Q&A with Hayley Turner and Luisa Ochoa: How quality boosted page lands & consented sessions for Vo5

In the ever-evolving world of programmatic advertising, understanding and prioritising media quality has never been more crucial. At Zenith International, Hayley Turner, Programmatic Director, and Luisa Ochoa, Programmatic Manager, are at the forefront of tackling these challenges, leveraging their extensive experience and innovative tools like PIQ to deliver impactful campaigns for brands like Elida Beauty.

In this interview, we sit down and chat all things quality, and its impact on their recent Vo5 campaign. With brands like Vo5 navigating a highly competitive haircare market, Hayley and Luisa share insights on the strategies, tools, and lessons that drive success in reaching and engaging the right audiences—without compromising on quality or effectiveness.

Please introduce yourself

Hayley (H):  Hi! I’m Hayley, the Programmatic Director at Zenith Global. Since joining Publicis in May 2023, I’ve had the privilege of working with Elida Beauty. With nine years of experience in the programmatic industry, my expertise lies in performance marketing, having worked across leading retailers such as AllSaints, Avon, Timberland, and Brewdog.

Luisa (L): I’m Luisa Ochoa, a Programmatic Manager at Zenith International, working with Elida Beauty. I’ve been with Publicis Groupe for the past two years and have four years of experience in media trading and planning, specialising in industries such as tech and FMCG retailers.

‍

When it comes to running campaigns, what are some of your key challenges? 

‍H: Elida Beauty products, including Vo5, are prominently featured and sold both online and in-store across retailers throughout the UK. The haircare and styling industry is a highly competitive space, with new and established brands bidding for attention. Our programmatic strategy focuses on reaching and engaging Vo5 audiences at various touch points throughout their day.

Central to our approach is prioritising quality reach and impressions, which are essential for achieving our objectives. However, differentiating between high- and low-quality inventory and effectively reporting on quality can often be challenging when relying solely on standard DSP metrics.

‍L: We see inventory quality as a key challenge in our campaigns. We often lack full visibility into where our ads are served and how this impacts campaign performance, making it difficult to focus our advertising efforts on placements that are most relevant to our target audience. Within Elida, we also face limited measurement capabilities because we do not have client-owned landing pages, making it impossible to optimize for beyond-the-click performance in some campaigns.

‍

How do you think a product like PIQ helps to address and solve these challenges?

H: PIQ’s scoring system focuses on the key pillars of quality; user experience, ad collision, and load time all form a significant part of the model. These factors can be challenging for traders to optimise manually on a day-to-day basis. By leveraging PIQ, traders benefit from a tool that automates this process ensuring we are showing in quality placements.

‍

Let’s talk about Elida’s Beauty Vo5 campaign – what were the objectives? 

L: Vo5’s objectives focus on driving brand engagement and consideration and ensuring the message reaches the most relevant audience, emphasising that Vo5 is available at their preferred retailer.

‍

The ads that ran on the high-quality site list saw a huge difference in CTR, drove more consented sessions and resulted in strong brand uplift. What were your initial impressions?

‍H: We were impressed by the level of detail in the metrics available and the clear differences in performance between higher and lower-scoring inventory. Partnering with an additional third party, we also measured granular analytical metrics such as; bounce rate, session duration, and sessions per user. The findings confirmed that low-quality media consistently showed lower engagement.

‍

Have the results changed the way you view media quality?

‍L: Yes, it has shifted my perspective on how we evaluate inventory and media quality in our campaigns, ensuring that our client’s investment delivers a strong return and achieves positive results in line with their objectives.

‍

How do you define ‘quality’? 

‍H: Quality in programmatic extends beyond simply evaluating a site list. It encompasses a range of metrics that collectively define quality reach. User experience is a critical factor that is often overlooked, including how users interact with the site and the ad itself. The positioning of ad slots on the page also plays a crucial role, as placements in more visible or contextually relevant areas often lead to better outcomes. Together, these elements create a comprehensive picture of quality, ensuring campaigns deliver both impactful reach and engagement.

‍L: For me, quality is that component of the inventory you run your ads in that makes it worthwhile, in the sense that is relevant to the brand you work with, but also provides the end user a great experience on page that will make them trust it and potentially engage further with the advertising shown there. Therefore, making it more effective in terms of outcomes and success.

‍

Why do you think it’s so important the advertisers understand quality and prioritise it? 

‍H: Our brands and advertisers prioritise securing quality placements that reach the right audiences over simply pursuing low CPMs. This approach ensures that budgets are spent effectively, delivering impressions to the most relevant audiences for maximum impact.

‍

Would you recommend PIQ?

‍H: Yes, PIQ provides traders and brands with an added layer of insight and control over their programmatic campaigns.

‍L: I would recommend PIQ because it adds a new dimension to our campaigns through enhanced inventory management. This allows us to become more effective media buyers by focusing our efforts on the right placements, ultimately driving better media outcomes and increasing client satisfaction and trust in the work we deliver.

‍

Learn how Zenith drove 4.9x more consented sessions simply by prioritising quality in the full case study here.


Data from the Vo5 campaign was measured by Cint and Portal.