New Study: 9 in 10 Australian Media Buyers and Advertisers to Increase Addressable Media Buys

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--(Marketwired - Mar 21, 2016) - Adoption of people-based advertising in Australia is rising quickly as advertisers experience superior performance and return on ad spend from addressable media campaigns. This is among the key findings in the first-ever survey of Australian advertisers and media agencies on the topic of addressable media. The results of the survey were released today in the report "People-Based Advertising: Evaluating the impact and future of addressable media," by Econsultancy and Signal, a global leader in real-time, people-based marketing.

The report found that people-based advertising, a strategic discipline that targets ads at real people rather than cookies across devices and channels, is gaining popularity among Australian advertisers and media buyers. A large majority -- 75% -- of advertiser respondents reported that they are familiar with people-based marketing, and nearly two-in-three have used Facebook Custom Audiences. A significant and growing portion of ad spend is being allocated to people-based advertising, the report also found. One-quarter of Australian advertisers report spending more than half of their budget on people-based advertising. At the same time, two-thirds of respondents believe that the traditional model for display advertising is broken.

According to the report, early adopters of a people-based approach are reaping competitive advantages versus traditional digital media:

• 86% of advertisers who have deployed people-based campaigns report that they have outperformed standard campaigns on similar channels.
• 75% of advertisers report improved click-through rates with people-based marketing.
• Nearly 60% experienced higher conversion rates from people-based efforts.

"People-based marketing removes the guesswork from digital media. When advertisers achieve the power of knowing who they are targeting, they can reduce wasted ad spend, create better customer experiences, and ultimately improve return on ad investments," said Michael Twomey, SVP and Managing Director of People-Based Marketing, Signal. "As advertisers realize these benefits, it's not surprising that they're increasing addressable media efforts."

Advertisers and media agencies in Australia are planning to increase spend this year on people-based advertising, the report states. Nearly all of the media buyers polled (92%) said that they and their clients are increasing their people-based media buys.

The research confirmed that advertisers may be looking for new addressable media solutions outside closed platforms. For instance, 87% of respondents are concerned with data governance when working within walled gardens, and 80% are troubled by the customer data they're handing over in the process.

"Digital media in Australia is at a turning point. Cookie-based targeting doesn't work in a cross-device world, and has left advertisers waiting for a way to connect with real people. They see people-based advertising as a way forward to help improve digital media performance, and want flexible solutions to extend their addressable media buys to more channels and publisher sites beyond Facebook where their customers are engaged," Twomey said.

The report is based on an online survey of 358 senior Australian marketers and media buyers with moderate to high online ad budgets. To download the complete study, visit here.

About Signal
Signal is a global leader in real-time people-based marketing. With one platform, Signal's integrated technology combines data collection, persistent identification, data onboarding and media activation for real-time cross-channel engagement. By leveraging Signal's platform, brands and publishers gain immediate knowledge of buyers, access to high quality audiences and a simplified activation process to engage consumers within minutes of recognition.

Today, Signal's technology runs on more than 45,000 digital properties in 158 countries. The platform facilitates billions of data requests monthly, supporting top brands around the world that generate more than $1.5 trillion in commerce, including Allstate, Audi, Crate & Barrel, DeVry University, GAP, JetBlue Airways, Macy's, 1-800-Flowers.com, Starcom MediaVest Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and many more.

Signal has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including being named the third-fastest growing software company in the country, and the 51st-fastest growing company overall, on the 2015 Inc. 5000 list. Visit www.signal.co to learn more and follow Signal on LinkedIn and Twitter.