Advancing Trends in Programmatic Advertising

I’ve been an enthusiastic online gamer for years, and I’ve noticed that I often see ads for fashion and household items popping up between my games. Interestingly, these ads seem to be perfectly matched to my interests and preferences. This is because of programmatic advertising, a data-driven approach to buying and selling digital ads that is revolutionizing the way businesses market their products and services.

Programmatic advertising uses automated systems and data to match ads with the right people at the right time. This makes it a more efficient and effective way to reach target audiences than traditional advertising methods.

For those not familiar with Programmatic Advertising, imagine having a smart assistant for buying and placing online ads. Instead of people negotiating and buying ads from websites, it uses automated systems and data to do it more efficiently. The biggest benefit of this approach is that it helps advertisers target the right audience and place their ads in the right places on the internet, often in real-time, making the process faster and more cost-effective.

Let’s talk about some statistics now to understand the growing trend of programmatic advertising. Statista released a report in July 2023 which stated that digital advertising was projected to expand to half a trillion India rupees by 2024, highlighting this rapid rising trend. With over, 692 million internet users this year, the internet penetration rate stood over 48.7% for India and these numbers have been evolving at a rapid rate.

With the government’s Digital India initiative, last mile internet connectivity, high smart-phone penetration, lower cost of internet usage, growing tech availability etc. are factors have fuelled the growth of programmatic advertising.

There is no doubt that anyone who is serious about digital marketing impact would be passionate about programmatic ads and irrespective of whether you are an advertiser or an agency representative handling a client’s account , you can reap several benefits from programmatic advertising.

Foremost, this approach allows for precise targeting, efficient spending, and real-time optimization, leading to a higher return on investment. With plethora of advertising platforms available for advertisers to reach a specific set of audience, one often needs to be frugal and calculative and choose platforms and modules that would give the best ROI for the campaign executed.

With programmatic ads, advertisers can access valuable data and insights to refine their media spend strategies, ensuring that their ads reach the right audience at the right time. So whether you are running a multi-platform campaign as a part of brand building and awareness activity or a tactical campaign for Diwali to induce quick sale, your answer lies in programmatic advisement.

Although, digital advertisement has taken a centre-stage for most companies, many advertisers continue to use the media multiplier effect where programmatic advertisement becomes a crucial part of the overall media buying strategy. With different channel utilization, depending on budget availability, the brand campaign message can be reinforced and the chances of reaching a wider set of audience is higher, as each channel amplifies the other.

However, as a marketer I’ve often faced with other challenges while implementing programmatic advertisement for clients. One of the primary challenges relates to the increasing demand for professionals skilled in digital marketing, data analysis, and ad tech and individuals who have an understanding and execution experience for programmatic advertising. As the industry continues to evolve, the need for skilled digital marketeers is expected to grow and this has poised a challenge for ad or digital marketing agencies.

Additionally, I have listed out few challenges that Programmatic Advertising has and there is a need to find solutions that will cross the listed hurdles:

-Ad fraud is a persistent problem in the digital advertising industry, and programmatic advertising is no exception. Ad fraud can occur when bots are used to generate fake clicks and impressions, or when publishers place ads on websites designed to deceive users.

– Viewability is another important consideration in programmatic advertising. Viewability measures whether or not an ad is actually seen by a user. Advertisers want to ensure that their ads are viewable, so that they are not wasting money on ads that are not being seen.

– Data privacy is a growing concern among consumers, and this extends to programmatic advertising. Advertisers need to be careful about how they collect and deploy user data, and they need to be transparent with consumers about their data practices.

Adapting and staying nimble is a key imperative for advertisers and marketers, as no brand strategy can ever be entirely fool-proof. Strategies are in a constant state of evolution throughout their various execution phases. Drawing from my years of experience in brand strategy, this is a lesson that has stood out as particularly valuable.

Embracing technology across different facets of your brand and communication strategy, including the integration of programmatic advertising, presents an array of exciting possibilities for advertisers. It revolutionizes the way we can effectively connect with our customer base.

As the industry continues to progress, it’s increasingly apparent that programmatic advertising will assume an even more pivotal role in the marketing strategies of businesses, marked by the convergence of data-driven precision and creative storytelling.

Author: Smita Khanna, Chief Operating Officer, Newton Consulting India