Sponsored Post on Programmatic from Choozle
Brands are looking at agencies to become the subject matter experts on not only what they’re currently doing, but about where the future of digital advertising is going. And that, my friends, is programmatic.
As mentioned in this Agency Adoption Whitepaper by Choozle, a myriad of factors come into play when evaluating innovation on the media front, and a good amount of that lives in the automation of the buying and selling of digital media. Nearly two thirds of online display media is now purchased through automated or programmatic avenues.
Despite its many benefits from more control over campaigns to deeper, more advanced analytics at your fingertips, the programmatic platform still remains an enigma-of-sorts in the marketing world. Today, we’ll dive into what it is, the benefits of using it and next steps for adopting it in-house.
Progra… what?
Simply put, programmatic advertising is the automation of the buying and selling of digital media. It replaces traditional ad-buying methods like RFPs, negotiations and insertion orders to purchase digital media.
This is not to be confused with RTB (real-time bidding,) which is a buying practice, although that is the one most commonly used among programmatic exchanges. RTB is positioned like a “stock market,” allowing every online ad impression to be evaluated, bought, and sold individually and instantaneously.
Advertising agencies are already innovating how inventory is bought and sold and things are moving much faster than ever before.
Benefits-a-Plenty
You may be familiar with some of the negative press surrounding programmatic like ad fraud, brand safety and other marketing industry lows but the benefits, no doubt, outweigh the risks. Let’s take a look:
It goes without saying: handling ads in-house offers more control and transparency than the alternative. In addition, increased efficiency and decreased costs are never a bad thing, and that’s one of the biggest positives of using a programmatic platform. It streamlines the buying and selling process, reducing media costs. Lastly, the use of 1st and 3rd-party data along with real-time optimization equals the ability to reach your audience and only your audience with scale.
Take the Leap!
When considering taking your digital ad game to the next level by onboarding it on a self-serve level in-house, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind.
First and foremost: do your research. There are several programmatic advertising platforms out there, so find the few that best suit you, your clients and/or your agency based off of the core functionalities listed on each site. After you’ve narrowed it down to a few key players, schedule platform demonstrations.
Teach and Test
Most self-serve programmatic platforms can be learned by marketers within a matter of hours. It should also be mentioned that the “try before you buy” method often comes into play here, as it’s likely you won’t run into high minimums or license fees. This will allow you and your team to run comparison tests by using multiple platforms side-by-side and comparing the results from top to bottom.
