Scott Sutton Advises Advertisers on How to Avoid “Mis-Targeting”

Mis-targeting can not only waste ad dollars but can also damage brands reputations. Consumers like personalization provided the information being used is relevant to them.

A new report shows that digital ads fail to meet their target promises. One study reported that “when brands run digital ads aimed at parents…67% don’t even have children” and “40% of people classified as ‘homeowners’ were renters.”

We talked to Scott Sutton – creator economy expert and CEO of influencer marketing platform Later – to get his views on these basic (but common) mis-targeting mistakes.

Why do so many digital ads get “mis-targeted?”

“Traditional marketing has sought to target groups of individuals by classifying them into discrete yet distinct categories that make it easier to communicate with them effectively. However, the Adlook study shows that this exercise can involve errors in classification and limits to the effectiveness of this approach.

This is why marketers are realizing they need to take a different approach to this problem. For example, rather than using bucketing and ‘assuming’ fit, at Later we are using millions of data points to understand actual performance in marketing and selling products to consumers on social media. This new school approach leverages more complex algorithms and can overcome the gaps of traditional third party data by not trying to classify audiences, but instead using all data to predict engagement rates and likelihood to buy, which are ultimately the goals of our customers. This leads to actual outcomes that far exceed all other channels in performance on CPE, CPM, and ROAS.”

What’s the impact of mis-targeted messages on brand loyalty and sales?

Mis-targeting definitely impacts the consumer experience of your brand and product set. Better targeting means that we are able to get the right product in front of the right audience on a more frequent basis. This will drive increased sales and an increased likelihood of products being promoted to individuals who want to see them, driving up brand loyalty and sales.”

What are some best practices to ensure that personalization doesn’t go awry?

“I may be biased, but leveraging data-led creator marketing has proven to be effective in reaching consumers and delivering solid ROI. If you’re selling a product that can be purchased online, look at the data for your audience to not only understand trends around that particular product but also the unique aspects that go beyond the product itself. 

For example, targeting MULO (multi-location) brands based on location will be a big win. With platforms like Later, data allows brands to see where a creator’s audience base is – even if it’s not in their own hometown – and kick off partnerships that will resonate in that market area. With our recent acquisition of Mavely, we can see purchase data to truly understand the process, measure ROI, and then leverage our AI to help analyze what has worked well in order to replicate and/or build on that for future campaigns.”

What are some other more accurate ways of reaching consumers with content they want?

“Other accurate ways of reaching consumers with content they want include direct creator marketing campaigns – partnering with creators they already follow and engage with – and the use of owned channels like brand blogs, newsletters, social media accounts, and websites. If people are coming to your site – or have signed up to get news from your newsletters or podcast – it’s clear that they have brand loyalty and are interested in what your company has to say. It can be easy to forget about the power of these channels in favor of flashier options like TV ads, but those ads lack data-driven personalization and measurement, and – while they may hit your target audience – they will also reach a lot of irrelevant and disengaged viewers.”

What should an ideal balance be between “mass personalization” and other media?

“There isn’t a one-size-fits-all ideal mix of media. Every brand is different, and your goals for one campaign may be different from another. If your aim is to drive awareness, a mass campaign that isn’t measurable – like old-fashioned linear TV – may be appealing to you. But if you want to understand what’s driving sales, who’s reacting to your ads, what buyer behavior really looks like, and who is really buying from your brand – you need to use technology that allows you to see purchase data and truly measure ROI.”

Find more insights into advertising and targeting (not mis-targeting) at Street Fight LIVE 2025.