As a direct-to-consumer (DTC) retail marketer, you’ve likely mastered the art of social and search advertising. They’ve been reliable workhorses, driving traffic, leads, and sales for your brand. But with rising customer acquisition costs (CAC) and increasing competition in these saturated channels, it’s time to explore new opportunities that can unlock untapped audiences and boost your long-term growth. 

*Open web enters the conversation

This is where open web advertising comes in—a powerful complement to your existing social and search strategies. By expanding your reach across channels like display, video, connected TV (CTV), and audio, you can lower your CAC and increase your customer lifetime value (CLV).

Why relying solely on social and search limits growth

While social and search advertising offer incredible value, they have their limitations—primarily in terms of audience saturation and rising costs. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google have become crowded with advertisers, which has driven up CAC and reduced the cost-efficiency that brands once enjoyed. 

Additionally, these platforms restrict you to a set of customers within their walled gardens. While you may see good returns from highly targeted campaigns, it’s important to remember that a large portion of your potential customers are spending time outside of social and search —whether browsing news, watching videos, or listening to podcasts.

By diversifying your strategy to include the broader open web, you can find new customers where they’re spending the rest of their time online and, ultimately, improve your campaign performance.

Expanding reach with open web advertising

With open web advertising, you’re no longer confined to the boundaries of search engines or social media platforms. Channels like display, video, CTV, and audio allow you to cast a wider net and engage potential customers in new, engaging ways. Here’s how each channel can amplify your digital marketing strategy:

Display Ads: Reach shoppers across a wide range of websites, keeping your brand top of mind as they browse content outside of social media. On average, according to GWI, customers only spend 40% of their time online there, whereas 60% of their time is spent on the open web.

Video Advertising: Leverage high-impact, creative storytelling to capture attention across video-sharing sites on the open web, which can be very impactful for long-term brand building.

Connected TV (CTV): Engage viewers in a premium, less crowded space while they stream their favorite content. CTV ads often provide higher engagement and brand recall.

Audio Ads: Target listeners on podcasts and streaming services, allowing you to reach potential customers in an intimate, high-attention environment.

Consumers are constantly switching between channels, and reaching them with the right creative at the right moment requires efficient, omnichannel advertising.

AI technology: unlocking new audiences with precision

One of the most powerful benefits of open web advertising is the ability to leverage AI technology to identify and target relevant customers at scale. Quantcast’s AI-driven demand-side platform (DSP) uses real-time data to analyze online behavior, enabling you to find lookalike audiences, retarget cart abandoners, and discover high-value prospects across the web. With advanced AI, your targeting becomes more precise, allowing you to optimize campaigns and maximize your return on ad spend (ROAS). This technology helps you reach not only the people who are likely to convert but also those who will provide the highest CLV.

Lower customer acquisition costs, higher lifetime value

Expanding beyond social and search with open web advertising can significantly lower your CAC by allowing you to access new and often less competitive channels. At the same time, it opens the door to a broader range of prospects who may have a higher CLV, giving you more value from every dollar spent on customer acquisition. Diversifying your media mix not only reduces your dependence on costly channels but also helps you future-proof your business as consumer behaviors evolve and shift. By reaching new customers and nurturing them through various touchpoints, you create stronger, longer-lasting relationships with your audience.

Easy setup, no minimum spend with Quantcast

One of the best parts about adding open web advertising to your marketing mix is how simple it is to get started. With the Quantcast Advertising Platform, you can set up and launch campaigns quickly and without a minimum spend. Whether you’re an emerging DTC brand or a growing retailer, this flexibility allows you to validate performance before scaling up.

Quantcast’s easy-to-use DSP lets you manage campaigns across multiple channels with minimal effort, so you can focus on what matters—growing your business. From display and video to CTV and audio, you can seamlessly tap into new media channels and unlock audiences you may not have reached previously.

Unlock new audiences with open web advertising

The digital landscape is vast, and limiting your strategy to just social and search can hold your brand back from its full potential. By expanding into open web advertising, you can lower your CAC, increase your CLV, and find new, high-value customers across a wide array of channels. With Quantcast’s AI-powered, easy-to-use platform, the possibilities are endless. You can extend your reach across the open web, delivering high-performance campaigns in display, video, CTV, and audio—all with minimal setup and no minimum spend.

Explore how Quantcast’s omnichannel solutions can complement your social and search efforts to drive long-term growth. See how Tatcha went beyond traditional channels like search and social media to reach incremental customers with Quantcast.