What are DPA?

DPA or  Dynamic Product Ads  is a type of personalised, digital advertisement that’s commonly used on platforms like Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Tiktok, Pinterest, etc. It automatically promotes relevant products from an e-commerce retailer’s product catalog using previous interactions with the retailer’s website or app as criteria. 

As these ads are dynamically generated in real time, the product information (like the price and availability) will be up to date. 

Key components of DPAs

Key components of DPAs include:

• A product catalog/feed

• Pixel or SDK tracking

• An dynamic ad template

What are the benefits of DPAs for e-commerce businesses?

Personalisation at scale

DPAs can target different customer segments like new customers, existing customers, and customers who’ve abandoned their carts. Then, it can tailor the content to these segments using their real-time interests and recent behaviour to showcase relevant products. 

Efficiency

As marketers don’t have to create hundreds of individual ads manually, DPAs offer great efficiency. The process is largely automated once the product feed and ad templates are created and elements like product images, descriptions, and prices will be pulled directly from the feed. With a single ad template, you can feature every product dynamically. 

Higher conversion rates

DPAs typically generate higher conversion rates than generic ads because shoppers are shown ads that feature products in which they’re interested. DPAs are also commonly used for retargeting. As you can show potential customers the exact item that they recently viewed or added to their cart but didn’t purchase, you can recover abandoned carts. 

Challenges of DPAs

The biggest challenge is that DPAs require accurate and well-maintained product feeds. Errors in your product feed can cause your products not to show or show ads with outdated pricing which can mislead shoppers. 

Another major challenge that e-commerce businesses face when running DPAs is limited creative control. DPAs rely on templates and feed data, which can restrict creative flexibility compared to manually designed ads. Plus, the visual design can be further limited by the platform’s own limitations. 

Best practices for using DPAs

Regularly update your product feed

To ensure that you have an accurate product feed, regularly check that all the essential product fields are completed and there are no broken links. Then, sync it daily to ensure current stock levels and pricing are reflected.

Segment audiences based on funnel stages

To ensure more relevant ads, create the following audience segments:

• Product viewers

• Cart abandoners

• Past customers

Then, tailor your messaging for each stage of the customer journey. For example, cart abandoners can be shown offers or messaging that stirs a sense of urgency, while past customers can be shown complementary products. 

Test multiple creative designs

It’s recommended that you test multiple designs and formats e.g. carousel, 9:16 format, video, etc. so that you can identify the design and format that generate the best results. You can, for example, create ad templates with different call-to-action (CTA) buttons (e.g. “Shop Now vs “Learn More”), add seasonal/promotional overlays, or feature brand elements like logos or brand name.