Survey: Marketers Plan to Increase the Scale of Contextual Targeting

When marketers have the choice of directing their campaigns toward the right person or the right place, new research suggests that context is becoming more of a priority.

This is according to statistics from the “An Insider’s Look at Media, Brand Safety and Partnerships” report from Sizmek. About 71 percent of marketers claim it is difficult to achieve reach while delivering to the right audience in the right context. Now, 87 percent of marketers plan to increase the scale of contextual targeting and find new audiences altogether.

This does not mean that marketers are ditching the idea of context and audience targeting in its entirety. About 80 percent claim that achieving both contextual and audience targeting at scale is either a “critical” or “high” priority within the next year. Among these marketers, 78 percent intend to improve their contextual targeting capabilities within the same time period.

Marketing to Capture the Attention of Buyers

This is not the first report to suggest that it can be difficult for marketers to break through the noise and contextually appeal to their target audiences.

SurveyMonkey conducted a survey that looked at marketing messages and found that capturing the attention and trust of buyers is the largest obstacle for about one-third (36 percent) of marketers.

However, there are documented ways that marketers can break through the noise and successfully grab their customers’ attention. For instance, 48 percent of customers say that humorous ads are most effective at grabbing their attention.

Nearly 73 percent of also say that they seek out recommendations from friends and family before making a purchase. For this reason, marketers may be able to stand out by putting their most compelling case studies and testimonials front and center.