In 2002 Tom Cruise starred in a blockbuster directed by Spielberg that left few indifferent: Minority Report. In this film, not only does he anticipate what was already an obvious fact, the potential of algorithms and data for predictions, but we also see one of the most exponential examples of cross devicing. For those who do not know what I am talking about, I recommend check out the mall scene.
We have not yet reached that level of real-time personalization in multiplatform, but surely this situation is familiar to all of us: On any given morning from your laptop, you visit an online sports store. After a while of browsing, without deciding to buy, you leave the page. Hours later, watching Facebook from your cell phone you get an ad for the same sports. You think, what a coincidence! But your curiosity has already piqued you and you continue browsing the shoe page.
Later you are watching YouTube with your tablet in bed and… There it is again! Another ad for the same shoes!
Are they chasing you? Are they spying on you? No (well, a little yes), what has really happened is that the cross device strategy has worked.
So what is Cross Device Advertising?
It literally means “Cross Device Advertising”. Consists in identify the devices that consumers use and record what pages they access or what words they search from each device. After, information about the content they visited from a device syncs with other devices, so that the user will continue browsing their buyer journey from different devices.
How cross device advertising works
Currently, to do “traditional” retargeting it is necessary to add a pixel to a web page. This pixel places cookies on users who browse the web, and these cookies are stored in the device’s browser. As it is related to a specific browser, if a user enters a website from Chrome and then browses with Firefox, the web cookie will not be in Firefox and they will not be able to retarget with that user. The cookie depends on the browser. However, it is no longer a secret that cookies have their days numbered. By 2022, most browsers will work without them, which is triggering the arrival of new systems such as the FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) API. This will pose a new challenge for cross device strategies, but not impossible. Much of the industry is adapting to this system by assigning a cohort to each user for it. This new scenario even expands borders at a strategic level, being able to bring together users related by browsing behaviors. In short, in the eyes of users nothing changes, as they will continue to be impacted with personalized ads in the browser without tracking cookies, but their privacy will be more respected.
Between devices, if you want to impact a person who has entered a website with his mobile, it is not possible for the advertising to appear on his laptop because it is not the same browser. For this it is necessary have cross device technology, available in DMPs (Data Management Platforms). Thanks to its technology, it is possible to find the same person on different devices.
Cross device technology is based on a set of variables that are crossed to find out which devices each user uses. For example, if it detects that a laptop and a cell phone connect to the same work network, and later the same pair of devices connect to the same home network, it can be anticipated that it is the same person.
Postponing the implementation of cross device strategies is procrastinating a task that we will have to face sooner or later if we want to ensure the performance of our marketing actions and Paid Media campaigns.
To begin with, according to a report by Go Gulf Advertising, the average digital consumer has 3.64 devices. It also states that more than 70% of users use 3 devices or more. In Mexico the current multi-device reality is not very different.
Regarding shopping habits, 67% of people used a sequence of multiple devices to shop online. And, what is more surprising, 31% of users who bought online for the first time, browsed multiple devices before making a purchase.
Not to mention the amount of new insights that can be collected that can help marketers reduce costs per action by 30-50%, and increase ROI by 50-100%.
For these reasons, cross device strategies have a higher percentage of success and help to close online sales. Customers who buy through more than one channel are considered to have a 30% higher lifetime value.
Why is it beneficial for the user?
- According to brands, cross device advertising is designed to improve your digital experience and your purchasing processes. Maybe you forgot that you were going to buy some sneakers … don’t worry, brands remind you. Or if you seem interested in a certain model, they can offer you a very useful discount.
- In addition, it is possible to receive suggestions for other models, complementary products or brand news that may interest you, or related cross-selling products, which you had not yet thought of. For example, some new socks to wear with your soon to be new sports.
- The reality is that it is a remarketing model with several connected devices. This means that, in theory, products that do not interest you will not appear, you should only see products that you were already interested in or closely related to.
- Since your browsing data travels from one device to another, you can have a more lean experience, avoiding having to do the same searches again. Technology anticipates your needs and can make you save time thanks to cross device advertising.
Do users feel this practice intrusive?
With data in hand we can say no. According to a adobe studio, 66% of users say they “feel frustrated” when content is not synchronized between their devices.
In addition, 79% of users (a figure that increases to 90% among millennials) affirm that they are used to changing devices during a search or purchase activity.
83% of users find value in a well-executed cross device strategy that helps them in their purchasing processes.
Opportunities for cross device advertising:
New consumer habits
- The connection hours are extended until dawn. According to a report by Wordstream, The pandemic has changed the behavior of the digital user, including an increase in nightly searches on cell phones and iPads, so a cross advertising strategy should consider the most appropriate hours and devices.
- Users have more and more devices, and it is no longer only purchased from the desktop. There are the classics: cell phone, laptop and tablet. But smartwatches, virtual assistants like Alexa or Siri, smart appliances … and what comes in the future continue to grow.
43% of purchases in America are made through a cell phone, a growth of 21% since 2017.
- The pandemic has increased online shopping. Thanks to the delivery facilities, the return policies and the security of online transactions…, Internet users are losing their fear of buying without giving it much thought. The use of e-commerce apps registered a 90% increase during April and June 2020.
- 25% of cross device transactions completed on desktop started on a smartphone, and 35% of those completed on smartphone started on desktop! In other words, buyers journey are increasingly intermingled
CONCLUSION:
Few users currently use a single device to search for information. Cross device advertising allows you to create an extremely powerful multi-channel retargeting strategy.
The reality is that a properly executed cross device marketing strategy brings great benefits to brands and users: from improvements in acquisition and conversion results, reduction of CPAs, increase in ROI … while we can help users with a process multi-device purchase, more agile and much more efficient.
But doing it without sense, with too high hit frequencies or inappropriate messages could be counterproductive.
Are you ready to successfully execute your cross device strategy?
On Praise we are specialists in successfully implementing different digital marketing strategies. If you want to implement your cross device advertising strategy and you do not have experience or internal resources, contact us. We will be your partner.