If you are not an experienced marketer you may see the adtech and martech terms as something similar. While these two concepts do share similarities, they differ quite a bit, and these differences may influence your marketing campaign. Therefore, it is crucial to take into account all the peculiarities of both terms. Let’s find out the nuances of both approaches.
What is AdTech and how does it differ from MarTech?
Adtech is about the technology that helps deliver ads to the customers and display them. Among the things, the adtech term includes are banners, ad networks, servers, and ad exchanges, data management systems, and platforms. It is about everything that deals with advertising campaigns – views, impressions, users, etc. On the other hand, martech refers more to marketing strategies than to ads, and helps marketers launch, manage and measure marketing campaigns by means of various tools: software for email marketing, social media and CRM, surveys, A/B testing, and analytics tools. The main task of a marketer is to make the existing customers buy and have greater involvement with the product. You can learn more details in this article.
But apart from their general roles, the real difference between adtech and martech lies much deeper:
- Targeting
Marketers work with personal data and their target audience is specific. They use first-party cookies, emails, and names provided by users when those users download something or subscribe to a service. Marketers communicate with customers who are already familiar with the product. Advertising is intended for a wider audience and uses third-party data. It approaches unknown users who may not be customers yet, and are targeted on the basis of location, search behavior, and other parameters. Advertisers attract new customers while marketers satisfy and retain existing ones.
- Media
Advertisers buy ad inventory – in other words, ad display. Therefore, they use paid media in their practice. Martech uses free channels like social media, search engine optimization, and email newsletters to approach customers who have already provided some personal information.
- Platforms
This is the point where the difference matters because adtech and martech use quite different platforms for data processing. For example, adtech uses supply-side, demand-side search engine marketing platforms, ad networks, and platforms for ad monetization. As for the marketers, they work with SEO, analytics, marketing automation, and CRM platforms.
- Billing
Adtech and martech technologies are also charged in different ways. Adtech is based on commission, or sometimes a fixed fee, and the price depends on CPM. However, some platforms may offer monthly payment options like in martech, which commonly uses the Software-as-a-Service or subscription model. While there is a difference, billing variants are no longer a strong point in the comparison between adtech and martech as various options may be used nowadays in both areas.
Apart from that, adtech is about advertising agencies and partners while martech cooperates with vendors directly.
The takeaways
Though there is a visible difference in the way adtech and martech work, we can’t say that one is better than the other. If you want to raise your brand awareness, attract new customers, and keep the existing ones satisfied it is always better to stick to a holistic approach and make the most out of all technologies. The integration of adtech and martech is already taking place, and it promises to bring twice as many advantages if used wisely. That means that both advertisers and marketers will soon be able to able to benefit from all the tools available in both areas to reach the best possible results and boost your brand’s success.
