Seller Defined Audience : A Publisher Should Know

With the help of this specification, publishers will be able to monetize their audiences and engage in open competition with one another based on the underlying quality of their audiences without having to worry about data leakage or laboriously setting up hundreds of private marketplaces based on Deal IDs.

Purpose of Seller Defined Audience:

“Seller Defined Audience” could refer to the practice of sellers or businesses defining and identifying their target audience or customer segments. The purpose of this practice might include:

1. Precision Marketing: Defining a specific audience allows sellers to tailor their marketing efforts to reach the most relevant potential customers. This increases the efficiency of marketing campaigns and reduces wasted resources on irrelevant audiences.
2. Relevance and Personalization: By understanding the characteristics, preferences, and behaviors of their defined audience, sellers can create more personalized and relevant marketing messages and offers. This enhances the likelihood of engaging customers and driving conversions.
3. Improved Customer Experience: When sellers understand their audience, they can address their pain points and provide solutions that genuinely resonate. This leads to a better customer experience and can foster customer loyalty.
4. Resource Allocation: Defining an audience helps sellers allocate their resources, such as advertising budgets, more effectively. Resources can be directed towards channels and strategies that are likely to yield the best results with the target audience.
5. Product Development: Understanding the preferences and needs of a specific audience can inform product or service development. Sellers can create offerings that cater to the identified audience’s requirements, potentially leading to increased sales.
6. Market Differentiation: Tailoring offerings to a specific audience can help sellers stand out in a competitive market. By focusing on a particular niche, sellers can become experts in serving that audience’s needs.
7. Data-Driven Decision-Making: Defining an audience is based on data analysis and market research. This approach allows sellers to make informed decisions backed by insights rather than relying on assumptions.
8. Enhanced ROI: By concentrating efforts on a well-defined audience that is more likely to convert, sellers can potentially achieve a higher return on investment (ROI) for their marketing campaigns.
9. Building Relationships: Sellers can use a well-defined audience to build stronger relationships with their customers. They can engage in targeted communication and provide content that resonates with the audience’s interests.
10. Adaptation and Growth: As market conditions change, sellers can adjust their defined audience criteria to remain relevant and adaptable. This allows for continued growth and success.

Resources:

IAB Tech Lab says that the resources required for Seller Defined Audience are already available to us. Let’s have a look at each of them:

1. Audience Taxonomy: The names of the audience segments are listed in the IAB Tech Lab Audience Taxonomy. There is no room for mistake when everyone follows the same naming convention. Without uniformity, one vendor might refer to a segment as “Auto-intenders,” while another might refer to it as “In-market for cars.” The inventory buying and selling procedure is made easier by the audience taxonomy. There are 1600 predefined attributes that can be combined to triangulate and describe even the peculiarities of specialized audiences.
2. Data Transparency Standard:  This schema is standardized and contains a set of Minimum Disclosure Requirements for the seller. The Audience Taxonomy Label that we discussed earlier will also be included in this schema. Additionally, the information necessary for assessing the quality of the labels shall be available to it.
3. The quality factors are: Where is the data assigned to segments? How old is the data? How much manipulation was done to the data? What are the segmentation criteria? When will segments be comparable to others? IAB will use its compliance program to make sure all parties label segments correctly.
4. Data Label Repository:  Buyers and sellers can refer to it on www.DataLabel.Org to understand every data label.

So, It is possible for publishers and their partners to gain an understanding of the target audience and assign standardized taxonomy IDs to them. Anonymized versions of these taxonomy IDs may be published in OpenRTB to the buyers. The users will be included in cohorts to ensure the data remains anonymous. When publishers define their cohorts more precisely than their competitors, they will perform better for their advertiser. Consequently, publishers with more successful cohorts will draw more demand than those with less successful cohorts.

How Would Seller Defined Audiences Work?

The following is an overview of the collaboration between all the ad technology stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of Seller defined Audiences:

1. The attributes of the audience will be determined by publishers and their (data-related) partners.
2. The contracting entity will forward the attribution data to a web address, which will serve as a repository for the data to be accessed by bidding participants. This URL will be the same as the URL specified in the above-referenced section of the Data Transparency Standard (DataLabel.Org).
3. Prebid will forward the audience labels and cohorts, as well as the label provider information, to the relevant OpenRTB supplier in the supply chain.
4. Prospective bidders can access the real-time analysis of the cohort by visiting the website www.DataLabel-Org. This allows interested parties to gain a better understanding and assessment of the cohort prior to bidding.
5. The ad creative is rendered after the bidding process.

Advantages of Seller Defined Audiences:

Some general advantages of Seller Defined Audiences are as follows:

1. Precise Targeting: One of the key advantages of a seller-defined audience is the ability to target specific customer segments that are most likely to be interested in a seller’s products or services. This precision targeting reduces wasted marketing efforts and resources on audiences that aren’t a good fit.
2. Higher Conversion Rates: By tailoring marketing messages, offers, and content to the preferences and needs of each audience segment, sellers can achieve higher conversion rates. When customers feel that a product or service meets their specific requirements, they are more likely to make a purchase.
3. Improved Customer Engagement: A seller-defined audience approach enables sellers to create highly relevant and engaging content that resonates with each segment. This leads to higher levels of customer engagement, interaction, and participation.
4. Personalized Customer Experience: Sellers can deliver a more personalized experience to each customer segment. This includes personalized product recommendations, relevant content, and offers that cater to the unique preferences of each audience.
5. Enhanced Brand Loyalty: When customers feel that a brand truly understands their needs and values, they are more likely to develop a sense of loyalty. Seller-defined audience strategies can foster stronger connections between customers and brands.
6. Optimized Marketing Campaigns: By focusing on well-defined segments, sellers can create marketing campaigns that are highly tailored and optimized for each group. This leads to better campaign performance and return on investment.
7. Effective Communication: Sellers can craft messages and content that speak directly to the pain points, aspirations, and interests of each audience segment. This effective communication builds a stronger emotional connection with customers.
8. Market Niche Penetration: Seller-defined audiences allow businesses to target specific niches within the market. By catering to the unique needs of these niches, sellers can gain a competitive edge and establish themselves as experts in that particular space.
9. Flexibility and Adaptability: As market trends and customer preferences change, sellers can adjust their defined audience criteria. This flexibility ensures that marketing efforts remain aligned with current market conditions.
10. Measurable Results: Seller-defined audience strategies are based on data and analytics. This means that the performance of each audience segment can be measured, analyzed, and refined over time for improved results.
11. Resource Optimization: Instead of employing a one-size-fits-all approach, sellers can allocate their resources more efficiently by focusing on the segments that offer the highest potential for return on investment.
12. Innovation and Product Development: Understanding the unique needs of each audience segment can lead to innovative product ideas and features that cater to those needs.

The solution seems promising on the surface, however, the effectiveness of the solution will only be apparent once the adaptation takes place.