How programmatic is transforming digital advertising

Editor's Notes

• #3: What do we mean by it? Buzz word that dominates the digital marketing industry Association of National Advertisers (US-based) voted ‘Programmatic’ as their word of the year in 2014 At a basic level – programmatic refers to the automated buying of media space by decision making algorithms – these, we are often told, are designed by Nasa scientists and mathematical geniuses to apparently ensure all our campaigns will be awesome! However, we want to enhance thinking beyond just the technology because when we adjust our gaze away from the wizzy tech and not get bogged down by it (as this limits perspective to just the buying element), we can unlock the full potential of programmatic Before we jump in – firstly why does it even exist – in what context/environment did Programmatic become so important
• #4: Media tended to be restricted to one screen and a daily newspaper outlet – people lived more homogeneous & predictable lives – at least as far as media planning was concerned Experiences were shared through limited number of outlets determined by such things as TV station programming or classified ad space in a newspaper Assumption of media tended to be group focused based on majority figures – defined by media outlets themselves
• #5: Combination of high speed internet, more people online, more devices gives rise to connected, and unique, audiences People are no longer congregating around one screen, it’s no longer one size fits all Media engagement stats – Google – 90% of interactions are via screens mobile, desktop, tablet, TV – but multi-device interactions at the same time – 10% non-screen This amplification of data points increased the volume of the data available (90% of all data in the world has been created in the past few years) – potential to be far more targeted in our approach and be more specific in our communications & who we talk to Programmatic evolved as response to changing media consumption habits as well as clients wanting to understand the ROI of their media budgets to see the value of where their budgets were being invested – drive towards more transparency & insight, helping us to realise the potential that all of this data gives us
• #6: Clearly becoming a central force in digital as more and more budget is placed behind it Mind-set changing to position programmatic at the central point of media planning & buying operations, highlighting its growing importance in the space Change in skillset & adapting the role of a media planner & buying – recruitment data scientists comfortable with analysis & numbers – combining analytics with creativity more directly – mad men to math men 45% digital spend traded programmatically in 2014 up from 28% in 2013
• #7: In short, yes, but probably not in the way you think. Automated algorithms are undoubtedly becoming a central facet of digital marketing – not seeding total control over to machines There are some suppliers who will talk about nothing but their technology & how it doesn’t require human insight to manage a campaign but we need to move beyond talking about the technology as the end game. The tech is merely the enabler which takes on the heavy lifting of media buying, allowing humans to plan, setup and gain insight and spend time optimising, testing and learning to maximise performance Data tells you what but you need insight to explain the why and make informed decisions for moving a campaign forward Appreciate the benefits of programmatic to see beyond it being ‘just’ a tech solution
• #9: We have developed this meaning further to define programmatic as “the harmonious relationship between human insight, data and automated media buying technologies to serve targeted ads to users as they move between various channels and touch points.” Programmatic buying can help you reach the aspiration of being responsive to your audience in real-time with highly relevant messaging and creativity. Using audience insights and technology, messages can be tailored to the right user, at the right moment, in the right context and even in the right location.
• #11: The power and value of segmentation and targeting and data insight Data is often used for optimisation in live campaigns – must be used then to inform planning and setup stages as well Giving your campaign a head start, hit the ground running from day 1 not waiting for tech to catchup
• #12: Not a new analogy (e-harmony) – an example of how on paper they look the same, but get under the skin and consider behavioural traits (attitudes, lifestyle, beliefs) then your audience begins to look very different Data and audience insights can enable better targeting therefore making use of your 1st party data and profiling your audience beyond demographics is key. Beyond age, gender and affluence, Programmatic media can be targeted by lifestyle, interests, location, context and motivation i.e. in-market purchase intent to precision target your audience. Data profiling and persona development can help you unlock reach and value by looking beyond generic audience segments. This will help achieve higher levels of targeting, relevance, efficiency and impact.
• #13: Knowing audience is important but then communicating with them in the right moment and in the right space and frame of mind is just as important Context is king – message is driven by environment – are users on the go on their phone or at home with more time to spare on a tablet – messaging needs to reflect environment & be contextually relevant. Context comes back to availability and use of data
• #14: Programmatic unlocks real-time advertising potential to improve relevance & impact – respond to industry changes, wider stories – to enhance brand impact, but also to protect it Planners equipped to take advantage of real-time insights and behaviours to inform future activity in order to make advertising work harder and deliver greater value for both consumers and advertisers.     When we talk about being relevant we are referring to brand relevance and product relevance. Brand not just saying relevant things, but linking this to relevancy to brand & product
• #15: KitKat saw a tactical opportunity around this event which was perfectly suited to the KitKat brand, which is all about having a break.
