In a world where advertisers are unable to reach more than 50% of their target audiences due to regulations around collecting user data and cookie deprecation, Qwarry offers brands a way to reach the unreachable.

Their cookieless semantic marketing platform leverages natural language processing (NLP) to analyze website content and build semantic segments, ultimately helping advertisers reach larger audiences and increase campaign ROI.

We recently spoke with Geoffrey Berthon, Co-Founder and CEO, at Qwarry to talk about semantic targeting, preparing for a cookieless future, and more.

Q. As one of the pioneers in semantic targeting, how have you seen cookieless targeting strategies evolve since 2019?

We’ve seen a significant evolution in cookieless targeting strategies since 2019. At that time, no advertisers planned to use contextual targeting in their media strategy. Compare that to today where more than 20% of global budgets are allocated to contextual solutions, and you can see the unstoppable march forward.

In the early days, cookieless targeting was seen as a niche solution for a small number of advertisers. As the privacy landscape evolved, advertisers wanted new ways to reach their target audiences without sacrificing relevance or effectiveness, resulting in cookieless targeting becoming increasingly mainstream.

Today, advertisers are looking for cookieless solutions and semantic targeting is one of the most promising solutions available as it is more privacy-friendly than traditional targeting methods. Because semantic targeting is based on the meaning of the content users consume, advertisers can target ads to users based on their immediate interests rather than browsing behavior and it doesn’t require collecting personal user data.

Qwarry has been at the forefront of the development of semantic targeting. We’ve developed several innovative technologies that allow advertisers to reach their target audiences without using cookies, resulting in many advertisers – including some of the world’s largest brands – using our technology.

Q. What sets your semantic technology apart from the other contextual providers available on the market?

Qwarry’s semantic technology is different from other contextual providers in a few key ways:

  • Accuracy: Qwarry’s semantic technology is highly accurate. By using various signals to understand the meaning of users’ content – including text, images, and video – we can ensure ads are delivered to users interested in them.
  • Scalability: We can process large amounts of data and deliver ads to many users, making it a good solution for large-scale advertising campaigns.
  • Privacy-friendly: We do not collect or store any personal data about users, making it a good solution for advertisers looking for a privacy-first solution.
  • Continuous learning: Qwarry’s semantic technology is continuously learning. It is constantly being updated with new data and algorithms looking for a privacy-first solution.
  • Natural Language Processing: We use NLP to understand the meaning of the content users consume. This allows it to target ads to users based on their interests, rather than their browsing behavior. We’re not doing keyword targeting but accurate semantic analysis.
  • Machine Learning: We use ML to improve targeting accuracy. This is done by training the model on a large data set of user data.
  • Insights: We offer a better way for advertisers to understand the power of contextual targeting, delivering insights

Q. What is the biggest misconception people have about semantic targeting?

Definitely scalability. People think contextual or semantic targeting is an oversized filter that is decreasing inventory. That’s wrong.

Semantic targeting allows you to reach an audience you were unable to get before. So you are doubling or tripling your game field. Moreover, this audience is cost-effective as nobody is trying to purchase it. So, you are paying less and increasing your campaign’s ROI.

Q. With the cookie deprecation deadline finally approaching, what advice do you have for those who have yet to start testing solutions?

Advertisers who still need to start testing cookieless solutions are running out of time. Here are a few tips for those who are just getting started:

  • Start by understanding your audience: What are their interests? Their pain points? Their goals? Once you know your audience, you can start developing targeting strategies relevant to them.
  • Test hard: There are many different cookieless targeting solutions available. Testing different solutions to see which ones work best for your audience and your goals is crucial.
  • Be patient: Developing and implementing a successful cookieless targeting strategy takes time. Don’t expect to see results immediately.
  • Be flexible: The cookieless landscape is constantly evolving. Be prepared to adapt your strategy as needed.

Contextual targeting is a great way to meet success and reach more audience in a scalable way, but advertisers can also consider using first-party data to create custom audiences and target ads more effectively or leveraging unique identifiers (unique IDs) to track users across websites and apps to target ads based on user interests and browsing behavior.

With the cookieless future already here, advertisers need to start testing now to develop successful strategies. And, if you’re lost, we can help!

As part of our ongoing partnership with Qwarry, buyers now have access to their contextual segments in our EBC Data Marketplace.

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