Programmatic advertising is more popular than ever. A recent study shows that 89.3% of digital display spend goes toward programmatic. 

As this ad method becomes mainstream, agencies rely more on programmatic partners.  This article explains the nuances of programmatic partners and how agencies should decide if using one would be beneficial. 

What Does It Mean to “Go Programmatic”?

Advertising agencies have a lot on their plates. They identify target audiences, create messaging, develop creative, buy ad space, and monitor and optimize campaigns. 

It’s a lot of work. So, many agencies have started using programmatic advertising. Agencies automate time-consuming campaign tasks using software and machine learning tools.

Using programmatic advertising, advertisers can plug in their campaign info, and the programmatic software fields the ads automatically at the right time and place. 

For a few examples of successful programmatic ad campaigns, visit this blog. 

What Is a Programmatic Partner? 

Agencies hire programmatic partners to manage and optimize programmatic campaigns. From the description above, it may seem that programmatic advertising alleviates all campaign challenges, but this is not the case.

This method can be very complex and time-consuming. This is where programmatic partners jump in to help achieve the best results. 

According to Pathlabs' CMO, Mario Schulzke, "A programmatic partner is a newer role. In the past, agencies could easily buy ads and execute campaigns manually. Nowadays, there are so many programmatic platforms and execution options that this playing field has become overly complex for many. Programmatic partners navigate these complexities and ensure that your campaigns perform at their best.”

What Do Programmatic Partners Do? 

"A programmatic partner is a loose term for any third-party involved in a brand's programmatic media buying and execution process.” - Caitlin Zuchero, Partner Manager at Pathlabs,

Programmatic partners help with: 

• Campaign automation & optimization

• Programmatic buying 

• Programmatic strategy

• Executing all programmatic ads 

• Demand-side platforms (DSP) and Trade Desk Navigation 

• Programmatic software set-up 

• Managing inventory & supply 

• Retargeting

• Omni-channel ad campaigns 

• Digital Activation

• Real-time data analytics

• Sales & lead generation

• Target audience identification 

• Paid Search 

• Team training

Why Enter Into a Programmatic Partnership?

Agencies invest in a programmatic partner to: 

• Receive additional expertise & knowledge 

According to Caitlin, "The digital landscape is constantly growing and evolving, and with this, the number of media channels and programmatic options available can be overwhelming. 

By having a programmatic partner, agencies receive dedicated support from people that can programmatically drive media performance and cost efficiencies."

• To free up time 

Programmatic partners handle automation and campaign execution tasks. This gives time back to the agency and allows them to focus on their larger goals. 

In one of our case studies, our client, CCF, faced this exact problem. The Media Director spent more time in the weeds focusing on in-platform tasks because they were the only team member with this expertise. Once they partnered with Pathlabs, our team could handle the programmatic and execution side, while the Media Director got to focus on their main priorities. 

• To improve campaign performance 

There are multiple reasons why an agency may invest in a programmatic partner.  Their campaign performance may decline, or they might have a client wanting further improvement even though the campaign is performing well. 

Whatever the case, programmatic partners step in immediately to assess the agency's strengths and weaknesses and modify campaigns in real-time

• To stay competitive & up to date

Many newer ad methods utilize programmatic features, including CTV advertising, dynamic search ads, chatbots, programmatic video and audio, and media planning tools. 

Which is best for your campaign? Programmatic partners answer this question. 

When Is an Agency Ready to Take on a Programmatic Partner?

Investing in a programmatic partner may seem like a great way to go. However, it is not for everybody.  According to Caitlin and Mario, a programmatic partner can be a good option given the following factors: 

• "If it is clear that the agency should invest heavily in programmatic advertising. We at Pathlabs hesitate to think programmatic is a fix-all solution and it won't work for every campaign." - Mario

• "If clients are supportive of bringing on a programmatic partner. Having a programmatic partner brings an additional team into the mix. Some clients may be hesitant to take this step." - Mario  

• "If the agency is at a good point to incorporate a partner. "Bringing on a programmatic partner can be a lot of hands-on work and collaboration. Ideally, an agency or brand  would test programmatic when they have some bandwidth to do so" - Caitlin

Agencies should ask themselves:

• How do I currently operate my media campaigns? 

