Niche advertisers sometimes believe that specialized Websites are the best way to reach their narrow audiences. But Collective’s  research clearly shows that given the right mix of sophisticated targeting and audience insight, ad networks are just as, if not more, effective at reaching even the most eccentric audiences.

One example of Collective’s success in reaching specialized audiences is seen in the case of Western Star Trucking.  Western Star designs, manufactures and distributes heavy-duty custom trucks for long-haul and vocational use.  Their trucks are known throughout the industry for being the most luxurious, premium line of trucks in the market.  After focusing primarily on print campaigns, Western Star decided to adopt an online strategy after discovering their niche target—trucking executive and drivers—was accessing the internet more frequently.

Western Star initially believed the best route of accomplishing its goals of driving brand awareness and traffic to its site would be to market directly through a few specific B-2-B sites.  They were doubtful that any ad network could reach their particular consumer market. 

However, while trucking executives and drivers certainly access B-2-B sites, they, like most other Internet visitors, visit multiple Internet sites.  Western Star was soon convinced that in order for their campaign to be the most effective they had to go out and advertise on other sites that were of interest to their potential customers.

With the ideal combination of premium audiences and quality ad environment, Collective was successful in reaching both Western Star’s niche audience and fulfilling its campaign objectives.  More specifically, a sophisticated suite of targeting methods— including a custom Trucker’s Channel and Context targeting to trucking, auto and home improvement—was employed to ensure the right target was reached.  In all, the campaign garnered over 9,500 visits to Western Star’s site, and resulted in an overall CTR of 0.109%.

Moreover, when you examine the CTRs for each of the individual ad units, you can see in the table below that they all outperform industry norms:

From Western Star’s case, it is clear that a narrow focus on site-specific advertising may result in missed opportunities in reaching specialized audiences.  Through the use of premium environments and quality targeting, the Collective Network® was able to deliver a successful campaign and help Western Star reach its core audience.

See other insights