Over the course of this series, we’ve taken a look under the hood of our powerful and intuitive Criteo Engine. Its three main components work together to deliver custom ads tailored for each shopper to boost conversions on your site. The Criteo Engine listens to a range of signals and responds in real-time to each person’s distinctive tastes.
The Criteo Engine includes Predictive Bidding, which allows you to effectively connect with shoppers in a way that supports your advertising spend. Product Recommendations ensures that previously viewed, best-selling and related items are included in the custom ads your shoppers see.
The final piece of the Criteo Engine is Dynamic Creative Optimization, which builds personalized advertisements according to shopper and context. Dynamic Creative Optimization+ (DCO+) provides the capabilities needed to make the most engaging connection with shoppers and thus, optimizes the likelihood of a click, followed by a sale.
DCO+ creates custom advertisements based on shopper-specific insights.
A Step-By-Step Look: How Personalized Ads Are Born
Because each ad specifically targets an individual shopper and helps create a one-on-one relationship, Dynamic Creative Optimization+ ensures that each is tailored to bring together custom recommendations and a design inspired by your brand. This involves:
1. Composer: This tool set allows Criteo’s Creative Services team to develop your unique design framework, containing all the design elements required to produce attractive ads that are in line with your brand.
2. Real-Time Creative Optimization (RTCO): DCO+ then pinpoints the optimal design within Composer. Supported by Criteo Engine’s in-depth shopper insights, RTCO identifies the most enticing branded elements, colors, and layout for each shopper and context.
3. Renderer: Using the insights from DCO+s Real-time Creative Optimization, Renderer builds the optimal ad in the required size for each individual impression, including product recommendations straight from the client’s product feed. This brings the process full circle, creating a custom advertisement that truly entices shoppers with recommendations based on their own buying signals.
4. Active elements: This feature allows DCO+ to optimize your Instagram and Facebook Dynamic Ads with the inclusion of ‘active elements’ like calls-to-action, brand logos, product descriptions, and even shopper ratings.
Through its three key components — Predictive Bidding, Product Recommendations, and DCO+ — the Criteo Engine allows you to follow all shopper interactions, optimize your advertising spend, and include the most relevant product recommendations in customized retargeting ads. In doing so, you’re able to drive sales while offering shoppers a level of personalization that distinguishes your brand from the competition.
