Why Do Adtech Companies Have Boring Messages? Let’s Name Names.
“What is the message?” is one of the three pillars of B2B marketing strategy (along with the business problem you’re solving and where and how you’re distributing the message to create impact). The message matters because it’s integral to how you build a reputation and attract customers, talent, and investors. As the CEO of a nine-figure adtech company recently said to me, “The story is everything.” His CPO said, “Perception is reality.” These people get it.
But a lot of adtech messaging sucks because it fails to do the two things messaging really ought to do: differentiate the company from its competitors and galvanize customers. In other words, customers who see the message should be able to understand, “Why are they different from any of the other options I could use to do this? And why should I give a hoot about what they do in the first place?”
This is all marketing messaging has to do. No more or less. Yet examples show it’s difficult.
We only punch up here at Sharp Pen Media, so here are a few prominent adtech companies’ messages that could be more differentiated, more specific, and more energizing. And here’s how we might reimagine them.
(For these purposes, I’m going to focus on the message at the top of each company’s website. Obviously, that’s reductive, but I think it’s a reasonable starting point because the copy at the top of your website is indeed how you are presenting yourself to the world, and a lot of thought ideally should go into it. Side note: Adtech CEOs have asked me, “Does our website really matter?” Yes! It matters. That’s like asking if your face matters on a dating app.)
Integral Ad Science
“The most actionable data to drive superior results.”
Do we know what they do and for whom? The message is so vague that it’s not even clear the company is in adtech — or what part of adtech they’re in.
Will customers be galvanized by this? Do IAS customers care about actionable data and superior results? I’m sure they do. Will this message excite them or convince them that IAS is particularly suited to deliver those results? No, because the message doesn’t hinge on any particular quality of the IAS offering, nor does it capitalize on a specific connection between the product and IAS customers. Rather, it just means, “We are good at data and use it to do good stuff.” Not thrilling or memorable.
Is it clear how they differ from competitors? No. I have no inkling as to how IAS differs from other verification companies. Surely, all the others would say they also offer actionable data and drive good results. I mean, virtually any tech company would argue the same.
Xandr
“Reach audiences across screens with premium advertising.”
Do we know what they do and for whom? This first question is the only one the message aims to answer. So, we’ll give it a passing grade, though it’s not terribly specific or evocative.
Will customers be galvanized by this? The message isn’t attempting to galvanize anyone. It’s a milquetoast articulation of what advertising platforms do. They help you “reach audiences across screens.” OK, but there are dozens of companies that do the same thing. Why do you exist? What is your mission? What’s the impact? Why should anyone care? The message gives up on these important questions.
Is it clear how they differ from competitors? Any SSP or DSP could have this exact same message. It tells you nothing about the product or the company’s ethos or mission.
Criteo
“Advertise more effectively. Monetize more effectively.”
Do we know what they do and for whom? We know whom they serve (advertisers and publishers), but we don’t really know how they serve them. The homepage subtext, “We help advertisers, retailers, and publishers activate and monetize audiences everywhere shoppable moments happen” helps, gesturing toward the “commerce media” opportunity with which Criteo has recently re-identified itself. But the hero text is essentially useless in propagating that mission. It’s the broadest possible message an adtech company could deliver to buyers and sellers.
Will customers be galvanized by this? Do customers care about better performance and monetization? Of course. But the attempt to capitalize on this central concern is too literal and therefore completely forgettable. Of course you think you’ll help me advertise more effectively. But how? What crusade are you on (if any)? What’s wrong with the industry, and how are you solving that problem? Why are you better suited to this task than others? “Advertise more effectively” is the slogan of a company that isn’t even trying to answer those questions.
Is it clear how they differ from competitors? Any adtech company could borrow this message, so no, it’s not differentiated.
How to Craft a More Compelling Message
The key to crafting a more compelling message is specificity. If the message doesn’t tell customers whom you’re for, why you’re a better fit to solve their problems than competitors, and why they should care, no one will even remember it. So, playing it safe is not safe. It makes your marketing ineffectual, which is wasteful.
Of course, I don’t expect the five or so words at the top of a site to capture everything important about the company in question. But I do think all three of these companies could do better than the slogans at the top of their homepages.
For example, IAS is a very established company with a clearly defined competitive set. So, they should focus on differentiation. What makes them different from (and better than) DV? Is there a certain kind of customer for whom they’re a better fit than their best-known competitors? I’d want to ask their customers what they love about IAS and how they compare it to alternatives and use that intelligence to devise a rallying cry that clarifies what the IAS mission and difference are. When you go to the top of the IAS site, you should be crystal clear on how they’re distinct from their competitors. The current messaging doesn’t even try to achieve that.
Or consider Xandr. If you scroll down on their site, you’ll see some differentiators, such as “exclusive access to premium CTV inventory on Netflix” or an “open, flexible platform.” What makes the platform open and flexible, and why does that matter? Why do advertisers buy through Xandr and not other DSPs and SSPs? Is unique, premium inventory potentially important enough to be captured in a slogan? Also, what do Xandr customers care about, and how can Xandr articulate that as part of a broader mission to improve the advertising ecosystem? Are some advertisers a better fit for Xandr than others? All good questions that would lead to much more specific and energizing messaging than “Reach audiences across screens with premium advertising.”
These are the questions you ask to arrive at a more insightful and exciting message. Again, it’s all about specificity. What makes you special? What makes your customers special? And, beyond simply generating better ad performance or monetization (which is, on some level, the goal of nearly every adtech company), why do you exist? That’s the point of a message. If it’s totally undifferentiated and unexciting, you might as well have no message at all.
