Marketers are currently faced with an array of multi-touchpoint customer journeys, so Zenith has looked at how machine learning could be used to efficiently process large amounts of data and to automate the most complex and time-consuming aspects of digital planning.

Using live campaigns in the United States from Avivia, an insurance brand, the team collected advertising cookie data from the technology stack of a leading demand-side platform (DSP) and matched it with corresponding first party sales data. Applying Zenith’s machine learning algorithm, the team was able to precisely attribute sales conversions to specific digital interactions.

Then, in an industry first, Zenith was able to automatically optimise Aviva’s digital planning by pushing the algorithm output back into the DSP’s stack. This dramatic move closed the automation loop – data collection, attribution and a full set of planning changes across multiple digital touchpoints all done automatically.

Zenith is also adding first party drivers-of-demand data into the algorithm in order to enhance the effectiveness of the automated planning changes. In this way, data, such as how price affects sales or the success of creative assets, will be fed into the automated optimisation.

This radical automation of digital planning is being done using cloud-based technology, with the client retaining full ownership of their first-party data throughout the process.

This application of machine learning saw Aviva benefit from a 6% cost-per-lead (CPL) improvement on car search through the implementation of the automation programme. For display, Aviva saw a 10% improvement in CPL through automation.

Vittorio Bonori, global brand president at Zenith, says, “Zenith is leading the way in changing the business model for digital. This important programme is part of our strategy to leverage the power of data and technology to drive profitable growth for our clients.”

James Turner, head of marketing (trading) at Aviva, says, "We’re delighted that as part of our commitment to digital and media transformation at Aviva we are breaking new ground with this pilot automation of our search and display. The benefits of attribution modelling will be realised in terms of ROI improvement as well as through operational efficiency.”

For more information, visit zenithoptimedia.co.za.