Jack HArrison
Paid Media Manager

A Staffordshire Oatcake and F1 aficionado, with a trophy in his bathroom attributed to his smile. His expert knowledge of paid media is matched only by his ability to distinguish cars by the noises they emit.

September 16, 2024

Gone are the days of ringing around numerous industry-related websites to ask for dedicated ad space, whether it be a billboard or MPN (media partner network) ad. While this might have achieved some results, it was incredibly time-consuming, and with much more advanced technology now accessible, it’s possible to achieve a better ROI without the repetitive phone calls. 

Enter programmatic advertising, the disruptive way to buy and sell online display space using algorithmic software. 

Here’s what we’ll cover:


What is Programmatic?

Programmatic has been around since the late 2000s but has developed a lot over the years. If programmatic is new to you, here is an explanation of exactly what this form of advertising entails:

“Programmatic buying or advertising refers to the automated buying and selling of digital advertising space. It’s a data-driven approach that helps you get your brand in front of exactly the right audience at the right time”

It’s so much more than just display advertising.

Programmatic advertising uses advanced software and algorithms to buy impressions via an ad exchange. This, in turn, gives us near-instant access to hundreds of thousands of publishers at any given time.

Why is programmatic advertising so important?

Programmatic is important for many reasons – here are our three key takeaways:

Touchpoints, touchpoints, and more touchpoints

Outside of PPC & paid social, we need more ways to reach our target audience, and this is where programmatic comes into play.

Touchpoints are crucial – the moments when we reach our audience throughout a typical customer journey. It’s widely accepted that it takes eight touchpoints to make a sale. Research conducted by emailtooltester found that: “The actual number of touchpoints before a sale varies between 1 and 50, depending on the prospect’s buying stage:

– Inactive customers only need 1-3 touches on average.
– A warm inbound lead will need 5-12 touches.
– A cold prospect can require 20-50 touches”.

This varies by industry, service and product.

Considering all the elements we provided earlier, programmatic advertising offers numerous touchpoints across display, connected TVs, DOOH and more.

The marketing funnel

As with other types of marketing, programmatic advertising uses the familiar funnel model. Using data-powered insights and targeted forms of audience segmentation, programmatic helps track our users at each stage of the funnel based on an action they’ve undertaken.

Awareness: With access to hundreds of thousands of publishers and formats, we can reach our audience wherever they are. Whether it’s websites, bus stops, shopping centers, or TV – programmatic makes it easy.

Consideration: Backed by data, forms of engagement via pixels, page views, and more we can serve highly targeted ads. Again, different placements with varied media formats result in an action taking place.

Conversion: While programmatic may not be primarily known for driving conversions, it impacts the user journey by keeping a brand top of mind.

Front of mind awareness

Why do we see the most popular brands consistently driving ads across all placements, 24/7, 365 days a year? To stay front of mind. We call this TOMA (top-of-mind awareness)

This means “your business or brand is the first thing that comes to mind when people think about a particular product, niche, or service”.  When you’re traveling down the motorway and see a billboard from CocaCola, you’re not going to swerve across lanes of traffic to get a drink, BUT, next time you’re thirsty you may consider having a Coke.

Programmatic advertising is essential for staying top of mind. It’s about maximising our touchpoints across each stage of the marketing funnel to make sure when our target audience is ready to take action, your brand comes to mind first and not a competitor’s. This applies not just to new business but to existing customers as well.

Types of programmatic ads

Programmatic brings with it an array of different formats to choose from, each offering a unique way to reach your target audience.

Display Ads

Display ads consist of banner ads, both static and video that can be seen on most websites. These come in all different shapes and sizes.

Native Ads

These are very similar to display ads but blend seamlessly into site content, matching the look and feel of the media format they appear in.

Video Ads

Ideal for brand-building video ads utilise similar placements to native and display but allow you to push video-based content.

Connected TV (CTV)

Connected TV (CTV) advertising refers to video ads that are delivered via a streaming service during a viewer’s film, TV show, or other video content. This is advertising for Smart TVs but also covers streaming platforms on mobile.

Audio

Audio offers you the ability to reach listeners while enjoying a podcast, music, audiobooks and more. Consider it radio advertising for the modern age.

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH)

Digital out-of-home consists of advertising in the real world. Digital screens you see in the form of billboards, bus stops, bars, gyms, airports etc..

What are the best programmatic advertising platforms?

Getting started in programmatic advertising can be daunting, and with so many platforms offering the same solution, which ones do you know to choose?

These programmatic platforms (DSPs) are all different doors into the same building. Yes, some are better than others, but that’s where advice like this helps. Here are recommendations for getting started:

StackAdapt

An easy-to-use platform that offers the entire suite of programmatics offerings. StackAdapt has a simple platform from creation to execution with on-demand support if you get stuck.

Here’s what it has to say: “Year after year, StackAdapt ranks the highest in customer satisfaction and performance. We pride ourselves on our best-in-class technology, customer service, and innovative approach to ad tech that has made us the best DSP of choice for mid-size and large agencies.”

Ad Roll

Ad Roll is another great option for beginning your programmatic advertising journey. With both self-serve and managed service options, you can get help at every corner.

This offers the core areas of programmatic including display, video and connected TV. They can also integrate with various social media and act as an all-in-one platform for your digital advertising needs.

Here is what they have to say: “Ease of use, efficiency, and performance — you can have it all. Create, manage, analyse, and optimise campaigns across millions of social media networks, websites, and mobile apps, all from a single platform.”

Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP offers the full suite of programmatic advertising. What sets them apart is the platforms they have available.

These include Amazon, Prime, Twitch, Fire TV and more. Amazon DSP is consumer-focused, so having your ads appear on channels like the above is a huge bonus. They also have a certification available to help you get up to speed.

Here’s what they have to say: “Our ad solutions can help you reach shoppers at key moments with engaging campaigns for businesses of any size and budget. We support every part of your media planning, from streaming TV to interactive video and audio ads to display and out-of-home – and even social engagement opportunities.”

How to get the most out of programmatic advertising?

Before you get started with programmatic advertising make sure you consider these three core elements.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Remember the touchpoints we mentioned earlier? Branch out, and utilise the wide variety of options programmatic offers. Start with display and video before testing and trialing other options. Find what works best for your audience and industry.

Be brand led

If someone skips your ad, you still want them to remember your brand – make sure it’s visible in the first five seconds or on all frames. It’s all visual after all.

Adapt to your environment

Video consumption behaviors are different on mobile, desktop, and connected TV. Mobile viewers prefer shorter videos, whilst desktop and CTV viewers are prepared to engage with longer videos.

Next time you’re writing a marketing strategy, recognise how programmatic advertising might just be the missing piece of the puzzle. At Tank we have a number of in-house experts for programmatic advertising.

If you’re interested in working with a renowned paid media agency, get in touch below.