Provides an easy to read explanation of the core things to look for in a cross-device solution. From user-to-device mapping to data to creative, we've got you covered.

1. Insights Especially for Media Professionals
Jim Nichols, VP-Marketing
6 ESSENTIALS
FOR DOING
CROSS-DEVICE
ADVERTISING RIGHT

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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION
ESSENTIAL ONE: FOCUS ON THE CONSUMER,
NOT DEVICES OR CHANNELS
ESSENTIAL TWO: ENSURE SOUND
USER-TO-DEVICE MAPPING
ESSENTIAL THREE: LEVERAGE RICH BEHAVIOR AND
INTEREST INSIGHT ACROSS ALL DEVICES AND CHANNELS
ESSENTIAL FOUR: LOOK FOR 3 KINDS OF
CROSS-DEVICE SCALE
ESSENTIAL FIVE: ENGAGE USING THE INTERACTIVE
STRENGTHS OF EACH DEVICE
ESSENTIAL SIX: MAKE LEARNING AND INSIGHTS
A PRIORITY
CONCLUSIONS
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3. This year’s white-hot marketing topic is cross-device advertising. According to
two recent surveys conducted by Bovitz Research for Conversant, both agency
media pros and senior marketing leaders list cross-device as the number one
topic they want to learn more about.
But having an interest in cross-device, and doing it well, are two very different
things. Here’s my list of the six essentials to doing cross-device marketing right:
1. Focus on the Consumer, Not Devices
2. Ensure Sound User-to-Device Mapping
3. Leverage Rich Behavior and Interest Insight Across All Devices
4. Look for 3 Kinds of Cross-Device Scale
5. Engage Using the Interactive Strengths of Each Device
6. Make Learning and Insights a Priority
Read on to learn more about each of these essentials.
INTRODUCTION
Percent of group interested
in learning more about
cross-device in 2014
Source: Conversant Research 2014
60%
Sr. Marketing Leaders
70%
Agency Media Professionals
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4. FOCUS ON THE CONSUMER,
NOT DEVICES OR CHANNELS1
It’s problematic to think and plan in device- or channel-based silos. Doing cross-device right
requires that we build plans around the customer and their particular cross-device usage patterns.
True cross-device advertising targets the same
individuals across the several devices that they use
to access the web. Reaching some people via PC
and other people via a separate Mobile campaign
isn’t really cross-device marketing. That matters
because a great deal of industry research has
shown that reaching the same people across their
devices drives significantly better results.
According to research from Sophos, the average American spreads their digital usage across
about three devices. And comScore says that more than half of digital time is now spent on
Mobile devices. A cross-device view of the consumer is absolutely essential in this environment.
Even when your plans call from advertising in only one channel, like PC Display, you need a
cross-device view of the consumer to get your targeting and delivery right.
The average American
spreads their digital
usage across about
three devices.
Industry research has shown
that reaching the same people
across their devices drives
significantly better results.
Source: Sophos 2014
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5. Sophos also said that, on average, our digital behavior is stored
across 12 IDs. How does data end up spread out like that? An
ID for your PC browser, another two or more for your phone and
tablet browsing, and a number of IDs for the various apps you use.
Uniting these data spaces to one common ID is difficult. In fact,
Conversant spent two years ensuring our solution fully delivers
on the promise of cross-device marketing while also delivering on
the strictest standards for privacy.
There are two main approaches for user-to-device mapping:
inferred device mapping and login-based or hard mapping.
Inferred device mapping is a multistep process that infers a match
between a user and a set of devices. Doing it involves a couple of
steps. First, it requires associating everything that happens on a
single device to one device ID. All the data sets for each of the IDs
on a device must be aggregated to a single profile.
Then you must associate devices together to a single household. One
common method is by examining the IP addresses. Multiple devices
on a home IP, for example, are
much more likely to be used by
the same user than devices that
connect via different households.
Household mapping is an
important step. But it is not
enough. Consider a household
with a family of four. If these are typical Americans, there would be
12 devices associated with a household ID. But likely some of these
devices would be used by one person and not others.
Device-to-user mapping is inexact, but accuracy is enhanced with more
data points. We need more data to make a more accurate determination.
For instance, if two devices both connect at the same 16 distinct IP
addresses over a 5-day period, there’s significantly more certainty
that they share the same user. The more data points you add to your
equation, the greater that likelihood becomes. IP addresses aren’t
the only thing that can
be used to infer a match.
Similar browsing habits,
for example, could also
provide some additional
assurance of a match.
Shared devices have the
potential for clouding the
soup, though new methodologies for associating sets of behavior on a
device with different users have been deployed by some providers.
The other method for user-to-device mapping is what we call hard
or login-based mapping. Under hard mapping, a user’s devices
are linked when they login to the same site or app from multiple
devices. Hard matches are usually considered more accurate than
inferred matches, but the downside to them is they tend to be fewer
in number.
