Insight
Widespread use of centralised web traffic hubs in the Nordic region has traditionally limited the value of advertising geotargeting technologies in the area. Leading ad serving technology provider, Cxense, is now breaking the mould, using an IP geotargeting solution from Digital Element to improve granularity by over 110% and eliminate holes in coverage – resulting in significantly higher revenues for its customers’ ad campaigns.
Online geotargeting in the Nordic region is notoriously difficult due to the common practice of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) routing large numbers of IP addresses through centralised hubs, a practice known as ‘backhauling’. Unsophisticated geolocation methodologies can be misled by this practice, resulting in a disproportionate number of IP address locations being incorrectly geolocated to a centralised hub, rather than the location where the device actually connects to the publicly-routable internet.
For Cxense, ad serving technology provider, the issue of tracing an IP address back from the centralised hub to the ISP end-point was not completely resolved with their previous IP geolocation provider. Cxense, which handles more than 45 billion ad impressions per month, recognised that, with improved data granularity and city-level accuracy, it could serve more relevant ads and generate higher Click-Through Rates (CTRs) and revenue for its advertising clients.
Strategy
After an extensive evaluation process of several IP geolocation solutions, Cxense chose Digital Element’s NetAcuity Edge technology for its hyperlocal targeting capabilities.
Execution
By integrating the NetAcuity Edge technology into its ad serving platform, Cxense is able to address the challenges associated with online ad geotargeting in the Nordics. While less sophisticated IP targeting techniques rely on routing infrastructure analysis and are degraded by backhauled traffic, NetAcuity Edge combines traditional infrastructure analysis with anonymous insight gleaned from a network of global commercial partners to provide a more granular and accurate response at a hyperlocal level (city and postcode), while still maintaining user anonymity and complying with the highest standards of end-user privacy. Now publishers, using EmediateAd from the Cxense Advertising suite, can assure its advertisers that it is utilising the most accurate and granular hyperlocal dataset available and that their ads are reaching users in the right geographic locations throughout the entire Nordic region and beyond.
Results
By deploying Digital Element’s IP geolocation technology, Cxense’s local advertising capabilities have become significantly more precise, and the company now delivers the Nordic region’s most granular and accurate geotargeted ads. With a rate of 100% country-level accuracy, 98% region-level accuracy and 97% city-level accuracy, Cxense’s geotargeting solution delivers fewer blank spots, more impressions, higher CTRs and, ultimately, increased revenues for its customers’ ad campaigns.
To measure the success of the deployment, Cxense compared before and after geotargeting data* across four different countries – Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland – with staggering results:
Denmark:
- Average increase in cities identified: 114%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 99.6%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 99.3%
- Average increase in cities identified: 114%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 99.6%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 99.3%
Sweden:
- Average increase in cities identified: 146%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 99.1%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 99.9%
- Average increase in cities identified: 146%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 99.1%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 99.9%
Norway:
- Average increase in cities identified: 131%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 98.1%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 97%
- Average increase in cities identified: 131%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 98.1%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 97%
Finland:
- Average increase in cities identified: 157%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 97.8%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 97.6%
- Average increase in cities identified: 157%
- Average decrease in ad impressions served to visitors in unknown locations: 97.8%
- Average decrease in inventory delivered to unknown locations: 97.6%
Percentage change in geotargeting data accuracy by country
By deploying Digital Element’s NetAcuity Edge geotargeting technology within its leading-edge advertising platform, Cxense is charting new ground for the future of successful advertising campaigns across the Nordics.
