With automated video ad personalization, serving the right ad to the right person could become a no-brainer. Read on for the benefits of this technology.

Delivering effective return on investment (ROI) on clients’ advertising campaigns arguably comes down to the concept of serving the right ad to the right person at the right time. However, delivering on this simple axiom is extremely complex.

With the help of sophisticated targeting and data optimization technologies, significant progress has been made in the last few years towards hitting the right targets at an opportune time. However, the need to adapt creative executions to leverage this data has continued to represent significant challenges. Fortunately, the right ad can now be defined as not only a compelling idea well executed, but a compelling idea with personalized execution.

For those of us who have transitioned from the traditional advertising world into the brave new world of interactive, the prospect of true one-to-one advertising is an extremely exciting development. The ability to cost-effectively create millions of personalized rich media ads that speak to an individual was just a dream a few years ago. But personalization solutions and technologies are emerging in the market, bringing this dream closer to a reality. With a few simple tips, your brand can take advantage of the benefits of reaching customers as people, rather than well researched concepts.

Steps to executing personalized creative campaigns
Effective personalization should enhance, not hinder, the creative idea and execution. The following steps should be taken when developing a successful personalization campaign:

1. Understand the targeting data profiles available. Age, gender, location are a few examples and represent significant personalization options. Clearly, the richer the profile, the more effective the personalized execution.
2. Keep an eye on the creative. Develop the creative execution with the personalization strategy in mind and create the digital assets to be personalized.
3. Start with the master. Once the Master Flash file has been produced, the personalization process can begin. This process involves the following steps, which are streamlined using DIY personalization platforms. For example, Qmecom's personalization product follows this process:
   • Ingest the SWF file and decompile it into its individual granular components
   • Ingest the data profiles that drive the personalization
   • Create the rules that enable the mapping of the creative components to the data profiles
   • Render the multiple versions of rich media ads
4. Don't forget the back end. Once the multiple versions of the ads are rendered, the next step is to integrate into a back-end decision engine that can decide which rendered ad should be selected and served based on the corresponding data profile of the site visitor.

Real world personalization scenarios
A large number of marketing companies are challenged to drive a national brand to generate localized traffic. Financial services, automobiles, national retailers, business services, movie studios, travel… the list goes on. With the option of personalizing rich media ads down to the individual consumer (based on zip code, gender, age or any other targeting profile available) these brands have a powerful tool that raises the bar for customer engagement and has the potential for more successful conversions. It also eradicates the need for separately creating and rendering each individual flash file with personalized components that could take significant time and resources to produce.

For example, a female customer in Melbourne, Fla., who is interested in a convertible can be served an ad for a BMW 3 Series Convertible showing a woman driving the car, with the location of her local dealership, name of a local salesperson and a special offer (based on their leasing history) included to motivate her to take a test drive. Using the same ad creation template, a male in Seattle, Wash., who is interested in a hard-top sports sedan will see an ad for a BMW 3 Series Hard Top that includes the location of his local dealership, name of a local salesperson and a special offer based on his purchasing history.

The future of personalization
For campaigns that have thousands, if not millions, of unique versions of ads based on sophisticated data optimization, the marketing potential is just beginning to be realized. It will be interesting to see which of the advertising ecosystem's early adopters will come out on top.

And there is much to be gained for these innovators. Ad networks that can leverage their data more effectively with a personalization offering will stand to gain from higher CPMs, CPCs and heightened customer loyalty. Ad agencies will be able to differentiate themselves with a more sophisticated solution that enables their clients to leverage the existing data profiles from various sources. Even other players, like data analytics providers, can gain more power in the ecosystem as they can now offer a more robust service with a "data optimization + creative optimization = improved advertising ROI" solution.

For example, Yahoo Smart Ads, which was launched mid-year, was the first out of the gate, with an entry level customization solution that enables the dynamic customization of text and images specifically targeting the travel industry. Initial reports indicate it has resulted in a significant increase in response rates compared with standard, non-personalized ad executions. That’s good news for the believers in personalization.

Regardless of who wins, the age of one-size fits all video advertising will soon be behind us, and the real prospect of large volumes of customized, relevant ads, created for the consumer, will be standard practice in the interactive ad world.

Let the games begin.

David Cannington is VP USA at Qmecom, an ad personalization solution provider. Read full bio.