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Tim Nichols

Tim Nichols

Tim Nichols is a founding partner at ExactDrive, a digital media buying agency with white label, reseller and managed service options available. ExactDrive plans, manages, and optimizes online advertising campaigns with the objective of delivering measurable value and empowering clients to find precisely targeted audiences. ExactDrive has offices in Minneapolis, MN, Milwaukee, WI and SouthWest Florida.

Tim Nichols is also a contributing author on Forbes.com.

Recent Posts

May 3, 2022 4:01:00 PM

If Adverts Told the Truth, What Would They Look Like?

We all say that "honesty is the best policy" - but even that's a little white lie. Human beings can only handle the truth in small doses. In other words, we like honesty when it makes us feel good. Did that dress really make her look fat? Did he really do a good job with that DIY (do it yourself) project?

If we were totally honest with ourselves, we'd admit that we love a lie from time to time - particularly those lies that give us an excuse to do what we want to do, say what we want to say, and wear what we want to wear. Of course, when it comes to lying - marketers and advertising experts are some of the biggest fibbers of them all.

Marketing blurs the lines between honesty and truth in a truly artistic way. The best marketers know that if they want to get the sale, they need to give their prospects a hint of truth, sweetened by an entire butt-load of delicious, sugary lies.

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Apr 26, 2022 3:53:00 PM

What Is Real-Time Bidding And Should It Be Cheap?

What is real-time bidding and does data support that media buyers should pay lower prices because they are advertising online using real-time bidding technology? Great question. Real-time bidding technology enables real-time media buying, which is indeed a smart and efficient way to advertise online. This doesn't necessarily mean that impressions purchased should be significantly cheaper.

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Apr 19, 2022 3:35:00 PM

3 Facts About Online Ad Viewability You Must Hear

Ad viewability is a buzzword of sorts. But it’s a buzzword that is grounded in logic. Because any conversation about ad viewability is really a discussion about how a campaign has performed.

Online ad viewability is attracting a lot of attention from advertising who is becoming obsessed with who is seeing ads. Viewability-based metrics are being forensically studied, but in doing so, aren’t we missing the whole point about advertising? Namely, that advertising isn’t an exercise in vanity. Brands shouldn’t be chasing views, but instead focusing on putting the right ads in front of the right people at the right time.

Advertisers are often reluctant to pay for low-viewability inventory, while the topic of the day always seems to be wasted ad spend. Ad viewability is an important subject matter, but only in the right context. To that end, here are 3 things about online ad viewability that need to be addressed.

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Mar 16, 2022 7:30:00 AM

7 Simple Things Every Online Advertising Campaign Needs to Succeed

You might have the most amazing company product or service in the world - but what you can offer to your customers won't matter unless you can find a way to let them know about you. Advertising is one of the most crucial paths to customer awareness there is, and the goal of any advertising program should be to reach out to the largest possible audience, with the smallest impact on your budget. If it's done properly, the right online advertising campaign can be the most beneficial thing you invest in for your business. Unfortunately - like many parts of running a business - online advertising can be a tricky thing to perfect. With that in mind, here are seven of the simplest and most important things you and your online advertising campaign will need in order to succeed.

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Feb 22, 2022 12:02:00 PM

4 Essential Tips To Get You Started With Mobile Advertising

With mobile advertising, you have the ability to reach your target market no matter where they are. If you’re looking to get started with this powerful marketing tool, we’ve got some tips for you. Keep these in mind when creating your first ad campaign and you should be well on your way to success.

Mobile advertising is a great way to reach your customers. You can advertise on the go, which means you have more opportunities for getting in front of people who are hunting around online at any given time! I'm sure we've all seen those flyers or print ads that just seem so outdated nowadays - they don't work anymore because people search online before deciding what product/service might be right for them (or even if it's something new).

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Jan 25, 2022 10:15:00 AM

Do you know how digital media buying is evolving?

Digital media buying is rapidly shaping the digital marketing industry. It's no longer about just digital ads on websites, but digital ads everywhere across various channels and mediums. To position your business or your digital ad agency ahead of the competition, it’s important to understand what digital media buying is all about.

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Jan 13, 2022 9:15:00 AM

What Are Key Performance Indicators in Marketing?

Key Performance Indicators or "KPIs" form an important part of the data that companies need to explain how they're progressing towards their marketing and business goals. However, many people today feel unsure about what a KPI might be in the marketing world.

In basic terms, a key performance indicator is simply a measurable component that can be used to demonstrate the efficiency with which a company achieves their business objectives. Organizations use KPIs in their marketing campaigns to determine whether they're spending their budget in the right areas.

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Dec 21, 2021 5:38:00 PM

How Retargeting Will Improve Your Conversion Rate

The chances are that you've heard plenty of online advertising websites commend the values of retargeting. After all, for online advertising experts, PPC consultants, and digital strategists, nothing is more important than being able to understand and reflect your target audience's online behavior when attempting to grab their attention and maximize conversions. By understanding your audience, you can engage with them on a deeper level, and convince them to buy from you, even if they already visited your website in the past and decided against it.

Retargeting helps you to learn:

  • What environments and destinations do your customers come from.
  • Which concepts best attract your audiences' attention.
  • What motivates your customer to make a purchase.

Through that crucial data, you can maximize return on investment, and help potential consumers move along the sales funnel, and deliver incredible profits. But how exactly does retargeting work to improve your conversion rate?

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Dec 17, 2021 12:52:55 PM

Video Advertising 101: Benefits and Types

When you think about advertising using videos your mind might immediately jump to those cringe-worthy and often hilarious car insurance ads with the talking animals. But video advertising doesn't have to be cheesy or gimmicky, it can be a very effective way to reach and connect with potential customers. In fact, according to eMarketer, spending on video advertising is expected to grow by 30% this year, reaching $4.1 billion in the US alone. The best part is that online video advertising doesn't just reach a global audience, it also has the potential to target very specific groups of people - depending on what you want to advertise and who you think might be looking for it.

Video advertising is an effective way for brands to interact with their audiences in a more personal way than traditional advertisements do. Videos can be interactive and it's easier for companies to gain consumers. It can be used to build brand awareness, drive engagement, increase sales and leads, and more. But with so many different types of video advertising available, it can be difficult to know which type is right for your business.

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Dec 15, 2021 9:15:00 AM

Digital Media Buying 101: How does it work?

What is digital media planning? Today seems like as good of a day as any to open up a discussion about digital media planning for online advertising campaigns. Have you ever found yourself traveling in a new city, right after it has gotten dark, without a map, no money, hungry, thirsty, and no place to sleep for the night? Well, if you have had such an experience, it’s not very fun, and you probably developed a pretty skewed view of the city and your related experiences. This is because you visited the city without a proper plan and limited information and as a result, you most likely had a stressful and negative experience. You could have been visiting a great city, full of wonderful potential, but without proper planning ahead of time, you had a very difficult time experiencing the full potential of your environment.

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