ADTECH – WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Adtech as a concept gets at the range of technology products and services that enable and enhance advertising across digital platforms and devices. Essentially, adtech utilizes software and algorithms to optimize how marketing and advertising campaigns are planned, targeted, delivered, measured and monetized across the customer journey.

On a base level, adtech works to improve ad relevancy to consumers using automation and data-driven insights while increasing returns on ad spending for marketers. Sophisticated adtech solutions provide detailed analytics dashboards tracking reach, engagement, conversions and attribution modeling leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.

Major adtech categories include demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), ad exchanges, data management platforms (DMPs) and marketing automation software. DSPs enable advertisers and agencies to buy digital advertising in an automated fashion by integrating with publishers and ad exchanges via real-time bidding. SSPs conversely allow publishers to manage ad inventory and fill rate optimization across multiple exchanges and data platforms.

Meanwhile ad exchanges provide centralized marketplaces connecting advertisers and publishers for auctioning and selling online ad impressions targeted to specific audiences often via real-time bidding. DMPs collect first, second and third-party audience data from various source points which is then segmented and activated to sharpen targeting and personalization for higher campaign performance. Marketing automation platforms like HubSpot integrate with other martech solutions to align cross-channel customer experiences.

Additionally, innovators also provide more niche capabilities ranging from cross-device identity mapping and predictive lead scoring to campaign management automation and online brand safety. Newer frontiers like connected TV advertising focused on streaming viewership data are also booming.

At their best, adtech systems leverage the power of technology to serve people more meaningful advertisements aligned with their interests rather than irrelevant, intrusive promotions. Marketers also redirect spending towards high-intent consumers and loyal customer subgroups revealed through intelligent analytics. Thus adtech can play a key role in advancing consumer trust and satisfaction when applied ethically.