An Advertiser’s Paradise: Opening Up The Open Internet

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Everyone knows of Facebook’s two billion plus actively monthly users and we’ve all heard about the hundreds of thousands of searches on Google any given minute.

But what about the rest of the internet?

It’s called the Open Internet, and it’s a lucrative field.

“We believe in the Open Internet,” said Criteo global product marketing director Stewart Emerson.

“And the way the Open Internet works is through publishers being awarded for great content.”

Criteo believes marketers need only focus on three spaces online: search, social and the Open Internet.

Data now shoes time spent online is split about half and half between the Open Internet and the ‘walled gardens’ of Google and Facebook.

And according to Criteo, this is a huge opportunity for advertisers.

“Open Internet is a primary discovery tool for new brands,” said Criteo head of analytics, insights and data science Jaysen Gillespie.

“There’s a lot you can do with traditional social and influencers, but what the research is telling us is that Open Internet is also another important component of that.

“Marketers need to be everywhere. You want to be where the consumers are if you’re trying to launch a new brand or build loyalty.”

He also pointed out Open Internet has even higher penetration in the APAC region, where Facebook is less popular compared to its home in the USA.

Moving up the funnel

According to Gillespie and Criteo, online advertising is now being used as more of a discovery tool than was previously thought.

By highlighting new products to consumers, it means the function of online advertising has now moved up the ‘marketing funnel’.

“Much of the narrative is that online advertising is primarily very low-funnel and about closing a deal,” said Gillespie.

“It’s an effective mechanism for introducing customers to a new brand.”

Ads in a private world

Criteo is currently working to expand its offerings in personalised retargeting, with mobile a particular focus.

But its view to expand comes at a time where data protection is increasingly expected from consumers around the globe and at a time where the ad tech industry is facing some potential regulatory hurdles.

Criteo’s point of difference from the likes of Facebook and Google is it was established in France, where attitudes to data protection have been relatively progressive.

“We’ve implemented privacy by design,” said Emerson.

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