Innovative Marketing Channels:
Expanding Reach with OEMs, Programmatic DSP, and Publisher Partnership(recap)
Given the rise in product and service availability, providers are forced to think out of the box in marketing their products. ‘The box’ in this case, refers to traditional media. But what else do we have apart from the traditional media we're used to? That's what these professionals lend their voice to in our latest webinar series on GrowthHackers Africa YouTube channel. These professionals have tested innovative channels like these, and have brewed 95 minutes of a fine conversation, make sure to check the webinar out HERE.
Our Speakers:
Godwill Okwuchi: Head operations ( Bracken Media Solution) ; a highly accomplished Chief Operating Officer at Bracken Media with 15 years of experience driving success in the advertising and business development sectors. Proven expertise in sales leadership and operational excellence.
Social links
Bukayo Ewuoso: Head of Business, AdTech & Marketing Solutions at Pisi Mobile.
Social links
Adeola Owolabi(Moderator): Digital Marketing Manager; An experienced marketing and brand strategist with over 8 years of hands-on experience across sales, business development, digital marketing, and customer success. She is currently the Digital Marketing Manager at Clariox Solutions, a US-based advertising agency.
Social links
Let the show begin…
What does “Unconventional Channel” mean in the current digital marketing landscape?
BUKAYO Ewuoso:
Look at your objectives. Look at what you’re currently doing today, and explore how you can leverage the gap in the middle where others are already playing so you can take advantage of it at an effective cost for your business.
Why do you think marketers are moving beyond traditional platforms to explore OEMs, DSPs, and publisher partnerships?
GODSWILL Okwuchi: Living on traditional platforms keeps you somewhat restricted in terms of the audience you can actually reach. It minimizes your reach or creates a blanket limitation, where your numbers are minimal. But when you move on to OEMs and DSPs, you can engage in more specific targeting, making your marketing or ad campaigns more precise. The ROI for these campaigns tends to be better because results are more achievable.
By using behaviorally adaptive audience targeting, we can specifically reach the right users through these newer DSPs and OEMs. It's a more modernized approach to targeting this is why many marketers are moving away from the traditional scene to a more digitally advanced style of advertising.
At Pisi, you've developed innovative marketing solutions. Can you share a specific example of how you’ve leveraged OEM partnerships to address client challenges and enhance their reach?
BUKAYO Ewuoso: We had a partnership with one of the inventory channels we have access to as a business in advertising technology at Pisi. One of the inventory partners we work with is Boomplay.
Boomplay is quite a strong platform with a large audience. In Nigeria alone, there are about 18 million monthly active users, and 76% of them are between 18 and 35 years old. That tells you there's a significant young audience on Boomplay.
So, how have we leveraged that? We ran a campaign for a betting company. Through our partnership with Boomplay, we were able to run ads directly on the platform where users could see the ads while enjoying their music experience. The objective for the betting brand was to drive top-of-mind awareness
First, we carried out proper audience segmentation to clearly define who we were targeting. Once that was done, we strategically placed banners in areas like the "Now Playing"section. So, when someone plays a song by Davido instead of seeing the default album art, they would see the banner of the campaign. This didn’t disrupt the user experience, which is important, but it kept the brand in front of the audience.
Also, when users navigated through their library to find another song, the banner remained visible at the bottom of the screen. That persistent visibility helped reinforce brand recall significantly.
More importantly, when users clicked on the banner, they were directed not to a generic homepage, but to a specific offer page that aligned with the campaign’s goal. This was crucial, because many brands lose conversions by sending users to their homepage instead of a tailored landing page.
This strategy worked well because Boomplay comes pre-installed on devices from the entire Transsion Group that includes Tecno, Infinix, and Itel. So, when users with those devices open Boomplay and listen to music, we’re able to reach them right at their point of engagement, influencing their decisions at a key touchpoint
Using OEM partnerships, how have you seen value in alternative app distribution methods like OTA ?
GODSWILL Okwuchi: With OEM partnerships, one interesting thing Transsion devices offer is Over-The-Air (OTA) app distribution. This is especially useful for clients who want to showcase their apps without going through the traditional Play Store route.
We can actually push the app directly to devices, which bypasses some of the usual friction in user acquisition. This is another way OEM partnerships have fine-tuned campaign execution, delivering better results for advertisers and publishers alike.
How have you adapted your strategies at Bracken Media to incorporate programmatic DSP, and what results have you seen?
