Global integrated advertising platform Adform unveils the results of an industry-first DSP driven programmatic campaign using its in-built carbon reduction capabilities. Adform’s technology, enabled by its recent partnership with Scope3, drove a 52% decrease in carbon emissions for the digital advertising supply chain, whilst ensuring a 65% increase in performance for an Audi campaign promoting its range of fully electric vehicles. 

This digital advertising campaign was part of an integrated marketing program to launch Audi’s e-tron range of fully electric vehicles in the Czech market, deployed by media agency PHD. Sustainability and carbon reduction are at the very heart of Audi’s e-tron EVs and were naturally essential considerations in the choice of communications channels and tactics.  

Activating dynamic exclusion of 30% of the highest emitting domains in the market, Adform optimised the carbon footprint of Audi’s digital advertising campaign supply chain, lowering emissions to 131 gCO2PM (grams of carbon emissions per thousand impressions), a 52% decrease versus the market average of 276 gCO2PM. 

Driving down carbon emissions was achieved in tandem with maintaining and improving campaign performance, leading to a 65% increase in CTR versus Audi’s historical performance data in previous campaigns.  

Adform’s carbon reduction feature is developed through an integration with leading supply chain carbon emissions data specialist Scope3. Adform drives carbon reduction based on two factors, media distribution and ad selection. This amounts to 70% of the total evaluation of the digital advertising supply chain from Scope3. Adform eliminated the 30% highest carbon emitting domains, in this case all domains with emissions above 550 gCO2PM. 

Adform embarked on a strategic partnership with Scope3 in early February 2023, when it was the first global DSP (demand side platform) to integrate Scope3’s capabilities in the platform, empowering advertisers to implement sustainable media solutions, with quantifiable data and results. 

Through Adform’s pioneering work on enabling carbon reduction for the digital advertising supply chain directly through its DSP, advertisers will be able to access an adaptable, scalable solution to factor carbon emissions into their advertising decisions and campaigns. Operationally, brands will be able to use a single platform to measure carbon footprint, shift budget to sustainable media and compensate for emissions. The carbon reduction capabilities will be rolled out and made available to all Adform clients in summer 2023.  

“With Adform’s carbon reduction capabilities, Audi and PHD were given real-time insights and data to inform and enable planning, as well as the real-world ad delivery capability to drive down emissions whilst ramping up performance. There is enough freedom, with good inventory and smart technology, to weed out high-emitting domains, without compromising reach or performance. It is hugely significant to have a brand like Audi prove that, and their transparency is a service to the whole industry”, says Oliver Whitten, chief operating officer at Adform. 

“We are pleased to have had the opportunity, with partners Adform and Scope3, to be pioneers in testing actions to minimise the carbon footprint of our campaigns. This is a topic we find crucial. Both for our client Audi, as they address sustainable electromobility and for us. We're really excited about the collaboration and the results of the campaign, but OMG also recognises that measuring our carbon footprint in digital campaigns is only a piece of the mosaic, albeit a very important one, of the whole media mix that we want to address comprehensively”, says Jindřich Jiráček, digital performance specialist at PHD.