Brands tend to treat optimization as the cure for underperforming campaigns. When metrics plateau, the instinct is to tweak bids, swap creative, or test a new channel. But those constant optimizations often conceal a deeper problem: weak audience definition and unreliable data.

As shared in our newly released guide, our recent survey revealed that only 6% of consumers say banner ads “always” feel relevant, and less than 25% feel they “often” do — even on social media. If the audience targeting is off, no amount of bid adjustments or tweaks to your channel strategy can make the message resonate.

Optimization can fine-tune a campaign, but it can’t make irrelevant advertising meaningful.

The hidden cost of chasing efficiency

Behind every impression is a supply chain full of point-playing intermediaries, algorithms, and low-quality media. The ANA’s transparency study found that only 36¢ of every ad dollar reaches actual consumer content. The rest is sucked up by platform fees, middlemen, and poor-quality placements.

That’s a structural issue that no amount of optimization can repair. At the end of the day, brands that rely on open-exchange inventory and third-party lookalike audiences (of varying quality and cleanliness) risk wasting millions before their ads ever reach the eyes of an actual human being.

When the audience data is weak, optimization is more about mitigating loss rather than creating value.

Why brands need to rethink targeting

Agencies may execute campaigns, but brands own the audience. Far too often, that audience strategy gets outsourced entirely. The result: campaigns optimized for short-term metrics like CTR or CPM, not long-term brand value.

When brands take back ownership of their audience definition — grounding it in research, first-party signals, and behavioral insight — they can potentially regain control of marketing performance. The payoff is more than efficiency: it’s clarity.

• Higher-intent leads and more qualified conversions
• Reduced waste across low-quality channels
• Better alignment between marketing and sales
• Stronger brand equity from relevant, purpose-driven storytelling

Real-life example: Aruba Tourism

When we worked with sister company Deep Focus, our goal was to help Aruba Tourism Authority reframe its marketing around values and intent rather than volume. The difference was clear and measurable.

Research told us who Aruba’s best audience was and what they valued. The result was that, I instead of chasing impressions, the campaign (“When You Love Aruba, It Loves You Back”) targeted travelers who valued culture, sustainability, and authentic experiences. In addition to new messaging, media placements were intentionally limited to quality environments that matched those interests.

And those results went beyond engagement metrics. Visitor intent surveys showed stronger alignment between Aruba’s values and those of prospective travelers. The brand attracted the right kind of attention: the kind that converts into long-term loyalty.

A better model for brand performance

The takeaway for marketers is simple:
Optimization can’t rescue weak targeting.

Modern brand performance depends on data fidelity, characterized by a clean, verifiable link between insight, audience, and activation. The brands that are winning right now are the ones that start with a clear definition of who they want to reach, where those audiences spend time, and what truly moves them.

Once that foundation is in place, optimization becomes what it was always meant to be: refinement, not repair.

→Download our new guide, “Stop Optimizing, Start Targeting” now!