 24 years old. In 2020, there are about 2.56 billion Gen Z members worldwide, and by 2030, they will make out 30% of the global workforce. According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z members are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation and are on track to be the most educated generation yet. In the United States, Gen Z is the largest subgroup, accounting for almost one-third of the population. Generation Z is Tech-Savvy Gen Z is born into a world of smartphones, iPad, apps, and more within the digital realm from the start. Because of this, they are used to finding and processing information online faster. Here are some quick stats: 94% of Gen Z’ers own laptops. 3 out of 4 say the primary activity in their free time is spent online 75% say they get most of their information from social media Here is a great quote from Steph Wissink that sums up Gen Z and their fluency in digital: Gen Z is one of the first generations (as a cohort) to be fluent in rapid information gathering. They can sift through institutional messages, to filter out excess noise, and to identify voices they can trust. Generation Z Has Huge Purchasing Power Globally, their purchasing power is $143 billion – that’s right, billion! Generation Z makes up 40% of global consumers. These are the categories they spend the most money on: Food (restaurants, fast-food, beverages, etc.) Entertainment (hobbies, etc.) Appearance (hair, clothing, cosmetics, etc.) Education (tuition, textbooks etc) Car (gas, insurance, etc.), Groceries Mobile Phone Bills Public Transportation and more It’s estimated that up to 80% of Gen Z’s decisions and needs influence the foods and products parents buy, which brings up another point: Gen Z have parents, friends, and older siblings, too. Therefore, the decisions and buying habits Gen Z has can and will influence the purchasing decisions parents can make. Especially when it comes to the food and home product industry: up to 70% of home food choices are influenced by Generation Z. This influence extends to the services that families use as well, like kid friendly meal delivery options. By having a preference for certain types of cuisine or dietary options, Gen Z not only shapes what is served at the family table but also helps diversify the offerings of these delivery services, contributing to a global food culture that is all-inclusive and health-conscious. How Marketers Can Win with Generation Z Gen Z, along with their digital habits, is evolving faster than you can say the words “It’s Lit”. If you want to maintain your company’s bottom dollar and keep your profit margins steadily increasing, Gen Z is the generation you need to be learning about – and fast. Luckily, we’ve got you covered – as always. Here are 5 essential points to consider when marketing to Generation Z to nail your messaging when it comes to marketing, because nowadays – first-impressions are all we have, especially with this generation. #1: Target Cross-Channel Digitally As mentioned above, Generation Z members are children of the digital age. Therefore, segmenting your audiences across different channels will be vital to your marketing strategy. You need to be in more places than one! Gen Z use: smartphones, laptops, tablets, desktops, and TV. “Just Google it” is common sense to Generation Z. They typically turn to the internet (Google) to research and gather information and make purchasing decisions, so Search Ads are a must. Tip: Think about how your Expanded Text Ads appear. Also, take advantage of things like callout extensions and site link extensions on your ads to ensure an easy as possible path to purchase. As digital consumers, you can bet most of Gen Z is active on social media. Here is a glance at which social platforms they use the most: This survey was conducted in 2019, and TikTok has grown significantly in terms of usage. A recent study showed that young audiences spanning 4 to 15 years old spend a whopping 80 minutes a day on the app! To learn more about all the rage about TikTok and how brands can leverage the app, check out “What is TikTok?” Looking at the survey graph above, brands should consider the following ad formats to run: Instagram Ads Snapchat Ads Facebook Ads Pinterest Ads Gen Z’ers spend most of their time watching Netflix (35%) and Youtube (37%). If you want to capture them on these platforms, consider running in-stream OTT (Over The Top) and video ads. In-stream ads are excellent for retargeting. “The average attention span of Generation Z is 8 seconds. That’s how long they decide if something is worth their time.” Be sure to capture their attention from the get-go! #2: Mobile-Minded Here is a quick breakdown of smartphone ownership amongst Gen Z across the world.

