Exploring Benefits of Programmatic Advertising for Agencies
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Pathlabs Marketing |
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August 1, 2023 |
Programmatic advertising is a powerful and transformative tool in the dynamic landscape of digital advertising. Industry giants, mid-market agencies, and in-house media teams feel its impact. In this article, we will explore the concrete benefits of programmatic advertising that have been driving its adoption and revolutionizing advertising strategies for agencies of all sizes.
Join us as we explore the world of programmatic advertising and uncover the opportunities it presents for agencies to thrive in an ever-evolving digital ecosystem.
Need a refresh on programmatic advertising and RTB before we begin? Visit here.
Programmatic Advertising Benefits
Scalable and Flexible Spending
Programmatic advertising platforms, especially those utilizing RTB, offer marketers a high degree of flexibility in managing their campaign budgets.
When setting up campaigns, they can select an immediate budget to spend or distribute their funds over a specified timeline. Additionally, they can establish spending caps to ensure they do not exceed a particular expenditure.
“Programmatic is also extremely scalable. We often encourage marketers trying it out to start smaller and plan to build as they gather and assess campaign data. Prospecting new audiences and testing new creative themes is a great starting point. Once marketers find their niche within the campaign and are seeing engagement and a return, they can scale upon their learnings.
As ROI grows, marketers can implement surges in spend during peak seasons or choose an “always on” strategy to ensure a consistent online presence throughout different promotional opportunities. When in doubt, always lean on the data to be the guiding light!”
Larger Reach
Depending on the DSP the marketer uses, they can access extensive ad exchanges collaborating with hundreds to thousands of publishers, opening opportunities for bidding on ad placements in unique and niche locations typically out of reach.
Moreover, these demand-side platforms expand ad reach beyond the marketer's immediate geographic regions, enabling the exploration of new markets to generate awareness, engagement, and customer acquisition.
The cherry on top: programmatic is not limited to just display ads. It has multiple cross-channel capabilities with video, audio, native, mobile, DOOH, CTV, and more.
Endless Targeting Possibilities
Programmatic platforms offer a wealth of user data, including behavioral, demographic, and geographic information. This empowers marketers to select specific websites and locations to display their ads and define a targeted audience persona for the platform to reach.
For instance, if a marketer aims to target women aged 18-25 in the Pacific Northwest interested in sports, the platform can either identify and bid on users fitting this description or contextually place ads where these users are likely to be found.
These targeting capabilities permit personalization, and marketers with multiple audience personas can run various campaigns, tailoring them to each persona.
Furthermore, programmatic enables retargeting, where marketers can serve ads again to users who previously engaged but didn't complete a desired action, thereby re-engaging them.
“Display and online video are two of my favorite programmatic methods that we use at Pathlabs. These two channels work in perfect harmony, reaching consumers through striking visuals, educational details, and strong call-to-actions. A significant reason I gravitate towards these channels is inventory management — the ability to control which websites and publications your ads are landing on.
Want to reach locals within your small town? No problem, programmatic allows marketers to strive for placement within all the local news outlets and stations. Looking to catch the eyes of business guru’s reading Forbes each morning? No problem, and the NY Times too!”
Automated Processes and Greater Efficiency
When running programmatic ad campaigns with RTB, the marketer only has to interface with the programmatic technology itself. They don’t have to meet with any publishers to discuss media placements, nor stay up all night worrying if the publisher will correctly place the content.
Instead, they will press go on the campaign, and the technology will navigate the ad exchange and ad buying.
Greater Media Buying Transparency and Control
Programmatic platforms give marketers access to media spending reports showing how much they are spending at all times – ensuring no ad dollars go unaccounted for.
Real-Time Measurement and Optimization
Programmatic platforms provide dashboards marketers can access 24/7 to track their campaign performance. These dashboards include multiple KPIs to measure performance against objectives, such as impressions, click-through rate, viewability, cost per thousand impressions, conversion rate, and more. The marketer can review these metrics to help guide future decisions and optimize.
Speaking of optimization, machine learning in programmatic tech will also constantly refine and develops its algorithms, promoting better future targeting and bidding outcomes for the marketer.
What Is Programmatic Advertising?
Programmatic advertising is a digital advertising method that leverages platform technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to facilitate the procurement and selling of ad space.
Programmatic differs from traditional advertising methods, which require marketers to negotiate with publishers (ad space vendors) for media placements.
Instead, marketers can set up campaigns within programmatic platforms by inputting their objectives and target parameters. Then, the technology autonomously assists in handling the media placements and buying. This process leverages data to serve ads to the right audiences in the most relevant and timely locations.
“Programmatic advertising allows companies and brands to reach both new and existing customers in an innovative fashion that meets the average consumer exactly where they are at within an educational or purchase-based journey. Programmatic builds awareness, engages with audiences, creates trust among consumers, and ultimately drives traffic and purchases for the business.”
What Is RTB?
Real-time bidding (RTB) is a popular type of programmatic advertising – which we refer to the most in this blog. However, other programmatic models exist, such as programmatic direct, programmatic guaranteed, preferred deals, etc.
In RTB, marketers set up their campaigns in demand-side platforms (DSPs) to purchase ad space, while publishers sell ad space using supply-side platforms (SSPs). DSPs and SSPs communicate via the ad exchange, a virtual marketplace.
When a user clicks a link to a publisher's inventory, the connected SSP signals the ad exchange for a bid request, which then calls upon multiple DSPs to analyze the user's profile and place bids to display their ad to them.
Once the auction concludes, the SSP renders the winning bidder’s ad to the user. This entire process occurs within milliseconds while the user waits for the content to load.
In Conclusion
Programmatic advertising offers agencies and marketers numerous benefits, revolutionizing the ad-buying process with advanced technology. Its scalability, flexibility, and real-time optimization enable efficient and data-driven campaigns, reaching precise audiences across multiple channels. Embracing programmatic as a vital component of marketing strategies can streamline efforts, achieve better ROI, and stay competitive in today's digital landscape.
