It is estimated that the average modern person can be exposed to as many as 5,000 advertisements per day. Hard to believe. Or is it?

When we consider all the places we can potentially go over 24 hours (physically, digitally and virtually) where ads form part of the landscape – football stadiums, public transport, social media, video games, or even your refrigerator – it does not seem so far-fetched.

Adtech (short for advertising technology) refers to digital tools and software that help brands and agencies target, deliver and analyze their digital advertising.

Among the most revolutionary tools of adtech are omnichannel marketing and programmatic advertising.

Omnichannel marketing enables companies to provide a seamless experience to customers regardless of the channel or device they are using, be it mobile, desktop, video or brick-and-mortar store. Furthermore, the content delivered is always in the context of how each target consumer has interacted with the brand.

Programmatic advertising is essentially the use of machines and software to buy ads instead of the traditional process of human negotiation and manual data insertion. It automatically identifies purchasing behavior and demographics. The result? Increased efficiency and optimized spending.

Let’s take an online business selling snowboards, for example. Programmatic advertising reveals that the majority of visits to the company’s website are by 20 to 40-year-olds in Colorado who regularly read snowboarding-related articles and tend to browse their Instagram and Facebook feeds in the evenings.

With this wealth of information, companies can deliver the right content to the right people at the right time.

Disruptive as ever, blockchain is transforming the adtech ecosystem.

Firstly, it removes the middle man from the equation enabling ad publishers and advertisers to liaise directly with each other. Then, as the technology is transparent and encrypted, companies can double-check that viewers are indeed part of their target audience. Additionally, blockchain tracks Corporate Social Responsibility activity ensuring objectives are met.

AR is set to be a game changer for the industry, primarily because brands are able to establish more of an emotional connection with their target customers, as well as make significant cost-savings (compared to print advertising).

The possibilities for AR are diverse and multiple – from virtual try-ons (of clothes and jewelry, for instance) to hyperlocal ads (targeting consumers in specific geographical areas).

Studies have shown that most marketers choose to work with agencies that know how to successfully work with and use adtech.

With the challenges of GDPR, continual efforts to combat ad fraud and fierce competition to grab consumers’ attention, the adtech industry therefore needs to innovate like never before.

Luxembourg’s thriving tech ecosystem makes it the ideal place to grow an adtech company. Get in touch with Digital Luxembourg if you are innovating in the sector!