Ad Tech | How El Toro Stacks Up to Competitors

Ad tech, in the competitive world of digital marketing, comes in many forms, making it crucial to understand how these tools compare. Not all options are created equal, so knowing the differences is key.

At El Toro, we fully stand behind our ad tech, which is why we aren't afraid to discuss what our competitors are doing. In this blog, we'll compare El Toro technologies like IP Targeting and GeoFraming™ to other technologies such as geofencing, identity graphs, and cluster/cookie-based IP targeting, highlighting why our approach is more effective and reliable for reaching your target audience. Here is a list of ad technologies to compare against:

Geofencing

If you are in the online marketing space, chances are you already know what geofencing is. Simply put, geofencing is a type of geotargeting that involves creating virtual boundaries that trigger certain actions or messages when individuals enter those boundaries. Geotargeting is an umbrella term for ad tech that engages targets with advertisements based on their location. The key benefit to all of these technologies is simple: if you know where your audience is located, you can tailor your messages to be more relevant.

Where Does Geofencing Fall Short?

Geofencing uses cell towers to triangulate the approximate location of prospects, serving ads to them in real time. Since geofencing can only be used in real time, its overall use is limited, as you can only reach potential customers in the geofenced area when they are there. Also, since the location is based on cell tower data, you may target people outside of your desired location, among other shortcomings.

The El Toro Method: GeoFraming^TM

GeoFraming^TM is a proprietary service by which El Toro can draw GeoFrames around a location of interest, collect the mobile advertising device IDs (MAIDs) of the devices seen there, match those back to a home address, and then target all of the devices in that home. GeoFraming uses latitude and longitude data to inventory MAIDs at the square meter level, whereas geofencing can only approximate a rough area.

GeoFraming has three clear advantages over geofencing. First, in combination with our patented IP Targeting ad tech, you can engage the exact households seen at your locations as well as everyone in that household. Second, you can more accurately gauge purchase intent. And third, you can go back up to six months to target customers. Let's break each one of these points down.

First, because GeoFraming matches a MAID to a household address, you can then engage all of the devices in that household, meaning you are reaching more decision-makers.

Second, GeoFraming targets down to the square meter level and you can custom map specific areas to GeoFrame, unlike geofencing which relies on wherever cell towers are placed. Because you can draw the exact location you wish to find potential customers, you can accurately gauge their purchase intent. For example, as a real estate agent, you can GeoFrame a new housing subdivision to engage potential home buyers. Or as a car dealership, you can GeoFrame your lot and your competitors to see who is in the market for a new car.

Finally, we get to the real meat of GeoFraming: saving MAIDs now to target later. This is truly what puts GeoFraming over geofencing in almost all applications. With geofencing, you can only engage customers in real time while they are in your geofence. So what if they are driving? Or they are in your geofence but in another store? It might sound flashy to reach people in real time, but don't be fooled.

Instead of trying to reach customers in real time, you can use GeoFraming to keep your business top of mind. Haven’t seen a customer in a while? Maybe they are shopping at a competitor, use GeoFraming to engage them, keep your store top of mind, and reel them back in. For a full, in-depth, breakdown of GeoFraming vs. geofencing, check out our blog.

Identity Graphs

AWS states, "An identity graph [ID graph] provides a single unified view of customers and prospects based on their interactions with a product or website across a set of devices and identifiers." In layman's terms, an ID graph is a database that stores identifiers like email addresses, phone numbers, usernames, cookies, and some offline identifiers.

The main issue with ID graphs is complexity (trying to pull all of that data from across different websites and platforms is very difficult); so how do they do it? Well, according to Richpanel, "there is no one technology solution to achieve Identity Resolution." It seems that this ad tech relies on an extensive database able to maintain billions of users.

The main applications for this ad tech are personalizing customer service, cross-device attribution, personalizing in-app experiences, and delivering time-relevant promotions. In comparison to El Toro's IP Targeting, there isn't much overlap.

The only comparable application is delivering time-relevant promotions, which is essentially real-time advertising. As we have covered earlier in this blog, saving information (MAIDs) for later, and keeping your brand top-of-mind, is much more valuable in the majority of applications. Otherwise, ID graphs are extremely complex targeting solutions that lack transparency and offer little in the way of attribution.

Cookie-Based IP Targeting and Cluster IP Targeting

Ever remember your mom saying "we have food at home" whenever you asked for McDonald's in the car? Yeah, think of these technologies as the "IP Targeting we have at home." Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room, the use of IP Targeting in both of these terms. These technologies claim to be IP Targeting, but El Toro is the only true IP Targeting, and we have over 20 patents to prove it.

Cluster IP Targeting

Cluster IP targeting relies on "smartzones" which are a cluster of IPs giving you a 1 in 12 household accuracy at best. The household you want to target may be in there, but you have to deal with (and pay for) targeting 11 others as well. More to the point, when you are targeting groups of 12 at a time, how do you measure accuracy? And how do you track ROI? Who knows? Because El Toro targets homes with 1 to 1 accuracy we can provide those valuable insights in a more cost-efficient manner.

Cookie-Based IP Targeting

And what of cookie-based IP targeting? Considering how we brand our IP Targeting as 100% cookie-free, it sounds counterintuitive. There is one major search engine that uses cookie-based IP targeting as part of their analytics, though we won't say who. This ad tech claims to "examine the behavior and performance of groups of users related by common attributes."

To understand behavior, having good demographic data is essential, but cookies are the wrong tool for the job. Cookies are not a way to reliably target specific customer demographics. To give one of a slew of hilarious examples from a past blog of ours, we will take a look at the cookie profile of one of our R&A staff. At the time that blog was written our friend here was in his mid-20s, single with no kids, and drove a Honda. But his cookie profile said he was between 30-34 years of age. And 35-39, and 40-44, and 45-49 and 50-54 years old. So cookies say he's anywhere from 30-54 years old, despite not even being 30.

Moving on, despite not having children, his cookie profile said he had at least four, ranging from 0-18 years old. Finally, his shopping habits were, let's say, lavish. Even though he already owned a nice Honda, his cookie profile said he was in the market for a Cadillac, Fiat, Buick, and Dodge. That's a lot of cars for one person.

Ad Tech Questions You Should Ask Your Provider

With the advantages El Toro offers, it is important to ask your current advertising solution some questions to see if you are getting your money's worth. If you are looking at advertising solutions or are not currently with us, El Toro recommends asking your provider:

• How do you measure attribution?
• Do you know who you are targeting on your list?
• Where is your data coming from?
• What is the turnaround time for a campaign?
• What are the other costs involved other than media?

With digital marketing evolving as rapidly as it does, your business needs technologies that are precise, transparent, and effective. El Toro's proprietary technologies, such as GeoFraming and IP Targeting, provide a superior alternative by offering precise targeting, measurable results, and the ability to engage entire households at the most opportune times. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of various technologies, your business can make an informed decision to maximize your marketing efforts, ensuring that you reach the right audience with the right message, every time.