DoubleClick Bid Manager Advertisers see 2.43x improvement in CPA after upgrading to DoubleClick Bid Manager
Customers who have upgraded from Invite Media to DoubleClick Bid Manager see improvement on their performance goals—with average conversion volumes increasing by 1.38x and average CPAs declining by 2.43x—for campaigns that upgraded mid-flight.
2.43x
better CPA for customers who have upgraded to DoubleClick Bid Manager.
Background In October 2012, DoubleClick™ Bid Manager (DBM) launched, as Google’s new demand-side platform (DSP) for programmatic buying. The launch culminated in a platform rebuilt on Google infrastructure, after months of work following the acquisition of Invite Media™. DoubleClick Bid Manager enables advertisers to buy programmatic media across ad exchanges—in real time based on the value of each impression as defined by their unique goals. Because DoubleClick Bid Manager is a brand-new platform, advertisers often ask how its new capabilities impact performance. To answer this question, we analyzed a group of more than 140 campaigns that ran first on Invite Media and then on DoubleClick Bid Manager. The primary metrics we examined were costper-acquisition (CPA) and conversion volume. CPA is a common success metric for many types of campaigns, particularly direct response campaigns, and is often closely tied to overall return on investment (ROI). Our analysis also looked at the range of CPAs delivered from a given campaign to measure the expected consistency of that CPA value over the lifetime of the campaign. Approach and methodology We collected anonymous data from 143 campaigns, aggregated across a random set of advertisers who upgraded from Invite Media to DoubleClick Bid Manager, and analyzed campaign performance pre- and post-migration from platform to platform, with all campaign targeting settings remaining equal. These advertisers represent a broad sample of industry verticals, both managed- and self-service accounts, and a mix of marketing tactics, such as remarketing, prospecting, algorithmic, contextual targeting and more. To protect the privacy of our advertisers’ data, we analyzed data in aggregate across data sets where all advertisers contributed equally to the overall analysis. Performance by the numbers On average, advertisers see a 2.43x improvement in their 7 day CPA across all campaigns and a 1.38x improvement in total conversion volume on DoubleClick Bid Manager. Additionally, across all advertisers included in the analysis, we found that DBM delivers a lower, more predictable CPA than Invite Media on the same campaigns.
DoubleClick Bid Manager
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7-Day Average CPA (Normalized)
lift in conversion volume for DoubleClick Bid Manager customers.
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1.2 7-Day Average Total Conversions (Normalized)
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We can see performance trends over time by charting the normalized 7-day average CPAs and conversion volume across the studied campaigns, which served first on Invite Media, then upgraded to DoubleClick Bid Manager. DBM delivers an average 1.38x lift in conversion volume and an average CPA improvement of 2x or greater, immediately following the upgrade from Invite Media. While the troughs and valleys are to be expected, improved performance is a clear trend. Increased consistency in CPA. In addition to seeing lower CPAs and higher conversion volume, advertisers also saw more consistency in their CPAs with DoubleClick Bid Manager, with a dramatic decrease in both the mean and standard deviation of CPAs. The comparison below, between Invite Media and DoubleClick Bid Manager, shows both a lower CPA and narrower CPA range on DBM. This range, or confidence interval, gives us a spectrum within 95% probability of what the 7-day average CPA is likely to be. Average Range of 7-Day CPAs Across Advertisers, Invite Media vs. DoubleClick Bid Manager
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Normalized CPA
As you can see from this confidence interval, not only can you expect a lower average CPA on DoubleClick Bid Manager, but the CPA is more likely to remain lower1.
CPA ranges represent a 95% confidence interval of the average 7-day CPA on both Bid Manager and Invite Media. (n=143, p=.00006). This confidence interval provides insight into the estimated range the actual 7-day CPA is likely to differ from the mean, a single-point estimate of where the 7-day CPA is likely to be. Reader should interpret lower CPA as stronger performance.
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DoubleClick Bid Manager
Rebuilding a platform from the ground up is only worthwhile when customers see a marked improvement for their campaigns. As advertiser adoption of DBM increases, our aggressive road map plans for even greater performance-driving functionality. Below are best practices to maximize and measure your campaign performance as you begin taking advantage of the media efficiencies on DoubleClick Bid Manager. Define measurable campaign goals. The first step in measuring performance uplift is to establish specific, tracked, and reported goals. Identify a key performance metric, and ensure you have the tagging in place needed to report on these goals. Launch campaigns on DoubleClick Bid Manager. For existing Invite Media customers and new advertisers alike, the upgrade process is simple. Work with your DBM sales lead to set up an upgrade plan and time line, and to learn how to leverage the new workflow efficiencies. Identify new platform features to test. Discover DBM’s new tools that can drive performance improvements for your campaigns. Some examples include new algorithmic bidding and budget allocation tools, keyword contextual targeting overlays, and first, third or custom audience segmentation. To learn more, visit doubleclick.com/bidmanager
About DoubleClick
About DoubleClick Bid Manager
Google’s DoubleClick™ products provide ad management and ad
DoubleClick™ Bid Manager is a next-generation demand-side-platform
serving solutions to companies that buy, create or sell online advertising.
(DSP) providing technology and services to trading desks, agencies,
The world’s top marketers, publishers, ad networks and agencies use
and advertisers. Bid Manager brings greater control, transparency,
DoubleClick products as the foundation for their online advertising
and performance in global display media buying across ad exchanges
businesses. With deep expertise in ad serving, media planning, search
in real-time. Proprietary machine learning algorithms analyze every
management, rich media, video and mobile, our DoubleClick products
impression and optimize bids in real time to meet advertisers’ unique
help customers execute their digital media strategy more effectively.
business objectives. The customizable system offers best-in-class keyword contextual targeting plus robust audience targeting through first- and third-party data, bringing the right messages to the people at the right moments. Backed by Google’s global infrastructure and fully integrated into the DoubleClick platform, Bid Manager is built to work seamlessly with DoubleClick Digital Marketing, streamlining workflows and reporting and enabling true cross-channel buying across search, display, mobile, and video. © 2013 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google, the Google logo, DoubleClick and Invite Media are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Google Inc.
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