• What am I missing in my campaigns? Why aren't they performing to my standards or needs? 

• Do I need to do a lot of buying on demand-side platforms? (DSP)

• Why am I choosing to take the programmatic route? 

• What other projects could I work on if I could outsource my media execution tasks? 

• How can a programmatic partner help me meet my future goals? 

• What do I want to improve in my campaigns? Sales? Leads? Revenue? 

• Do I have the budget to make hiring a programmatic partner worth it? 

• Am I comfortable passing on media execution tasks?

• Am I comfortable working with and trusting a partner encouraging me to branch out and use different campaign methods? Even if I don't know what they may be talking about? 

What Makes the Right Programmatic Partner?

If an agency plans to recruit a programmatic partner, they should choose one that is:

A full team of experts 

Programmatic partners provide agencies with the people necessary to run and scale a media business. For example, at Pathlabs, we assign a 7-person team ranging from Account Management to Analytics to Ad Operations. This team provides a host of services that start with planning and go through the campaign lifecycle to reporting and analytics.

"Some programmatic partners can seem like a full-service solution but may only provide access to complex media software that your team will have to navigate. To get the best experience out of your programmatic investment,  partnering with a team that will provide hands-on assistance is crucial. Taking that a step further, find a Media Execution Partner (MEP) that will also provide dedicated support across Search & Social, performance optimizations, and forward-thinking strategies." - Caitlin

High level of technical and security expertise

Programmatic partners work closely with an agency's website, social accounts, databases, etc. Therefore, they should know how to keep all of this information safe.  

According to our IT wiz at Pathlabs, Andy Morse, "the programmatic partner team should have a solid cybersecurity foundation. They should have researched tech security and implemented best practices, including automatically updating and monitoring applications and password managers to keep your info safe. They should also strive to build awareness of security in the team culture and preach it to all staff members." - Andy

"Programmatic partners should have a high degree of expertise. You want somebody who isn't afraid of technical challenges, is detail-oriented–almost to the point of obsession–, good at numbers, and able to look at data and make decisions instead of using their gut opinion." - Mario 

Focused on agency work 

A media execution partner should be focused on only working with agencies. Their processes, best practices, pricing, and values should be built around the idea of serving agencies. This also alleviates potential conflict areas, as you don’t want to worry about your MEP competing for your client's business.

The overall goal of MEPs is to make agencies more successful with all aspects of media execution. Sometimes that means the agency’s clients know about the partnership. But, often, MEPs work in the background, as a white label partner, as an extension of the agency’s team.

Questions to Ask a Potential Partner

When interviewing and recruiting, agencies should ask: 

• How long has your team operated as a programmatic partner? 

• How many clients/partners do you have? 

• What is the category of your clients?

• Is this a full partnership? 

• What are your fees, and how are they calculated? 

• What buy models do you support? CPM? CPC? CPI? 

• What kind of programmatic advertising options do you use? 

• How do you incorporate marketing campaign optimization? 

• What is your level of transparency when working with your partners? 

• Why would you be excited to partner with our team? 

• How do you measure your data, and what key metrics are you looking for to gauge campaign performance? 

• How do you want our team to collaborate with yours? 

• Can you provide a few examples of campaigns you executed that had considerable success? 

• Looking at our organization/agency, what challenges do you anticipate our agency will face while working with your team? 

• It is a Friday evening or the weekend, and one of our campaigns is not working. How would you respond to this? 

• Why do you stand out among other programmatic partners? 

• How does your team stay up to date on the latest technologies? Why should we trust you to handle our programmatic advertising and campaign execution? 

Are you ready to explore the benefits of working with a programmatic partner? Get in touch with Pathlabs to learn how we can become an extension of your team.