Search Ad Impressions Skyrocketed During Polar Vortex; Advertisers Missed Opportunity

Marin Software finds during the coldest week of the polar vortex paid search impressions were 1500% above historic trends

SAN FRANCISCO, CA March 31, 2014 — When faced with record-low temperatures, data from Marin Software (NYSE: MRIN) indicates many consumers weathered the Polar Vortex by shopping online. According to Marin Software, provider of a leading Revenue Acquisition Management platform for advertisers and agencies, paid search impression volumes were 1500% higher than historic trends for retailers during the coldest week of the polar vortex (January 19 – 25). Click volume and spend also increased during the same week but only at a fraction of the search impressions, indicating advertisers missed out on a captive audience.

To help advertisers better adapt to consumer behavior and external factors, Marin Software recently developed Context Connect. The new capability lets advertisers incorporate weather, television, inventory, sports scores, stock market fluctuations, and other contextual data into their digital marketing campaigns, allowing them to execute smarter optimization strategies and capitalize on environmental changes that affect their business.

News Facts:

• During the coldest week of the polar vortex, January 19 – 25, Marin Software found paid search impressions, clicks and spend rates for retailers were significantly higher than historical rates. Search ad impressions skyrocketed 1500% while click volume increased 268% and spend 79%. The data suggests, faced with abnormally cold weather, consumers increased their time shopping online, but advertisers failed to fully optimize for the dramatic shift.
• Consumer behavior is complex, with demand for products and services depending on external, environmental factors. Weather, television, stock prices, sporting events, and other sources of contextual data influence consumer action and affect business outcomes in real-time. Marin Software Context Connect provides digital marketers a flexible platform for integrating and taking action on critical external data sources as defined by the advertiser.
• Marin Software’s Context Connect allows advertisers to integrate first and third party sources of contextual data into digital marketing campaigns. Marketers can evaluate search, social, and display performance alongside contextual attributes to quickly identify trends and take immediate action by adjusting audiences, creative, and bidding across campaigns.
• Paired with Marin Software’s Dynamic Actions, Context Connect further empowers advertisers with the ability to automatically adjust keyword bids and visibility based on custom criteria. Bids are able to be automatically adjusted to maximize business outcomes according to real-time contextual data connections.

Quotes:

• "Context Connect allows Extra Space Storage to add layers of critical data into our paid search program to maximize our budget and our return," said Cameron Urry, Interactive Marketing Manager at Extra Space Storage. "The ability to bring in demand, inventory, and offline data by location not only provides us with unprecedented visibility into our business, but allows us to make smarter bid decisions as operational factors change. Context Connect and the innovation behind it is a game-changer for us."
• “Digital marketers can’t see into the future and predict for every factor that may affect a digital marketing campaign,” said Matt Ackley, chief marketing officer at Marin Software. “Context Connect and the open-stack nature of the Marin platform allow advertisers to integrate contextual sources of data and optimize their digital campaigns based on their unique external factors.”