How Frequency Capping Improves iGaming Campaign Performance
Digital marketing is often viewed as a numbers game; the more exposure an advertiser’s digital asset has to its target market, the more likely it is to generate clicks and conversions from that audience. However, there is a limit to how much exposure an advertisement can have if it is to remain effective for the advertiser.
Ad fatigue is the name for the phenomenon that occurs when an advertisement is excessively shown to an audience without eliciting any particular action from those viewers. The result of this form of excessive exposure to an advertisement is a decrease in the click-through rates for that advertisement, an increase in the advertiser’s cost per thousand (CPM) impressions of that advertisement, and a general decrease in the viewers’ perception of the brand behind the advertisement.
Frequency capping is a tool that advertisers can use to avoid the negative impacts of ad fatigue while improving the efficiency of their digital advertising campaigns. By limiting the number of times that a specific audience member views a specific advertisement, the advertiser can make the most of each impression of that advertisement.
What Is Frequency Capping?
Frequency capping allows an advertiser to limit the number of times that a specific user views an advertisement within a set timeframe. The number of times that an advertisement can be shown to an individual user can be limited by:
Day
Week
Campaign
Creative
Multiple devices
The intention of establishing a frequency cap on any digital campaign is to allow for the advertised brand and product to remain visible to potential customers without subordinating the exposure of that brand to each individual potential customer.
Why Repetition of an Advertisement Can Reduce the Performance of a Campaign
Repeated exposure to an advertisement does not necessarily produce better results for that digital advertiser. When viewers are presented with the same advertisement over and over without taking any action, they may begin to:
Ignore that advertisement
Develop banner blindness
Be less likely to click on that advertisement
Develop negative perceptions of the brand and product that it promotes
Maintaining an appropriate balance in exposure to an advertisement is essential to the success of that campaign.
Improve Advertising Efficiency
Instead of continually showing the same advertisement to the same audience, frequency capping allows the advertiser to expose the digital campaign to:
New prospective players
Different segments of the target audience
New geographic markets
Protect Marketing Budgets
Ad expenditure for buying advertisements and impressions is a significant portion of the advertising budget. Effective frequency limits reduce an advertiser’s spending on:
Wasted impressions
High CPM costs
Duplicate exposure of the same advertisements
Inefficient use of the advertising budget
Adapt Caps According to Campaign Objectives
The objectives of a digital advertising campaign may require different levels of exposure to its advertisements. Examples of different types of digital campaigns include:
Brand awareness campaigns
Welcome bonus campaigns
Retargeting campaigns
Product campaigns
Each type of campaign has a different frequency capping objective to match its campaign goals.
Monitor Creative Fatigue
Performance metrics for an advertisement may decline before the advertiser becomes aware that the digital advertisement has become ineffective. Monitoring the performance of an advertisement allows the advertiser to recognize the decline in:
Click-through rates
Engagement with the advertisement
Conversions from prospective to registered players
Increased acquisition costs of players
These declining metrics indicate the need to introduce new creative content for the campaign.
Rotate Creative Assets
Instead of changing the exposure of an advertisement, an advertiser can introduce new creative content. This can include changing the headline of the advertisement, the bonus offers shown, the imagery used, the seasonality of the content of the advertisement, or the call to action within the advertisement.
Segment Audiences
Ad performance may differ for various segments of the target audience. Implementing frequency capping according to each segment allows the advertiser to monitor each group’s performance more closely.
Examples of different audience segments include:
New visitors to the website
Returning players
VIP audiences
Geographic markets
Device type
Combining Frequency Capping with Retargeting
Retargeting campaigns may also benefit from frequency capping. Retargeting campaigns usually feature advertisements that are continuously shown to users. However, limiting the number of times that users are exposed to these advertisements will provide a better viewing experience for those users while increasing the efficiency of that retargeting campaign.
Measure the Right Metrics
The success of an advertisement can be evaluated using various metrics. The advertiser should focus on measuring the following metrics:
Click-through rate
Cost per acquisition
Conversion rate
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Impression frequency
These metrics will allow the advertiser to determine the best frequency limit for each campaign.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems can automate the process of frequency capping for advertisements. Artificial intelligence can:
Predict when an advertisement is experiencing fatigue
Recommend the best number of impressions for each campaign
Automatically adjust the exposure of the advertisement to its target market
Continuously rotate the creative elements of the advertisement
Spot saturated audiences for a specific product or campaign
Automating the frequency capping process increases the likelihood of the advertiser finding the best exposure limit for each campaign and improving the performance of that campaign.
Common Advertising Mistakes
Many digital advertising campaigns are underperforming due to the following common mistakes:
Ignoring frequency limits
Continuing to use the same advertisements for months
Using the same frequency limits for all audience segments
Only measuring the number of impressions for advertisements
Continually delaying the rotation of advertisement creatives
Making corrections to these mistakes will significantly improve the digital advertising campaign’s efficiency.
Best Practices
Adopt the following practices to maximize the performance of advertising campaigns:
Set frequency limits
Monitor ad fatigue
Rotate advertisements
Segment audiences
Optimize retargeting campaigns
Measure quality of conversions
Review campaign performance weekly
Test different exposure levels to each campaign
Following these best practices will provide an advertiser with better long-term advertising results.
Looking Ahead
The future of digital advertising platforms will include greater intelligence and automation in the management of advertising campaigns. The future of frequency limits will include the following capabilities:
AI-driven frequency limits
Cross-channel frequency management
Predictive audience saturation
Personalized frequency limits
Real-time creative rotation
These capabilities will allow advertisers to significantly increase the performance of their digital campaigns while reducing their advertising spend.
Final Thoughts
Ad exposure does not have to be shown more frequently for an advertiser to achieve better results. In most instances, limiting the number of times that an audience member views an advertisement will improve the click-through rates for that advertisement and reduce the advertiser’s cost of acquiring new customers.
By implementing the techniques discussed in this article, digital advertisers in the iGaming industry can significantly improve the efficiency of their advertising campaigns. In the future, when artificial intelligence systems control the digital advertising platforms that each company utilizes, the ability of these systems to automatically implement these strategies will further improve the performance of each advertiser’s digital campaigns. Knowing when to not show an advertisement to an audience can be every bit as important as knowing when to show it to that audience.