Display ads offer visual appeal for the marketing mix, with the convenience of showing up where people are already—on websites, social media platforms, and other digital channels. It’s an impactful channel, but it can be costly, and every impression counts. Accurate audience targeting in display advertising is therefore critical: it minimizes wasteful spending, maximizes the chances of engaging with the right prospects, and optimizes your return on investment.

Thankfully the power of deterministic intent data allows advertisers to dramatically elevate display ad targeting accuracy. It enables them to serve their ads to prospective buyers who have already demonstrated a specific interest in their brand’s products or services based on digital activity, such as Google searches or clicks across various websites.

Always on the cutting edge, our team at OMI is proud to share that we are now offering deterministic intent data as part of our product line. Our aim is to drive greater accuracy and success for our clients’ display ad campaigns. While our existing intent data tool continues to dominate email acquisition campaigns (more on that below), the new tool is purpose-built for display advertising. From my perspective, it is a game changer.

Here are four ways deterministic intent monitoring data drives display ad success:

More identifiers = more accuracy: Our process with both of our intent tools begins with a collaborative effort with clients in which we determine the specific search terms or general topics we will zero in on to uncover in-market prospects who align with their offers. But each tool works differently.

Deterministic digital intent monitoring uses matching algorithms to uncover unique identifiers all the way down to the device ID level. This allows brands to anonymously identify individual decision-makers associated with the devices being used to perform searches and other relevant digital activity. In addition to the device ID, deterministic methodologies leverage IP addresses, hashed (encrypted) email, cookies, mobile device IDs (MAIDs), and more to ensure the highest levels of accuracy when identifying the end user or prospect. This information also provides advertisers with a more complete view of the prospect, which supports improved personalization.

• Advantages over probabilistic: Deterministic intent monitoring methodologies make sure you’re not targeting the wrong prospect using a shared device, such as in a household. They allow for greater targeting of the individual, whereas probabilistic approaches, which are primarily driven by IP address identification, target at the household level. Probabilistic methodologies allow you to uncover the company name behind a prospect’s digital activity, but they leave marketers to rely upon probabilities -- not definitive information -- to assess who the specific user or decision-maker might be. As stated above, deterministic intent data gives you a multitude of definitive identifiers, providing greater certainty that the prospect you’re targeting with your ad is in-market and interested in the types of solutions or services you offer.

• Ideal for display ads: Our team at OMI uses probabilistic intent monitoring for email acquisition campaigns, combining intent results with our high-quality business contact data to provide clients with a list of potential in-market prospects from a specific company. With email, high levels of precision are less of an issue because execution costs are low and ROI is comparatively high. But costs for display ads can add up, and getting in front of the right people at the right time while the opportunity for conversion is high is critical, giving deterministic strategies – and the accuracy they bring to the table -- an edge.

• Bonus: Deterministic data has been proven to reduce ad fraud caused by bot activity. Today, bot activity is around 30% of total digital media impressions. When bot activity is removed, marketers have more budget for a more targeted media spend with more accuracy, resulting in higher campaign ROI.

My team and I are excited to see our clients utilize our new deterministic tool to achieve better targeting, personalization, placement, and timing in their display ad campaigns and, ultimately, drive higher ROI and business growth. Please reach out to us for a demo or to register your interest.