The digital coupon

Adwebster has built up a solid basic digital network (display, branding, video) over three years and has long had a lot of mobile traffic on iPhones, iPads, Windows devices, Android phones and Blackberry devices. "However, this traffic has not yet been served, as the advertising market in Switzerland is only just emerging in this area," explains Patrick Stüssi, Head of Products at Adwebster.

All-screen network - on all mobile devices

The company deliberately took its time to launch the Adwebster Mobile Network, as it was important for Adwebster to build the entire network on the same tech stack in order to take full advantage of the "all-screen planning" approach that comes with it. This network architecture makes it possible to view mobile advertising not in isolation, but in the context of other online marketing measures such as stationary display advertising or video advertising. "In such a context, campaigns can be optimized very efficiently, which means the highest possible ROI for the advertiser."

Branding, targeting and video campaigns

In addition to the classic mobile branding campaign within premium theme channels, cross-channel reach campaigns can also be booked. The entire network is also video-enabled (VAST 2.0), and the delivery of TV ads can be coordinated with associated branding and/or reach campaigns. At the same time, Adwebster is introducing Switzerland's first integrated ROPO tool, a GPS marketing instrument called Smart Sale. "Smart Sale is the first integrated ROPO tool in Switzerland with state-of-the-art GPS tracking," says CEO Andi Nigg. "Smart Sale, a ROPO tool with GPS localization, is the new centerpiece of our mobile network," continues Stüssi. Smart Sale originates from the in-house "adwebster Lab", uses state-of-the-art GPS tracking technology and offers advertising customers the opportunity to track the success of the campaign at their own offline POS systems using real barcodes. Retailers and companies with chain stores can define individual promotions, discounts or vouchers for each store via XML feeds. Delivery takes place on all mobile devices and can be precisely defined for each store with a radius. The deviations in GPS tracking are only a few meters. Pan

"With Smart Sale, we can measure how many offers have been redeemed at a store using a checkout scan."

WW: Smart Sale seems to be an innovative new product, yet many readers will wonder why Adwebster is trying to use ROPO to direct potential customers to "offline stores" instead of directly to an online store.
Andi Nigg: There is a great need on the part of advertisers to lead potential customers into a store. For some years now, concepts such as "couponing" or "daily deals" have been used in an attempt to make digital advertising usable for the real (offline) world. Smart Sale is more or less a further development of such approaches, with the difference that consumers are shown promotions directly via smartphones and other mobile devices (for example, if they are within 100 meters of store X) - and this across all portals on the largest digital advertising network in Switzerland with over 400 premium titles.
 
In which situation does this make sense?
It is not the case that online stores are always a substitute for offline stores. The shopping experience differs greatly in terms of quality, and for many products it makes no sense to buy them online. With "Research online - Purchase offline", Adwebster wants to show that the combination of digital advertising with an offline store network can be very efficient. A consumer who sees a smart sale promotion on the move is in a completely different situation to a user sitting in front of a computer in the office or at home. More impulse purchases can be generated via ROPO, as a potential customer is in the vicinity of a particular store and wants to benefit from a promotion. The shopping experience combined with an incentive is very important for this type of advertising.
 
For which customers is Smart Sale useful?
ROPO is of interest to any customer who operates a store network and wants to lead potential customers to the stores. This includes large retailers, fast food chains, electronics stores, DIY stores and furniture stores. These advertisers still spend the majority of their advertising budgets on promotional advertising in print media (inserts, promotional ads in newspapers) or distribute these via letterbox insertion. The regional focus is achieved through bookings in local print media (Anzeiger Stadt A, local newspaper Stadt B).
 
Where does Adwebster see potential for ROPO?
As the largest digital display and video network in Switzerland, we are of course aware that users from City A mainly consume national media (e.g. Blick, NZZ, Pro Sieben, Sat 1, etc.). With Smart Sale, promotional advertising can now be delivered on a national digital advertising network for the first time, but with very strong and precise local targeting via GPS technology. Different promotions can be used for each store; these are automatically imported via XML feeds and kept up to date live. We are convinced that promotional advertising via Smart Sale is very efficient and cost-effective. We therefore see enormous potential for our ROPO service.
 
And are smart sale campaigns really directly measurable for customers?
Yes, that's one of the big advantages over print ads. With Smart Sale, we can not only measure how often the advertisement was displayed and clicked on, but also how many offers were actually redeemed (via checkout scan) in one of the X or Y stores. And best of all: Smart Sale customers can track the success or ROI themselves via their own POS systems.
 
Does an advertising client need to have a mobile website created or other functions programmed?
No, we take care of all that for the advertising customer. We want Smart Sale to be as easy to use as possible without any additional effort. The customer hardly notices the technical integration and the effort involved. With a Smart Sale campaign, advertising customers also get a kind of "promotional app" for free.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri