Brands must connect with the consumer when the need for their products arises, and to do so marketers are increasingly deploying programmatic tactics and techniques to boost their digital strategy. Programmatic combines technology with invaluable audience insight, tailoring campaigns to maximize engagement by answering to a customer’s needs in real-time and across screens.
Marketers hoping to cash in on the 3.4 trillion dollars of spending power of the U.S. multicultural market¹ have to not only master programmatic marketing, but also learn how to incorporate best practices in reaching the multicultural super consumer², which can be challenging given the general lack of multicultural market knowledge.
Programmatic cannot be dismissed, it is here to stay. Programmatic advertising spend is expected to grow by 77% this year³. This makes it paramount for marketers seeking to break through the digital noise to reach multicultural users to know how to respond to challenges pertinent to this particular market, such as, scarcity of premium data, lack of reputable sites, and deficiency in inventory scale and quality, especially in regards to video.
Savvy marketers who are able to execute programmatic and multicultural marketing best practices will run successful campaigns. Done correctly, programmatic buying allows brands to spike interest in their products and earn new customers. It is not just algorithms or technology but also humans who insure ads engage the right user at the right time. Cultural relevance and multi-language demands impose additional segmentation and testing requirements to reach diverse audiences.
General guidelines to follow in multicultural programmatic campaigns are initially to identify the best ways to find the scale, quality inventory, and data when activating/buying and selling inventory. There are opportunities, but also challenges and multicultural nuances in the buyer’s journey important to know about.
There are also common mistakes that you can avoid. Find a balance between relying on non-transparent syndicated audience segments and over-segmenting your audience. Remember that your multicultural audience requires a multi-language approach, so you want creative that is culturally relevant to Hispanic women in both English and Spanish in order to reach Latinas, for example. The smartest creative and the perfect programmatic deployment won’t do much for your brand if it runs on sites that are not brand safe. Take the time to learn what sites are trusted by your multicultural audience and offer the best brand experience to users.
Another top consideration to note is the need to have talent with the programmatic skills but also market place knowledge, the right data sets and inventory sources to be able to deliver positive results.
The one-sheet guide, issued by the IAB Multicultural Council, is a great resource to remind you—and everyone in your team—about the best practices to reach multicultural audiences using automated programmatic toolsets. Download it now and keep it handy.
The document, along with best practices for additional multicultural considerations, is available at iab.com/multiculturalhub.
