Why your digital ads aren’t working

This newsletter comes from the hosts of The Marketing Architects, a research-first show answering your biggest marketing questions. Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!

This week, we're exploring controversial truths with Bob Hoffman, the Ad Contrarian. Starting with how digital advertising's tracking-based model isn't just ineffective. Warning... piping hot takes ahead. 

—Elena  

Online ad fraud will become the second largest source of criminal income in 2025.   

According to the World Federation of Advertisers, only drug trafficking will generate more illegal revenue. This staggering fact reveals just how much of marketers' digital budgets are being wasted. 

Why digital tracking is failing marketers           

Digital advertising isn't broken—tracking is. Here's what marketers should know. 

1. Tracking doesn't equal better performance. High costs and inaccurate data plague third-party targeting. Research shows many consumers actively dislike personalized advertising. (Yep, they think you’re creepy). 
2. Your metrics are unreliable. The average programmatic campaign appears on 40,000 different websites. This complexity makes it difficult to verify if real humans saw them. 
   
3. Broad targeting often works better. TV advertising drove massive results for decades without advanced tracking and targeting. Even today's most profitable tech companies don't need granular targeting to thrive. The push for hyper-targeting often reduces campaign effectiveness while increasing costs.
   
4. Ad fraud is rampant. According to HP, ad fraud is the easiest and most profitable type of online crime. Studies estimate between $60-80 billion in ad spend is lost annually to fraud. And that's just what we can measure.
   
5. There's a better way. Focus on reaching broad audiences effectively through proven channels. Create compelling creative that resonates with real people. It's sometimes the fundamentals that get you the furthest. 

Listen in on our discussion.

Bob Hoffman’s Talk at the EU Parliament         

In this address, Bob reveals the staggering scale of digital advertising waste. With ad programmatic ads appearing on 80% "non-premium" sites, marketers are losing massive portions of their budgets to ineffective spending.  

Read the blog.

The best marketers are skeptics. 

“I think skepticism is one of the most important things when you work in our business. You should always ask, 'How does he know that?'" 

— Bob Hoffman