Advertisers see 2.4x improvement in CPA after upgrading to DoubleClick Bid Manager

Since our launch of DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM) in October last year, we've been busy upgrading customers and adding new features to the platform. Today, we wanted to shine a light on the results advertisers are seeing after upgrading to DBM, and highlight some of the new capabilities that help them achieve these results.

A proven performance engine: An average 2.4x improvement in CPA

With DoubleClick Bid Manager, we are focused on helping advertisers maximize campaign performance. And it's paying off. Recent analysis shows advertisers who upgrade to DoubleClick Bid Manager from Invite Media see an average 2.4x improvement in performance - with conversion volumes rising, and CPAs declining, for identical campaigns that ran first on Invite Media, then on DBM (1).

In addition to lower CPAs, advertisers also saw more consistency in their CPA values with DoubleClick Bid Manager. As you can see from the CPA ranges below, advertisers not only saw a lower average CPA on DoubleClick Bid Manager, but CPAs also remained lower (2).

Powerful tools that maximize performance

With DoubleClick Bid Manager, we’ve made big investments to enable advertisers to run smarter, more efficient campaigns and achieve results like these. Below is a quick overview of some of the big bets we’ve made in this area since the launch of DBM:

A best-in-class algorithm. At the heart of programmatic buying is a prediction engine - powerful algorithms that ensure advertisers meet their goals, and at scale. Google’s 10+ years of experience in predictive technology inform how we build the algorithmic capabilities in DBM, allowing advertisers to pay exactly what the impression is worth to them, based on their unique goals. Today, our technology evaluates 20+ unique signals when determining optimal bid value, and we add additional parameters monthly, making it more and more precise over time.     

Real-time remarketing across your digital channels. DBM's integration with the DoubleClick Digital Marketing suite allows advertisers to manage remarketing lists and count conversions across all DoubleClick products with a single tag:

• Remarketing from DFA. Remarketing lists collected by the DFA Floodlight tag are ported directly and seamlessly into DBM for targeting -- improving cookie fidelity and potential reach.  Of course, for non-DFA advertisers, DBM provides full pixel creation, implementation and tracking capabilities.
• Remarketing from DoubleClick Search. Thanks to seamless integration with DoubleClick Search, advertisers can use display remarketing from search ads to remarket with display ads to users who clicked on their search ads. Read about Vivaki’s success using this feature.

Keyword contextual targeting.  Audience targeting has always been at the heart of programmatic buying as it evolved, helping advertisers reach their audience across the web, based on first party remarketing and robust third party audience data. However, studies show combining audience targeting with contextual targeting can result in better performance. In fact, 59% of US advertisers combine contextual and audience targeting in their display campaigns because it yields stronger performance than either alone (3).  

With DoubleClick Bid Manager, we doubled down on keyword contextual targeting (KCT), which helps advertisers reach their audience as they engage with content related to their products and services. Based on over 10 years of experience in semantic targeting technology, KCT was built to scan eligible web pages, extract relevant concepts and themes, and match that with advertisers messages in real-time.

We’re thrilled to share today these measured performance improvements for advertisers now using DoubleClick Bid Manager. Rebuilding a platform from the ground up is only worthwhile when customers see a marked improvement for their campaigns. Even though advertisers are already getting more value out of their media dollars on DoubleClick Bid Manager, the work is still not done. Our aggressive roadmap plans for even greater performance-driving functionality. To find out more about how you can take advantage of these media efficiencies and more, contact your sales representative.  

Posted by David Yaffe, Product Manager for DoubleClick Bid Manager

1. Internal DoubleClick data; Analysis based on a random sample of 143 campaigns across a global mix of advertisers who upgraded from Invite Media to DoubleClick Bid Manager. The analysis evaluated campaigns that started on Invite Media then upgraded and continued to run on DoubleClick Bid Manager. The analysis represents campaigns from a broad mix of industry verticals, managed- and self-service accounts and a healthy mix of marketing tactics -- remarketing, prospecting, algorithmic, contextual and more.

2.  CPA ranges represent a 95% confidence interval of the average 7-Day CPA on both Bid Manager and Invite Media. (n=143, p=.00006). This confidence interval provides insight into estimated range the actual 7-day CPA is likely to differ from the mean, a single point estimate of where the 7-day CPA is likely to be. Reader should interpret lower CPA as stronger performance.

3. “Display Media Buyers Value Audience in Context.” Forrester Consulting commissioned by Google, September 18, 2012.