As a result, it’s important to dispel some of the more popular myths that have emerged. Applying a larger brand’s scenario to a mid-sized brand creates issues that impact the adoption of programmatic buying. Here are the ones heard more frequently:
Myth #1: There’s No Transparency In Programmatic Buying
Because of how programmatic campaigns are executed, many marketers cannot confirm their agency is efficiently targeting audiences with the most relevant brand message. As a result, they’re uncertain of their online spend’s efficiency.
This level of uncertainty is why marketers remain wary of and intimidated by programmatic buying.
Years ago, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) released a study that concluded half of surveyed advertisers are concerned about the level of transparency with their media agency. This means that advertisers do not have access to the details and data behind their campaigns—from cost, margins and where ads are running, to performance optimization efforts and detailed reporting about how consumers interact with the brand.
And these concerns are rising—42 percent expressed increased concern in the past year, with only 13 percent experiencing a decrease. It’s also important to note that 40 percent of these advertisers claim little to no awareness about programmatic buying.
But as the programmatic buying landscape expands, some media buying agencies are taking steps to allay the uncertainties surrounding inventory, audience and optimization transparency by developing proprietary programmatic buying solutions. It’s critical to confirm if these solutions are transparent and to what level of detail.
Myth #2: Programmatic Is Just For Online Media Planning
The automated buying specialists use to execute and optimize programmatic advertising can be utilized across channels like display, social, video, audio, mobile and out-of-home. Less than 10 years ago, this was impossible.
To facilitate the use of programmatic for mobile advertising, app developers are looking at how the consumer data they collect can be used for better ad targeting.
One example of how programmatic buying is successfully expanding to mobile platforms is the Twitter acquisition of MoPub, way back in September 2013. The ability to use someone’s Twitter handle to collect browsing information across devices, instead of a cookie, is a definite breakthrough. Cookies can easily be deleted, thus removing a consumer’s interest history from the browser.
MoPub serves up ads that are relevant to interests across devices without relying on the ever-unpredictable cookie. Antonio Garcia, the creator of Facebook’s real-time bidding ad exchange, describes the importance of the Twitter-MoPub partnership beautifully in his post: “Why Twitter Buying MoPub is a Very Big Deal.”
And Twitter is just one example of how programmatic buying is expanding to the mobile platform. Similar innovations are taking place across television, video and out-of-home.
Myth #3: Standards Have Evolved Enough That The Future Of Programmatic Is Clear
While brands and their media buying agencies help evolve programmatic buying, there are still vast amounts of processes and structures that need to be standardized.
According to a Winterberry Group White Paper, managing security and access to the data that provides audience insights is one of the most important reasons to create powerful strategies and management platforms. This task isn’t easy because continued data availability is threatened by government regulation, internet browser privacy standards, lapses in data security and other factors. As a result, marketers, publishers and third parties must work together to:
- Maintain an evolving map of customer information and how it’s handled.
- Develop a unified data strategy that includes best practices and regulatory guidelines.
- Build an infrastructure of technology and personnel to support marketing data use.
- Value and promote the growth of the data culture through continuous learning and improvement.
These are just some of the myths that consistently pop up when discussing programmatic buying with clients and the marketing industry. As time and processes evolve, myths will dispel and programmatic buying will continue on its path of being a critical component to a broader media plan.
