The dull thud of user apathy can be heard daily as the world tries to get past online ads. They’re often seen as an obstacle course to doing something as simple as just reading a page online. So they are, at least some of the time.
The basic theory of functionality in online materials is usually buried somewhere under all these overlays. AI seems to have added yet another layer of solid indifferent rock to this cultural coffin.
Between the endless algorithms and highly resented data brokering, what’s new? Not a lot. Constant misspellings? Droning, clumsy AI voices that can cure insomnia? The sudden need to dig a Kafkaesque burrow?
It’s not all bad news. As any salesperson can tell you, every sale is a custom deal. Buyers may lead, but they can be steered by good ads. Maybe even good deals, you say, you heretic? Yeah, could happen. When online advertising works, it can be a very strong positive. The question for consumers is how much of a positive. Is it useful? Does a buyer get what they need?
This is where ”Relevance” in its curated form, sneaks in, despite so many requests from online users desperate for more useless drivel.
I was literally born in an advertising agency. I’ll spare you the misery of the entire spiel on theoretical relevance. It equates to the perceived value of advertising to buyers. That actually is the whole story.
Algorithms simply process user data and do a truly lousy job of it. You must be fascinated with cupcakes, for example. You searched for a recipe, so expect cupcakes and more recipes. This often achieves levels of absurdity. I did a writing job for a John Deere service center about 10 years ago, and to this day, I get tractors in my online ads, even in The New York Times.
It’s terrible targeting. This imbecility also breeds distrust. If you search something, and five seconds later, you get ads for that search subject, what are you supposed to think? They know about your cupcake addiction! You gather your belongings, smile grimly at the coachman, and flee through the stormy night to your conveniently located Gothic castle, obviously.
If relevance equals value, you need ad quality in context with user interests. It’s uncanny, isn’t it?
For the people running the ads on their sites, curation also includes managing bots, frauds, and other tourist attractions. That’s a huge plus. You get better targeting, maybe sponsorships, and a better-tuned site for your audience. A lot of expensive and irritating maintenance can be turned into routine ad placement. You really don’t want to know how tangled that can get.
We now lurch daintily to the theory of advertising Rationales. Have you ever wondered why so many people bother putting totally irrelevant ads on websites? The good news is that they actually don’t. The wrong ad in the wrong market just means lazy marketing. This is marketing 101, and it’s crucial to advertising values.
The other R, Reactivity, is usually turned into a bastardized and often misleading sales metric hoedown. It’s called a conversion rate. At its worst, it makes direct marketing look like ballet.
To use an AI-generated example I found on Google: 100,000 impressions = 1,000 clicks (1% click through rate) 20 purchases (2% conversion). 20 sales? So what?
Sort of knocks the stuffing out of the mythology of infallible big-budget online advertising, doesn’t it? The sparkly irrational version of those numbers looks good expressed like that.
The more rational but brutal version says 999,000 people couldn’t be bothered. Why didn’t they click through? What’s wrong? Why does TikTok do so much better? You need to know. So do your clients.
Even AI won’t fix ultra-lousy targeting. It won’t fix mega-lousy, uninteresting ads. It might, however, generate some methods and metrics that actually work and ads worth looking at.
_________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