Why Marketers Should Consider Targeting Gamers

Gamers are an audience segment you shouldn’t underestimate. Since the holidays, popular gifts have been Sony’s latest and much-coveted gaming console, Playstation 5 or the family-friendly Nintendo Switch. This is precisely why we will be discussing why marketers should consider targeting gamers! Here are the topics we will be covering in this blog: The Boom of the Gaming Industry A Very Underrated Audience Segment Gaming Platforms For Advertisement Summary TL;DR – What Have We Learned? Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash The Boom of the Gaming Industry Video games have always been a medium for escapism. People flock to them to take their minds off from the stress and reality of day-to-day life. In 2020, the pandemic had given video games a big push. Even people who might not have played many games before have gotten more time on their hands. Our previous blog highlighted that the global mobile usage average has increased by an hour a day, and mobile ads saw a 15% increase in engagement rate. This also resulted in a 59% surge in in-game advertising revenue! There are currently 3.09 billion gamers around the world and that number is predicted to grow to 3.32 billion in 2024. Here’s a look at gaming in the pandemic era: Playing video games can be relaxing (think Animal Crossing), exhilarating (Pub-G), hilarious (Jackbox Party Games), and extremely social. Many games nowadays are social, like Fortnite, which is a free-to-play, battle royale game. 99 players worldwide have to fight to survive on a virtual island and be the last one standing. In March 2019, there were 250 million players. By April 2020, during the first wave of COVID-19, that number has jumped to 350 million unique players. In solely the month of April 2020, there have been a combined total of 3.2 billion hours spent in the game. Take a look at how the game itself makes money: Did you know that over half of the US population plays at least one digital game? Gaming systems like Playstation, Nintendo, and Xbox are widely popular and take up about half of the gaming industry’s revenue. Ever since their launches, sales have been consistently growing: Here’s a quick breakdown of lifetime sales (as of May 2023) of each system: Playstation 5: 38.4 million PlayStation 4: 117.2 million Nintendo Switch: 125.62 million Xbox One: 50 million These numbers will continue to grow, and these gaming system titans will be launching innovative new products. Playstation recently debuted their latest system, Playstation 5, which sold out almost immediately. Nintendo released a more compact version of the Switch called Switch Lite and has already teased the news of Nintendo Switch 2. Well, what makes up 51% of the global revenue for the gaming industry? Say hello to mobile games! Hundreds and thousands of games are also accessible to those without a gaming system via smartphones or tablets. The most popular apps in the Apple and Google Play store are predominantly mobile games. Facebook recently released a Gaming Report with 2020 insights. It saw major growth in mobile gaming: No matter what tickles your fancy, there is a game out there for everyone. A digital crossword puzzle game for seniors to keep their minds sharp; a zombie shoot-em-up gorefest for thrillseekers, a challenging turn-based strategy game, or a chill management game where you tend to a virtual farm… whether playing solo or socially, people can spend as long or as little time they want to be entertained through games. American gamers in the age range of 18-35 play mobile games for an average of 48 minutes a day. Research shows that the global gaming market is worth almost $160 billion, and it’s predicted to surpass $200 billion in revenue by 2023. Custom game development is the key to creating unique and engaging gaming experiences tailored to specific audiences. Additionally, a game art studio is pivotal in crafting visually stunning and immersive gaming experiences. The future of gaming is limitless, and advertisers should take note. A Very Underrated Audience Segment Gone are the old days with gamer stereotypes. Gamers now range among so many demographics. Can you believe that middle-aged women are the most avid mobile games?! We’re looking at you, Candy Crush! A survey revealed that 65% of US women aged 10-65 play mobile games. Women make up 49% of all mobile gamers and play more frequently than their male counterparts. The average age of a female gamer is 37 years old who is financially independent. 1 out of 3 of women who play mobile games regularly have high purchase-intent when it comes to games or in-game loot or gear. Female gamers are a very underrated market! Photo by SCREEN POST on Unsplash Gaming Platforms For Advertisement In this section, we will dive into the top channels brand marketers can serve digital ads and get in front of gamers! iOS & Android Mobile Games Since mobile gaming advertising is the most popular and accessible platform for the public, we’ll look at it first. All mobile games are downloadable apps. So the type of advertising best suited for this is in-app advertising. Brands pay app developers to serve ads on mobile apps. There are a few types of in-app ads: Mobile Banner Ads are Display Ads are typically located at the top or bottom of the mobile screen Interstitial Ads are during transitions of a game, for example, a loading screen Rewarded Video Ads incentivize users to view video ads to get game rewards Mobile Native Ads blend into a mobile app’s layout and theme and provide relevant content What’s great about mobile apps is that there is a vast list to choose from in-depth data tracking and audience-targeting functions. Data that can be collected include geolocation, age, gender, type of device, etc. Technologies like Klick&Mortar can even track if someone viewed your ad and visited a shop in person! Because those who are playing mobile games are highly engaged in the app, mobile ads tend to have decent Click-Through Rates (CTR). It’s a great monetization strategy for any brand running digital campaigns! Twitch Twitch is a live-streaming site that was acquired by Amazon for $970 million

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14 Best Programmatic Advertising Platforms

