New Help Center Launches

Flite's product documentation now has a new home. We've updated help docs for Ad Studio 3 (for building, flighting, and measuring display ads) and Touch Ad Studio (for building, flighting, and measuring mobile ads), including thorough descriptions and information about settings options and metrics for all standard components.

We've also released a PDF manual for Report Studio that covers the interface, how to create basic reports, and how to use labels and label sets.

Finally, we've developed some preliminary documentation that covers the essentials of Component Studio. We'll be adding additional treatment on layer structures soon.

We will also be updating Console Help, as well as the product help docs as new components and functionality are added.

As always, please let your Media Services Manager or Customer Success Manager know if there's anything in particular you'd like for us to flesh out in the Help Center. We are always looking for opportunities to improve our customers' use of the Flite Platform.

How to Dynamically Update Your Display Ads

The idea of dynamically updating anything is pretty exciting. See what works or doesn't, fix it on the fly, and reap the rewards of your savviness? Sign me up.

But just because the technology is available to dynamically update ads, doesn't mean that you should jump in without preparation.

You can improve the likelihood of success by having a clear strategy for your campaigns, so that when they go live, the cross-functional team is on the same page about how and when to update ads in real-time. Here, we'll focus on dynamically updating the actual content in ad units, versus optimizing media placements.

Determine when to check in. If your campaign is running for 8 weeks, consider checking ad performance on a daily or weekly basis, depending on your available time. Checking more frequently could mean catching a trend and course-correcting early. However, if your cadence is too frequent, you may act when your sample size is too small to determine a correlation.

The ability to make updates is a blessing, so don't let it to turn into a burden — find a balance that works for your team.

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12 Example Formats for Content-Rich Advertising

Last month I shared 8 ideas for content-rich ads, and I’d like to apologize. I shared some tips on what to do without giving any indication on how to do it.  

The concept behind content-rich advertising is that by providing entertaining and informative content right in your ads, you can interact with your audience directly on the page they are on, without forcing a click through.

One of the big challenges is how to fit content into the small real-estate of a display ad.

For instance, a lot of brands want to grow their social media following using paid media. The value of the content is already apparent in the social channels — so it’s just a matter of exposing an audience.

But for consumers, clicking through to a brand’s social site is too much to ask. They don’t like clicking on ads. And so by pulling your social content forward into paid media, you can demonstrate social value right there in the ad. If your audience likes what they see, they’ll reward you visits and follows.

Below you’ll see some example formats that feature a popular social post alongside a live social stream.

There are also examples of other types of content-rich ads, showing how to fit articles (or article snippets), recipes or image galleries into rich media in all the popular ad sizes.

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Cross-screen marketing and advertising is ready for a boom

Business Insider just released a new report titled Why Cross-Screen Marketing Will Be a Game-Changer for the Mobile Industry. The report is just the latest indication that cross-screen marketing is ready for a boom.

The news that mobile is on the rise is by no means new, but what is new is the growing number of consumers who switch from screen to screen when completing a task — for instance 67% of consumers shop online on two or more devices.

“We already habitually move across four screens (TV, PC/Laptop, Tablet, Phone), and there may be another screen on the way in the form of smart eyewear or wrist wear.”

With consumers interacting with media and services across so many devices, marketers can reach them in a way that is just as varied or expansive.

“Audiences are increasingly becoming digitally agnostic. This means they are willing to consume the same content — perhaps presented in different manners — across screens.”

This report echos David Jones from Shazam, who on our blog earlier this year pointed to the growth of the “second screen” during TV viewing as a major opportunity for marketers to use mobile retargeting and TV companion apps:

When you look at these findings together, you have more than a trend – you have a tidal wave that points to mobile devices – both phone and tablet – as the ideal candidate to revolutionize a new category called “media engagement.”

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Two Methods For Brand Managers To Analyze Campaign Performance

Source: blog.bufferapp.com

The amount of data that can be tracked online is overwhelming.

If we focus purely on rich-media display advertising, there are a slew of metrics you can track. These include video play times, interaction rates, tab clicks, scrolls, hovers, and the list goes on.

Assuming that your sources of data are accurate, the amount of data isn't an issue.

The issue is 1) deriving insights from an overwhelming amount of information and 2) deciding how to apply those insights to your business right now.

Why are these issues important to consider?

As a brand manager, you probably have a packed schedule. You're the hub of the wheel. One minute, you're approving creative from the graphic designers, and the next, you're forecasting sales numbers or determining the ideal dates for a product promotion.

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