GODSWILL Okwuchi: At Bracken Media, we didn’t start out with our own DSP. Instead, we integrated with other existing DSPs to create an ad network. It’s almost like ocean fishing. Everyone is connected to a shared ad ecosystem, and ads are served through these channels.
What we focused on was building strong partnerships with specific publishers, so that we could serve relevant ads more effectively. Leveraging these partnerships and integrations allowed us to scale campaigns efficiently. That’s one major strategy we adopted to deliver better outcomes at Bracken Media.
What do marketers misunderstand most about DSPs like Eskimi, and how can they use them better to unlock reach?
BUKAYO Ewuoso: From a Nigerian and global perspective, many marketers especially those outside of FMCGs or large agencies misunderstand the full value of DSPs. They often reduce DSPs to just brand awareness tools, forgetting how critical they are across the entire consumer journey.
For example, brands like Coca-Cola understand the value of Top-of-Mind Awareness and Brand Recall, especially since most of their products aren't bought online. But DSPs like Eskimi go beyond awareness; they can support rich media engagement, retargeting, and sequential messaging, helping brands reach consumers 4–5 times before conversion.
A key mistake marketers make is skipping brand discovery and going straight to acquisition. But for meaningful conversions, people need to discover your brand first through strong creatives, messaging, and proper segmentation. DSPs help you do this intelligently, with interest-based, socio-economic, or placement targeting
The user journey is no longer linear. Being present across multiple touchpoints via DSPs, Meta, Google, etc, is how brands stay relevant and solve real user problems. Marketers should stop thinking of DSPs as just awareness tools and start seeing them as powerful engines for brand discovery and full-funnel impact.
How do you balance automation with personalization in a programmatic campaign?
GODSWILL Okwuchi: For automation, we are looking at creative optimization as well as managing your audience segmentation, while your personalization for engagement might come in as data-driven audience contextual relevance and first-party data. But basically, the best way to balance this is by choosing the right DSP and knowing its personalization capabilities. There are some restrictions on Google and Facebook regarding certain campaigns (e.g., alcohol), and as an advertiser, you should know that instead of running ads through those platforms, you can use a DSP or possibly an ad network that can circumvent the process and serve ads to the same target audience you're trying to reach using Google and Facebook. Measuring the impact of personalized programmatic campaigns based on standard metrics, although sometimes overlooked, is still important. You need to evaluate how well these ads are performing. You have to find a balance and know when your campaign is not being optimized. You need to understand what kind of creativity, what kind of placement, and what size to use. This will go a long way in balancing both personalization and automation.
BUKAYO Ewuoso: Personalization is the contextual targeting is key, so you need to understand which keywords to input into the system in order for your ads to show for those keywords or the context of a page that is related to those keywords.
The second part of personalization is understanding how to keep first-party data, such as MIDs (Mobile Advertising Identifiers), emails, and phone numbers. You store data for users who clicked on the ad. For example, if I run a brand discovery campaign with videos and banners on a DSP and show the ad to 5 million people, and about 1 million of them click on the ad, I store the click data and MIDs of those who clicked separately from the people who just saw the ad. I can then export those MIDs for retargeting campaigns on other channels. For instance, I can retarget them on DSP again, or I can upload that data to platforms like Meta Ads or Google, which also accept MIDs. This allows me to specifically target those individuals because their intent has shifted from brand discovery to brand consideration, which is a form of intent. Personalization at scale is possible by analyzing user actions and customizing messaging accordingly.
How do you determine the right third-party publishers to partner with for these brands, and what strategies do you use to maximize those partnerships?
BUKAYO Ewuoso: The first step is understanding your business goals, which then guide your marketing objectives and channel choices. Once you've identified the channels, you need to consider brand safety and the tools publishers use to protect your brand. Additionally, managing click fraud is crucial, and you should ensure the publisher has measures in place to prevent it. In the open market, you may encounter RTB (Real-Time Bidding) and PMP (Private Marketplace). While RTB offers a broader, more open market, PMP provides more control over inventory quality and ensures you're paying for valuable, high-quality placements.
Can you share an example of a tailored digital campaign you developed, using third-party publishers and how it impacted their overall marketing goals?
BUKAYO Ewuoso: A perfect example of a campaign developed for MTN Cameroon, aimed at driving user acquisition for their new app, YUBA. The goal was to move MTN from being the 5th largest app in Cameroon to the top 3 in user numbers. The campaign was carefully planned, with a deep understanding of consumer behavior—such as how people listen to music, read sports news, and recharge data. By analyzing these behaviors, the team tailored their approach to target key personas with specific messaging and offers.
