Programmatic marketing is a new type of marketing that goes beyond the traditional “one size fits all approach”. Not only does it target consumers on multiple platforms such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, but it also demands a much more intimate knowledge of consumer habits thus making the campaign much more relevant to its target audience. Programmatic marketing has not only changed things for consumers but for advertisers as well. The latter can now purchase ready-made digital ads without having to pass through the traditional middle-men, a process also known as programmatic buying.
Programmatic Buying
Digital marketers can now buy advertising systems that can penetrate not only computer and smart devices but traditional television as well. This digital style campaign allows advertisers to collect real time data to gage the effectiveness of their campaign even in its early stages. For example, they can figure out which regions, audience segments and times produce the best responses to their ad campaign.
Social networks are gaining a foothold in programmatic buying and advertising as they already have access to consumer data. They can then launch ad campaigns across multiple platforms. They can also make use of programmatic channels which is a notch above the standard banner ad.
Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising, as explained by CEO Gurbaksh Chahal, “is the automation of buying and selling of desktop display, video, FBX, and mobile ads using real-time bidding.” To put this in perspective, the advertising campaign results in 26 billion impressions daily across 700 million users. His company is also a pioneer in a technological innovation known as “hashtag targeting technology,” which enables brands to purchase key words that will then be the basis of an advertising campaign targeting users who use these key words. For example, an advertiser of flowers or chocolate bars can target users who tweet key words like love, commitment or gift.
Although data is important in programmatic advertising, it is more than collecting large amounts of data in a vacuum. Digital marketers need to glean the relevant parts of data to make the best use of it and gain optimum results.
Some users may fear that privacy concerns will arise, but the data collected is from anonymous sources and are used in a quite general way. This may in terms of geographic location or interests and similarities shared among people.
Programmatic marketing (buying and advertising) can prove to be a rather complex and even daunting undertaking, but for digital companies the end result is worthwhile as it results in a wider consumer reach, lower advertising costs and increased profits. Many argue that perhaps programmatic buying is the future of advertising. This doesn’t mean you won’t see any more ads on your TV, it just means that firms will be able to launch campaigns that are much more targeted, and therefore relevant to you and your consumer needs.