Demystifying programmatic
Space & Time’s Programmatic Lead Eliette Cremer was part of the panel on a recent BIMA webinar entitled ‘Demystifying programmatic’ (alongside twenty6 and Captify), and Eliette has summarised some key takeaways from this session.
Why is there such a fascination around programmatic and why does it remain a ‘black box’ for many brands?
It is fairly common for people to be interested about – and to get confused by – programmatic because it is not a business-centric channel. A paid social or paid search team would generally speak to their Facebook or Google representative, and these people have direct access to global resource centres and marketing departments.
When it comes to programmatic, the channel is highly fragmented – we use a platform to access inventory, another platform to host creative, and other partners to develop targeting strategies. Because programmatic is not centralised, it can be more challenging for brands to find access to best practice guidelines or quick answers to their questions.
Programmatic is really a buying method rather than a specific platform, and – technically speaking – Facebook and Google are also bought programmatically!
How can you know if programmatic is right for your brand?
The first thing to ask when talking about programmatic is probably “what content are we trying to deliver”? It can be display, video, rich media, audio, TV or OOH. Programmatic really means what is happening behind the scenes; machine learning based on big data, waterfall decision processes, and auctions happening in real time.
“RTB” was how programmatic enter the EU market. This acronym stands for real time bidding and, in my opinion, is more meaningful than programmatic. Rather than booking inventory individually with each publisher, we do it all in real time, using technology from a variety of platforms to connect and activate media with great flexibility.
On the subject of RTB, one of the most challenging things with programmatic is negotiating the vast array of acronyms!
Why do media agencies play a key role when it comes to programmatic activation?
It is quite impressive to see how many acronyms and active players we can count within the programmatic industry, and this is one of the reasons why we launched our first webinar with BIMA about demystifying programmatic. One thing that I do each time we have a new member join our expanding team is to look at the market map; it makes it instantly easier to see how the industry is shaping up.
The market map is massively helpful as there are so many players in the market, and it also highlights the pivotal role of an informed agency. We’re not only setting up campaigns on platforms, but we also advise our clients on finding the best partnerships and technologies based on their needs and objectives.
The Space & Time programmatic team thrives in acting like a consultant, an extension of our clients’ marketing teams as much as an activation partner. We’re also acting as a market tester and we can filter and apply/ discard new products nimbly and flexibly – all with the express aim of making the best use of client budgets.
If you would like to hear more about programmatic advertising options or would like to chat about incorporating it into your marketing strategy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
If you’d like to watch the panel session, you can find it here.