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Omnichannel

How different media channels contribute to an audience-first omnichannel strategy

Omnichannel advertising is a powerful approach that can unlock the complementary value of individual media channels while capitalizing on the strengths of each. Because audiences can be found across multiple channels, omnichannel advertising helps media buyers learn what channel (or combination of channels) reaches their audiences most efficiently.

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Omnichannel campaigns combine three or more channels to meet audiences where they spend their time. But how should marketers approach each channel, better understand their strengths, and learn how to combine them?

A report from The Trade Desk Intelligence, The Untapped Opportunity of Omnichannel, assesses the strengths of each channel and analyzes how to combine them into a single omnichannel strategy. The research highlights the strengths of Connected TV (CTV), audio, digital out-of-home (DOOH), and display/​online video (OLV)Video — and how you can work toward maximizing the impact of key channel combinations to better reach your core audiences.

Omnichannel starts with your high-value audience

If you want to activate the performance outcomes of a true omnichannel campaign, you need a holistic, audience-centered approach. This means understanding who your core customers are and which channels can best reach them.

Imagine an omnichannel campaign for a direct-to-consumer mattress brand popular with professional millennials. A hypothetical customer — let’s call her Avery — might see the first ad online while reading the news on her phone in the morning. She’s now aware of the brand. Then, on her way to work, Avery sees a DOOH ad for the same mattress brand. Because she’s already primed by the display ad, the DOOH ad catches her attention.

On her way home from work, Avery is served another ad for the brand via her favorite podcast. Because Avery is growing more aware of the brand, she doesn’t skip the ad and listens more attentively than she otherwise would have.

Finally, as she’s unwinding after work by watching CTV, Avery sees a commercial for the mattresses that expands the brand story with compelling visuals and a good offer. She watches the commercial and finds it less disruptive than most other ads, as she is already familiar with the brand from her exposure on other channels.

In one day, Avery has been exposed to a holistic omnichannel campaign that improved her attention and committed the message in her memory without creating viewer fatigue.

Each channel has unique strengths in an omnichannel campaign

Every marketing channel has unique strengths, but when used as part of a connected omnichannel campaign, those strengths can be enhanced. CTV, audio, DOOH, and OLV video are distinctive channels that can be used to improve outcomes when leveraged effectively in omnichannel advertising.
 

Click below to get to the know the strengths of each:

As detailed in our report, The Untapped Opportunity of Omnichannel, CTV is a channel that consistently drives high attention, connection, and immersion. It is a visual storytelling channel, and as such it often can excel at building emotional connections with audiences.

When used as part of an omnichannel strategy, the report showed that CTV ads drive 1.4 times higher attention than when either not part of omnichannel or simply part of multichannel marketing. Cognitive load, or the mental effort it takes to consume an ad, was shown to be 2.2 times lower for omnichannel CTV ads.

If you want your CTV ads to drive more attention and less mental fatigue, consider including them in an omnichannel campaign alongside a channel like audio, which — as you will soon learn — can also be strengthened by omnichannel advertising.

Audio is known as a multitasking channel. It typically reaches listeners while they’re doing something else, like exercising, cooking, or commuting.

In those moments, it has the power to set the tone and mood for different activities. It can also reach audiences in contexts that no other media can, as it does not rely on visual elements.

When used as part of an omnichannel strategy, audio can become an even more potent marketing channel. The report shows that attention is 3.4 times greater, and brand affinity is 1.9 times greater than traditional audio ads. Omnichannel audio ads also require less effort to listen to, driving 2.9 times less fatigue. Lastly, because consumers can process a greater level of detail on audio, it improves recall across other channels when used in an omnichannel campaign.

Audio ads are powerful as is, but can be even more effective when used as part of a holistic omnichannel approach. If you want your audio ads to boost recall and be less mentally taxing on listeners, pair them with a visual channel, like CTV or DOOH, to aim to enhance the listening experience.

DOOH ads, such as digital billboards seen at transit stops in big cities or along highways throughout the country, can excel in upper-funnel brand awareness. They can encode brand messages in audiences’ long-term memories in a nonintrusive way.

Because they can prime audiences for brand engagement, DOOH ads often can greatly boost the impact and effectiveness of other channels. And, when paired with other channels in an omnichannel strategy, DOOH ads can also become more effective in their own right.

For example, a campaign that leverages DOOH and audio sees 5.3 times greater brand affinity and 3.4 times greater encoding — a metric that measures whether the ad is committed to memory. If you want your DOOH ads to do more than raise brand awareness, consider pairing them with a channel like audio.

The display and OLV category encompasses websites and mobile apps (display) as well as video streaming platforms (OLV). As such, these channels offer you the opportunity to connect with audiences when they’re looking things up online, scrolling through their apps, watching videos, and shopping online.

Because display and OLV ads are received by audiences across a wide array of mindsets, from socializing and connecting to enrichment and learning, they present a broad spectrum of opportunities for driving brand awareness and consideration.

When used as part of an omnichannel campaign, display and OLV drive 4.7 times greater attention, 5.8 times greater brand affinity, and 3.3 times greater encoding than in single-channel or multichannel campaigns.

If you want your display and OLV ads to connect better with audiences, consider running them in an omnichannel campaign that also leverages storytelling formats like CTV or audio ads. This will help you enhance ad recall and brand affinity for your online ads.

Strategize an omnichannel approach for your brand today

Ultimately, the right omnichannel combination will be informed by where your brand’s core audiences spend their time on the open internet. You can begin your omnichannel journey by evaluating data on your most valuable audiences to discover insights about them. Then, you can determine the optimal channel mix for your omnichannel activations, sequencing messaging across channels based on when and where audiences are spending their time.

The Trade Desk Intelligence - The Untapped Opportunity of Omnichannel

The untapped opportunity of omnichannel

Learn how you can deliver more efficient campaigns and stronger consumer connections.

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If you’re ready to start maximizing the impact of holistic, audience-first campaigns, talk to your representative at The Trade Desk about leveraging the full breadth of all seven channels we offer.

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