CPAS – Collaborative Ads: The must-have strategy for e-commerce brands

CPAS might be a fairly new concept for even experienced e-commerce brands and users since it has been launched by Facebook recently (Feb 2019 to be precise).
That’s why we have simplified this super complicated looking concept. Let’s understand the basics of this super beneficial marketing tool for e-commerce platforms.

What is CPAS?

CPAS stands for Collaborative Performance Advertising Solution. It is a new platform created by Facebook in collaboration with e-commerce websites. This tool enables the brands to drive shoppers to buy their products online via Facebook’s dynamic ads.
Also, for brands, it has finally become possible to quantify the conversion rate of digital ads on e-commerce platforms, which was impossible before. Besides this, they will also be able to simplify and streamline the whole process.

The reason CPAS is called collaborative ads since they enhance the collaboration between the brands and retailers.

How CPAS works?

Let’s understand this through an example. A watch store, Watchmen Company, wants to sell its new line of shoes online. They create dynamic ads on Facebook using some online retailer’s product catalog, let’s say Lazada.
The copy on the Facebook dynamic add will look something like this “Watchmen, Buy on lazada.com”.
A user sees the dynamic ad for the watch and decides to make the purchase. Now, when the user will click on the Facebook Ad to make a purchase, they will be redirected to the Lazada’s website or app to complete the purchase. It’s this simple!

Why CPAS is a much-needed tool?

CPAS is extremely useful for:

• Brands: To collaborate with other brands and get better visibility on campaigns conversion rate
• Budget/Media Planners: To get a better picture of how ads are affecting sales and accordingly allocating budget in a strategic way

In general, CPAS provides a strong base of data to make any decision. From massive costly flagship stores in trendy neighborhoods to brand dedicated websites, brands have always tried to innovate and tie to identity the presentation of their products.
In recent years, household brands have witnessed a trend shift in the display of their products on e-commerce platforms. Typically just listed as offers on the platforms, the brands realized that it was more efficient to invest in those platforms rather than have their own website.
Usually, the customized websites were more costly to run, and have to be frequently managed and nurtured.
However, those products posed an ordeal for marketers and analysts when it came to quantification. In this, the most crucial part, the conversion rate, was left out due to data protection by the platforms.
The uncertainty of not knowing how ads were affecting sales through those platforms was an issue. Optimizers and budget planners had to operate with anyways when it came to budget allocation, which is far from ideal.
That’s where CPAS came into the picture and resolved all these issues for marketers.

Who will benefit from CPAS?

This is the amazing part! This tool is extremely helpful for online shops or brands who either don’t have an e-commerce site or have a minimal e-commerce presence. Facebook launched this tool to strengthen the relationship between different brands.

Case Studies:

Let’s take one of Heroleads own clients as an example, a very well known FMCG giant out of Japan. This client has an e-store set up on Lazada. Its objective is to not only make its targeting more dynamic but also be able to:

• Put a clear number on its conversion rate to be able to allocate excess budget elsewhere (or invest more in digital ads depending on the data)

• Make the creative process and information gathering purchase focused.

CPAS allowed all of this using a centralized platform that directly connects the Lazada metrics to the Marketplace ones. Optimization then becomes automated.
The feature could be used as a means to improve online sales as well as give more visibility to offline purchases.
CPAS could boost offline sales, as a client could see the advertisement in the marketplace and then proceed to buy it in a physical store.
Conclusion:
Bottom line is, thanks to CPAS, brands will be able to quantify the conversion rate of digital ads on e-commerce platforms. This was impossible before! You will also be able to simplify and streamline the whole process.
Heroleads is now able to obtain data on conversion rates and look into untapped information for purchases made on the e-store via the Facebook portal.
This fills a massive void of information for the budget planners. This could also be a solution to a long-lasting problem as it allows brands to make decisions backed by data.
Here at Heroleads, we have access to the top platforms in Thailand such as Lazada, Shopee, JID and many more. Connect with us NOW for a free marketing digital audit!

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