Ford drives traffic to dealers with local ads

FORD    TARGETED ADVERTISING   

US - Virtual ads can lead to in-person sales. Or at least, that's what Tremor Video and PointRoll are hoping happens with its new partnership, announced today. The video ad company and the marketing services company have joined creative and technological forces to deliver locally targeted ads for Ford vehicles.

The ads use Tremor's platform and distribution channels, with creative work from PointRoll. After viewing a 15-second in-stream video spot for Ford, a final frame directs users to the websites of local Ford dealerships. "PointRoll brings creative that's developed for local marketing solutions. And our platform and technology delivers the local video at scale," said Jason Krebs, chief media officer at Tremor.

It's the first partnership of its kind for the five-year-old video ad company, which also offers its own in-house creative services. But in this case Ford brought in PointRoll as its preferred creative house. "We're offering this partnership to all of our clients now," Krebs said.

Tremor's network is capable of reaching 90.6% of Internet users; the company has raised almost US$80 million in venture backing over six rounds of funding since 2006. PointRoll, acquired by Gannett in 2005, powers more than 55% of all rich media ads online.

The Ford ads are targeted by location and context-Tremor's platform identifies consumers who are welcoming to auto ads adjacent to related content. Tremor surveys viewers of the ad to see if they plan to go to a local dealership. The platform then targets users with similar profiles-browsing history and demographics-to serve more of the ads to.

It seems to be working. The local-targeted style of video ads used in the Ford campaign, and others, represent a 15% increase in overall metrics, including completion and click-through rates, Krebs said.

AdWeek