• #16: To further improve context and relevance publishers opening themselves, and their data, up to programmatic channels. Programmatic no longer about remnant inventory sold cheaply that nobody really wanted. The clever use of data is transforming programmatic into a premium digital marketing channel. Obvious benefits to publishers – operational efficiencies, better leveraging of data segments for better insights & targeting will attract more advertisers – advertisers need the quality inventory & this relationship between publishers and advertisers will give rise to campaigns will become more successful. Quintessential win-win situation
• #17: Premium Publishers – like those in the Pangaea Alliance – are beginning to appreciate the importance of data in the programmatic space and are working together towards making this more accessible & more useful. Campaigns can be made more relevant through the strategic use of data to make more meaningful connections with your audience Furthermore, focus on brand safety & viewability – publisher/advertiser relationship will help enhance and improve this. Advertisers could buy based on viewability or what they value most. Publishers release better format positions for a better user experience, open & transparent with positions and viewability With premium becoming a real force, the opportunity for rich and clever creative becomes more important…..
• #18: Data collected and leveraged in programmatic buying can do more than just refine targeting, it can also fuel highly effective real-time optimisation of media, messaging and creative. BRING IT BACK TO AUDIENCE BEING AT THE HEART OF IT, AUDIENCE DEFINES TARGTETING , MEDIA PLACEMENT AND MESSAGING Rich media formats – campaigns that you wouldn’t think were bought programmatically American Airlines – sequential messaging Nike / San Andreas – rich media example
• #20: Increase the RSPB’s membership sales and to drive value across a number of different business units, a sophisticated display re-targeting strategy was developed where we are able to identify and segment leads based on their on-site interactions and campaign engagement. Profiling and segmenting audiences in this way has allowed us to deliver tailored display communications to cross-sell and up-sell additional RSPB products and campaign asks. For example, those users who signed up to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch event have been added into our prospecting pool for Memberships. Integrating both 1st party data and display banners in this way has helped deliver a 29% increase in Membership sales, a 51% increase in Shop sales and a 31% increase in donations, all from an overall increase in spend of just 15%.
• #22: Online video is already going programmatic in spite of limited high-quality inventory and will make further progress with the emergence of viewability standards. Increases in online delivery of TV and movie content is fuelling this growth. People consuming TV is changing dramatically and the way in which TV buying is bought it changing along with it Programmatic The way TV ads are bought and sold is about to change. Linear TV is yet to offer much audience targeting, beyond demographics and show genre (with Sky Adsmart the exception) but with the advent of programmatic TV this will allow us to use audience data to serve ads to targeted places. No longer using show ratings as a proxy for audience, we can look to target based on 1st party data and things such as income and households. Channel 4 have already created an online private marketplace selling inventory on 4oD offering advertisers access to their 1st party viewer data. Television is being reinvented with programmatic the opportunity.
• #23: Coca Cola ‘share a coke’ campaign with channel 4; In a world media first, we teamed up with Coca-Cola to produce and send personalised ads to 4oD registered users over the summer of 2014. Using the dynamic technology of our Adapt iVoD format, we served viewers aged between 16-34 with a bespoke copy, which involved the iconic Channel 4 logo morph in to the iconic Coca-Cola bottle.   The tagline ‘Share A Coke With’ was followed by the viewer’s name in the label section of the bottle. After seeing a large amount of positive references to the ad on Twitter, social functions were also included within the copy, where the image could be shared on Facebook and Twitter.
• #24: On the rise and is not planning on going away any time soon. Those who can rise to the opportunity offered by programmatic now, will be well-positioned over the long-term to benefit from an ever growing media tool
• #25: A major challenge for digital marketing not just programmatic….. DoubleClick cross-device measurement – link Google logged in data, device ID’s to offer full spectrum in behaviours across devices Consumers are connected, the challenge for brands is to make the most out of each moment, across any screen i.e creating an online journey that complements offline activity. https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/programmatic-guide (Nike example) Could reference TV Synch and RSPB BGBW. Cross-platform campaigns will help advertisers achieve unified reach across devices to help further maximise their media budget Talking of TV………
• #26: Programmatic technology has facilitated the growth of an ever more efficient media buying landscape but the tech is only one aspect of programmatic itself We mustn’t become overly reliant on the tech to do our thinking for us as a strategy based on data and insight remains the driving force behind any campaign both in the building of it and the optimisation once live – which we are able to do quicker than ever before
• #27: Instead it is about striking the right balance between the 3 key elements that make programmatic so powerful – we are now able to use and respond to data that is constantly being generated more quickly than ever before to be more relevant in our communications with users. Programmatic has undoubtedly taken its seat at the top table of digital marketing but yes, there are challenges & concerns that need to be addressed as it is not yet the perfect system (cross-device tracking, brand safety & viewability) – but as more publishers and advertisers come round to the idea of the power of data & automated media buying & work together to build yet more effective campaigns, the programmatic age can reach its full potential