For tracking and measuring success across different platforms, MTN used a Major Mobile Measurement Platform (MMP) to accurately attribute installs, ensuring reliable data across multiple touchpoints (e.g., Facebook and Google Ads). This helped resolve attribution issues, where platforms might over-claim installs. The campaign was strategically deployed to mobile users, particularly targeting MTN's own network through a DSP (Demand-Side Platform) to reach more people.
The first two weeks of the campaign focused on building brand awareness and recall, using frequency-based retargeting to reach people based on their app interactions and push personalized offers. The campaign successfully generated buzz and brand recognition while achieving its user acquisition goals.
What criteria do you use at Bracken Media to select third-party publishers, and how do you ensure effective collaboration with them?
GODSWILL Okwuchi: At Bracken Media, several factors are considered when selecting third-party publishers:
First, technology compatibility, ensuring the publisher can deliver according to the campaign's goals.
Secondly, compliance, assessing the publisher’s reputation and ensuring they have a strong track record.
Next, intuition, using past experience to judge if a publisher can execute the campaign effectively.
Fourth, pricing/value, evaluating the cost and value offered by the publisher.
Then, ad inventory, ensuring collaboration is well-defined to avoid misconceptions in execution.
Sixth, campaign monitoring, regularly checking metrics like impressions and conversions to ensure KPIs are met.
Lastly, openness, being transparent with publishers about the goals to ensure alignment, as failure to meet the objectives could affect business growth.
How do you combine traditional marketing channels with innovative ones and what metrics do you prioritize when evaluating the effectiveness of your campaign across these innovative channels?
BUKAYO Ewuoso: Traditional marketing still plays a vital role alongside innovative channels like programmatic. The key is finding synergy between both and understanding where each fits in the consumer journey. For example, traditional channels might be used for brand discovery or reinforcing messaging, while digital channels allow for precise tracking and scaling. Data is essential for understanding where consumers spend time, enabling better integration of traditional and digital marketing efforts.
How do you integrate traditional and unconventional marketing channels at Bracken Media to optimize overall campaign performance? If you had to divide a $100,000 marketing budget among traditional and unconventional channels, what would be your allocation?
GODSWILL Okwuchi: Understand the campaign objectives; this allows you to know your aim or goal and what you're aiming to achieve. It enables you to determine how best to allocate your budget. You need to understand what the objective is and, more importantly, know where your audience is. How can you best reach them while leveraging the strengths of each channel: traditional, unconventional, and digital media?
For fintech, I might allocate $20k to traditional media, $30k to programmatic, and another $20k to publishers. The reason is that publisher campaigns provide niche targeting. It goes beyond conventional targeting methods. For a vulture campaign, I could allocate $30k and then consider OEM partnerships.
If it's an FMCG or general state campaign where awareness is the primary objective, I would allocate $30k to traditional media. Why? It is not scientific; it is not as accountable. People see these ads on traditional billboards, in their homes on TV, or while watching soccer, series, or satellite TV. So for general awareness, I would allocate $30k to traditional advertising, $30k to DSPs, and maybe $20k each to OEM partnerships.
When allocating a budget, you must have these principles laid down:
Your objectives must be well-defined.
Understand what you want to achieve.
Understand your audience and their behavior where they go, what they do, and where they spend their time.
Know your ad and where to place it, ensuring it gives you a better view. Leveraging each channel effectively is something you need to consider before allocating your budget.
What are some common Challenges you have encountered while implementing the innovative marketing channels and how they have successfully navigated them?
GODSWILL Okwuchi:A significant challenge with unconventional methods is explaining the process to clients who may not understand how the campaigns work. Additionally, meeting tight deadlines and managing expectations around results are common difficulties. Despite these challenges, focusing on clear metrics and maintaining transparency with clients are key strategies for success.
BUKAYO Ewuoso: Running programmatic: How well do you understand the fundamentals, and how does it work? Does your budget allow you to achieve the required frequency and reach?
Programmatic marketing requires understanding its fundamentals, such as real-time bidding and data-driven targeting. Budget plays a crucial role in ensuring the necessary frequency and reach are achieved. The budget needs to align with the desired campaign goals to ensure effective programmatic execution.
What a time we had! These speakers undeniably brought their A-game, walking us through their experiences, and even case studies. It's a lot of information, useful information, that could help growth operators break the cycle. We've come to the end of this Webinars Recap, check out the full video here, and watch out for the next. Also, don't forget to check out the Expanding Reach With Unconventional Channels blog on GrowthHackers Africa blog.