There are a lot of programmatic advertising platforms in the world.You’re an advertiser on the hunt for a reliable, trustworthy programmatic ad partner. You need a company who knows the business of programmatic tech, and can use it to make your ad spend go further, faster. But who do you trust? You could spend weeks gathering data on the top Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) and the best Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) around. You could put your finest people on exploring ad networks and B2B programmatic ad vendors – and still be confused at the end. It may be 2021, but there’s a lot of unclear information out there. Editor’s Note: Our list of recommendations is not organized alphabetically or by ranking. Here’s some good news! We’ve taken the time to review each of these programmatic advertising platforms for you, to help you make the best decision for your brand. Here they are! Here is a list if you prefer to skip to a specific one: Kedet MediaMath Amobee Digilant Disruptive Advertising Fyber SmartyAds Choozle IgnitionOne Sizmek Tubemogul Google Marketing Platform Appnexus Console AdRoll Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash Kedet from War Room Of course, we had to put ourselves at #1. Named as one of AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Player and Neil Patel‘s best programmatic ad platforms, War Room is an agency focused on programmatic advertising for brands across industries. We built our ad tech platform (and mascot), Kedet, from scratch! It uses Artificial Intelligence to connect your brand to the world of high-impact programmatic ads and transparent ad tech practices. Theomnichannel platform gives you simple access to an enormous list of Demand Side Platforms, suppliers, and ad networks for a smarter programmatic solution. We intentionally built our platform and agency to exceed the expectations of advertisers, based on existing studies, competitors, and comparison data. We are best known for our hyper-targeting capabilities and cross-channel attribution. With our tried-and-true methodology, SCORE, you can expect performance-driven campaigns with great Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Look no further for outstanding, managed programmatic ad services. Our mission is to take the fear out of digital advertising! Get In Touch MediaMath The well-known ad tech giant MediaMath makes it on this list because of their omnichannel DSP offering. Great data management and intelligence sets this company apart in the programmatic space. If you’re a large brand looking for a fantastic all-rounder, check this company out. They have a strong track record that speaks volumes in the industry. Amobee Amobee is an independent advertising platform that focuses on omnichannel reach, like we do. One of their solutions involves a DSP that allows their clients to execute cross-channel programmatic campaigns. It’s admired for its extensive features and comprehensive ad tracking abilities. Known best for their programmatic display advertising options, the only criticism we can find online is that retargeting could be better. Digilant Digilant offers clients the ability to use their omnichannel agency solutions or run self-sufficient campaigns on their platform. As an agency they use the MediaMath platform to help clients run their own digital campaigns. This brand is useful when you need an agency to teach your team how to run partial or fully independent programmatic campaigns online. Disruptive Advertising As far as programmatic advertising platforms go, Disruptive Advertising focuses on PPC ads, display ads, Facebook ads and programmatic video advertising. They are known for their transparent practices and elegant dashboards – and they have hundreds of proven success studies published from their client base. Fyber Fyber is a mobile-focused programmatic ad company that helps you monetize app ads with their FinTech software development projects. Their web platform has proprietary technology and was created when 4 ad tech companies combined, offering tailored solutions through expert ReactJS development services. Now they offer mediation, real-time bidding, video advertising, and complete programmatic management solutions. SmartyAds SmartyAds is a full stack ad system that does just about everything in the programmatic realm. When you partner with them you get omnichannel programmatic, access to impressive ad tech and clean, easy-to-track viewability for your ads. This platform is for buyers, sellers and tech partners. Choozle Choozle makes it onto the list with a well-known suite of digital advertising tools. Their programmatic extends across video, mobile, display and many other formats. They are best known for their great training resources, online coaching and as a starter DSP platform with limited data insights. IgnitionOne Programmatic advertising companies with strong customer intelligence like IgnitionOne, are worth investigating. They offer omnichannel targeting and personalization to customers, but it’s limited. Feedback on the suite is that it’s not the easiest platform to use, and it’s fairly expensive. Still, it’s one of the better platforms out there for customer insights. Sizmek Sizmek was recently acquired by Amazon Advertising in 2019, which makes them a company to watch. As a programmatic ad management platform they have some smart features for clients. As one of the original digital advertising companies on the block, their multi-screen capabilities are excellent and they make a great DCO (dynamic creative optimization) for programmatic creative, for larger companies. Tubemogul Adobe’s Tubemogul is the advertising cloud that unites and automates all of your digital video advertising functions. Their focus is on personalizing the ad experience for your customer. This is a good option for video programmatic, and the platform makes it easy to execute campaigns across multiple platforms and screens. Users mention a slower UI, which is common with Adobe product offerings. Google Marketing Platform Once the king of digital advertising platforms, Google is still way up there in terms of usability and impact. It’s particularly good for programmatic search advertising, but a little clunky. General consensus is that there are better options out there for an overall DSP. Appnexus Console One of the more technical digital advertising marketplaces around, AppNexus works best if you have an on-staff analytics team. Small and large buyers will like the self-service options. On the whole, users tend to say that this company works best if you understand programming, but it is a solid DSP to use for skilled users. AdRoll Last on the list is Adroll, a single platform that helps