What ad tech can learn from email marketing
Ad tech is more complex than ever, but despite the endless reams of consumer data available to brands, a blanket one-size-fits-all approach to creative is almost always the end result. Yahoo7’s Ben Green explains how taking some cues from email marketing might be the way forward.
If you’re a media planner or media seller, you’ve probably written or received many a media brief with a well-researched target audience section, using panel data or segmentation providers like Nielsen, Experien or Roy Morgan.

Green: “In 2017, any campaign that fails to embrace the old-school direct marketing principles is money down the drain”
You’ve created a robust list of insight and data-driven primary and secondary audiences, only to receive a single set of banner ads a week out from the campaign that will be delivered to them all. I pose the question: What’s the bloody point?
Fourteen years ago I started a career in direct marketing, working with marketers on email database segmentation and personalised one-to-one email communications.
Hey Mumbrella, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to label this ‘Opinion’ as ‘Advertorial’?
@Rupert I think Ben makes a good point here about the limitations of creative in data-driven display. I don’t see any mention of Yahoo!’s product here, so why ‘Advertorial’?
@Joel I think Yahoo’s products are woven throughout this piece. The thrust of the article is that native in-feed products with “performance-led ad technology” are the solution. I think that’s the whole point of labelling of content being critical – it comes across as educating a user about creative in data-driven display but then goes onto spruik Yahoo’s products as the solution.
@Rupert
Yes, there is a degree of Yahoo spruiking. However, Ben makes such a bloody excellent point that I totally forgive him.
He’s absolutely right. The expense of additional creative display formats is one huge reason for the lack of creative variants delivered, but there are many others. Although Ben rather kindly sidesteps any blame-apportioning, these costs outlined in the article are indeed punitive and of course advertisers will think twice unless their budgets are truly sizable.
However, just as much to blame I believe is the persistent disconnect between rostered agencies working the same campaign. Cracks, gaps, chasms, apathy… too often I see connection plans diluted and depleted by missed synergies.
One team… one united dream… (can you see the meme?)