Programmatic Advertising

In marketing and advertising circles, the word programmatic is thrown around constantly and often obsessively. Simply stated (over simply), Programmatic buying is a newer, more efficient and controllable way to buy advertising. Or, as Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo said, "The opposite of programmatic is manual, not premium.”

Using a set of tools and platforms, media buyers can now use software to target, place and deploy all of their advertising. While initially programmatic serviced only online advertising by allowing buyers to control their banner ad (display) buys, it has expanded to give marketers options in mobile, video, TV and more.

The rise in adoption of programmatic buying is changing the way brands, agencies and tech companies interact. The days of the agency doing all of a brand’s media buying are shifting to hybrid services that help brands buy in some categories (radio, out of home, etc.) and manage their marketing technologies and analytics in others to accommodate a mix of in-house and outsourced needs. As programmatic buying begins to move into new areas like TV and removes the barrier to entry, the shift in how and where marketers spend their budgets will shift with it. Agencies and tech providers will adjust to best solve new and evolving pain-points for advertisers.

In 2014, the chatter around programmatic shifted away from adoption rates to solving problems or perceived problems like ad fraud and how to move programmatic into additional advertising categories. Going forward, we will continue to see programmatic adoption rates soar as it morphs into “it is just the way everyone buys now.”

The conversations will continue around improving view-ability, preventing fraud and simplifying targeting and deployment for marketers. Join the programmatic conversation, presented by Adara, at Advertising Week Europe this year.