Understanding the Value of Online Ad Targeting - Advertiser's Perspective

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master_Tupamäki_Kalle_2019.pdf (1.16 MB)

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School of Business | Master's thesis
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Date

2019

Department

Tieto- ja palvelujohtamisen laitos

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Mcode

Degree programme

Information and Service Management (ISM)

Language

en

Pages

80 + 2

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Abstract

Online advertising is a huge, growing industry and a key part of the growth is the improving efficiency of online advertising due to ad targeting. Targeting is a process that includes collecting data from various sources to help match advertisements with consumers who are most likely to be interested and to purchase the advertised products. While the consensus is that targeting can be used to provide value for advertisers, and for consumers, the incremental value is difficult to quantify. In this paper, we take a look at some of the problems advertisers face when using targeting and present some existing solutions to mitigate these challenges. Earlier literature is used to exemplify how advertisers can effectively identify desired target audiences, choose the optimal methods for targeting to reach the selected audience and measure the success of their campaigns. One of the key challenges for advertisers however, appears to be difficulties understanding the platforms they use for online advertising. Participant observation, a method often used for ethnographic research is presented here as a way for advertisers to learn about the ad platforms and the success of their campaigns. In business, participant observation has been used to analyze the quality of in-store services, but here its use is developed and demonstrated in an online environment. To exemplify how the method can be used in an online advertising context, this paper presents the findings of a study, where ads were observed on YouTube. The study is a combination of market research and marketing research. First, ads from four different markets are observed to find out whether market size and the level of data privacy regulations affect how advertisements appear to consumers. Then, additional observations are made in two of the markets, to see how disabling personalized advertising affects how adverts are distributed to consumers. The study presented here, is intended as a proof-of-concept and advertisers can use the developed method in a multitude of ways to find out valuable insight about online advertising platforms. Participant observation can be used for example to better understand the setup process of targeted advertising campaigns, to optimize one’s campaigns and to examine how one’s competitors appear to be running their campaigns. In addition to numerous business use cases like these, the method can be used for academic purposes, as presented in this paper.

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Thesis advisor

Tuunainen, Virpi

Keywords

online advertising, targeting, participant observation, advertiser, ad network

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201909225416

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[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