How to build a winning omnichannel advertising strategy

To make the customer journey as smooth as possible and ensure a great experience, business owners, digital professionals and marketers should pay close attention to omnichannel advertising strategy which implies creating a coherent and sleek experience for people across all the platforms and marketing channels. 

Omnichannel strategies may lead to increased brand recognition, higher engagement and better conversions. In the guide below, we explore the essential steps to building a winning ad strategy with the help of AI optimisation and cross-channel attribution that will deliver tangible results. 

Understanding the basics of omnichannel advertising 

Before we discuss the topic, let’s define why omnichannel strategy is important. This advertising type ensures a seamless and consistent customer experience across multiple platforms and devices, such as CTV, DOOH, mobile, web and social media. It helps companies build strong and long-lasting connections with their audience and offers a highly personalised and cohesive client journey to nurture loyalty. 

You may have heard of multichannel marketing and are wondering what the difference is between it and omnichannel marketing. Multichannel strategy also involves multiple platforms, but it usually consists of separate strategies for each channel or platform. In contrast, omnichannel advertising is more comprehensive and coherent. It creates a unified experience that flows from one channel into another and supports integral messaging across all platforms, connecting all touchpoints. 

A step-by-step guide to an omnichannel strategy

So, how does one build an effective ad strategy that brings real results? Here are some integral steps that will make you one step closer to having successful advertising campaigns that perform. 

1. Clearly define your objectives and audiences: First things first, before diving into omnichannel ads, you should clearly define all your goals. They have to be precise, clear and easily measurable, whether it’s raising brand awareness, boosting conversions or increasing engagement. In addition, identify and segment your target audience to select the relevant touchpoints to deliver personalised and resonating campaigns. 
2. Integrate your key channels (web, mobile, CTV, DOOH): Each of these channels plays an integral role in your marketing and advertising efforts. You should not neglect any of them as even the unexpected channels may bring excellent results and contribute to your performance outcomes. A cohesive experience across devices will enable potential customers to move fluidly between touchpoints. 
3. Leverage AI-driven optimisation: We live in an era of powerful technologies that are aimed at reinforcing our efforts. Get the most out of AI-driven optimisation to easily predict consumer behaviour and automate bidding processes and personalised campaigns in real-time. AI can also analyze large data sets thus enabling highly precise targeting. Pay attention to dynamic creative optimisation that sends the right message to the right audience, enhancing relevance and improving overall campaign performance.
4. Implement cross-channel attribution: To understand how effective each of the channels is, tracking user journeys across multiple channels is essential. There are three main attribution models that can assist you with this task: last-click, multi-touch and data-driven. They will indicate how many conversions channels are responsible for. 
5. Align creative messaging across channels: Consistency in creative messaging is key. It helps maintain a seamless experience for potential clients across all platforms which results in a higher level of trust and enables to establish a desired brand identity. Make sure to align the tone, style and messaging of your ads whether they’re seen on CTV, mobile or web. By unifying all the creative assets, you avoid possible confusion that could harm engagement and brand image.
6. Measure and analyse performance: It’s paramount to track the performance of your campaigns across all channels. Leverage A/B testing and identify what creatives and messaging bring the most value to different platforms. Regular review of performance data is strictly necessary to adjust your efforts and effectively allocate budget to the top-performing channels. 

Challenges of measuring omnichannel effectiveness 

There are a few challenges that are associated with omnichannel advertising. However, there are potential solutions that can help you smoothly solve them. 

1. Fragmented data across channels makes it difficult to track user interactions across the platforms. Solution: Centralise insights with relevant software and implement a unified cross-channel attribution model.
2. Different platforms offer different metrics, making it challenging to measure performance. Solution: Use AI-driven insights to standardise reporting and unify KPIs for consistency. 
3. Privacy regulations limit access to third-party data. Solution: Focus on first-party data strategies, prioritise contextual targeting, and privacy-compliant analytics.
4. Real-time insights might be incomplete and somehow limited. Solution: Invest in quality real-time analytics to track campaign performance and adjust strategies on the go.

Final thoughts

To sum it all up, we can say with full confidence that omnichannel advertising is not a mere trend - it’s a necessity for businesses willing to take their performance to a higher level. 

By integrating various channels and creating seamless and coherent experiences, you will be able to achieve unseen results while driving engagement and conversions. We encourage you to continuously refine and adjust your strategy to stay on top of the curve and be able to quickly adapt to the ever-changing consumer behaviour.