Conversant’s approach is to combine these two approaches to drive
greater accuracy and the scale necessary to have a major impact on
a business. We combine millions of anonymized hard matches with
an industry-leading inferred device mapping process. In addition,
because we offer real-time updating of user profiles, we can provide
even greater accuracy in mapping devices to individual users, all
while maintaining the highest standards of consumer privacy.
Inferred device mapping
tends to be the method most
companies rely on for their
user-to-device mapping.
User-to-device
mapping is enhanced
with more data points.
ENSURE SOUND
USER-TO-DEVICE MAPPING2
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6. The amount of user interest data available to identify the
right target audience often varies significantly by channel
and device. You can, for example, get really granular in
audience development in PC-based Display, but interest-
based targeting in Mobile is often more rudimentary.
Doing cross-device right requires a profile that has
both rich interest and behavior data as well as sound
device-usage insights.
Look for a partner that integrates interest and cross-device
insights into a single data management platform (DMP)
that can be called upon in real-time. To get the most out
of cross-device, marketers need a DMP with access to vast
amounts of exclusive browsing, interaction, shopping and
buying data, combined with the best third-party interest
data and device usage insights.
Make sure that you field programs with the scale necessary
to move the needle. In cross-device you need to pay
attention to three kinds of scale:
Any partner should provide this information. For best results,
evaluate potential partners on these metrics of scale and their ability
to provide a high degree of user-to-device mapping accuracy.
LEVERAGE RICH BEHAVIOR AND
INTEREST INSIGHT ACROSS ALL
DEVICES AND CHANNELS
LOOK FOR 3 KINDS OF
CROSS-DEVICE SCALE3 4
Pureplay mobile vendors see less of a user’s
total digital activity than do companies that
offer both PC-based Display and Mobile
solutions. A company that unites both
display and mobile data in a single DSP
can provide a 360°consumer view.
Inquire about the user-to-device mapping
accuracy of vendors.
Number and Quality
of Potential
Ad Opportunities
Number and
Quality of Profiles
Number and Quality
of Data Points
Per Profile
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7. Cross-device is not something you set and forget. Set learning
objectives with every campaign. Ask yourself, “What additional
cross-device target insight can I learn from this effort?”
Your programs can progressively reveal unique aspects of your
audience’s unique cross-device behaviors. They can provide
perspective that can also help guide strategies in other areas
of marketing. Ensure that your partner has the resources
necessary to uncover such insights.
ENGAGE USING THE
INTERACTIVE STRENGTHS
OF EACH DEVICE5
Standard units are easier to execute and sometimes key to
delivering an acceptable overall CPM. They can provide the
breadth necessary to deliver critical mass for a brand.
It also makes sense to deploy more engaging and interactive units
in programs. Make units with real stopping power a centerpiece
of your programs, and use banners and other standard units
to provide the massive footprint necessary for impact. Add
multiple ways to interact. Give people a choice of CTAs.
Make units with real stopping power
a centerpiece of your programs.
Set learning objectives with every
campaign. Ask yourself, ‘what
additional cross-device target insight
can I learn from this effort?’
MAKE LEARNING AND
INSIGHTS A PRIORITY6
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8. CONCLUSIONS
Recent data from eMarketer show that more than a third of total ad spend is
running through Mobile devices. For years, many marketers have approached
Mobile and Tablet advertising with a combination of facts and hunches.
Let’s make a concerted effort to minimize the hunches in 2014.
Ask the questions necessary to identify the strategies that can meet your
needs. The best results will go to those that focus on the essentials.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Nichols is VP-Marketing for Conversant, Inc. His 25-year advertising agency, brand management, and market research career spans over
80 categories, from packaged goods and beverages to financial services, software and technology. Brands he’s helped develop include ABC
Daytime, Bank One, Brach’s, Cablevision, Cap’n Crunch, Comcast, Darden Restaurants, Disney Parks and Resorts, Hyundai, Kodak, Lakerol,
Microsoft, Ofoto, Oracle University, Pfizer, Register.com, Schick, Sega, Showtime, SOAPnet, Suave, Symantec, Unilever (36 brands), Virtual
Makeover, Wachovia, Zone.com and more than forty digital media companies and technologies. Jim’s experience spans B2B and B2C, and
includes a strong track record marketing to both broad audiences and specific market segments including African Americans, Hispanics, and
Mothers. He holds a BA from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in marketing from University of Chicago.
ABOUT CONVERSANT
Conversant, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNVR) is the leader in personalized digital marketing. Conversant helps the world’s biggest companies grow
by creating personalized experiences that deliver higher returns for brands and greater satisfaction for people. We offer a fully integrated
personalization platform, personalized media programs and the world’s largest affiliate marketing network – all fueled by a deep understanding
of what motivates people to engage, connect and buy.
For more information, please visit www.conversantmedia.com.
Copyright 2014, Conversant, Inc. All rights reserved. Conversant is a trademark of Conversant, Inc.
As you formulate your cross-device
programs, ask the questions necessary
for you to identify the strategies that
can really meet your needs.
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