In conversation with Tejinder Gill, General Manager, The Trade Desk on the great shift to audience-centric advertising

As we enter 2024, marketers are navigating new challenges and opportunities, with programmatic advertising becoming a focal point. Projected to reach Rs 394 billion (US$5.42B) and making up 44% of India’s total digital ad spend, programmatic advertising is reshaping the landscape. In response, The Trade Desk has released a pivotal report titled “Elevating your Digital Marketing Strategy with AI”.
We spoke with Tejinder Gill, General Manager, The Trade Desk regarding the insights and implications of the new report. This conversation aims to delve into the transformative impact of programmatic advertising and the strategic use of AI in shaping the future of digital marketing in India.

Agency Reporter- How have media-buying practices changed over time in India?

Tejinder Gill- Indian advertisers have traditionally relied on manual insertion orders (IO) to negotiate ad prices directly with media owners. However, this method tends to group diverse audiences together, assuming similarity based on content consumption.
Since the early 2010s, programmatic advertising has emerged as a transformative force. By integrating data and automation, advertisers can now make informed decisions rather than relying on guesswork. Traditional programmatic practices in India have predominantly been programmatic guaranteed (PG), where direct deals are made between advertisers and media owners, including social media platforms.
However, our research shows that India’s top advertising experts are advocating for a shift towards an ‘audience-led’ programmatic approach. Also known as ‘open market bidding’, this practice enables brands to precisely target their desired audience irrespective of which media channel or platform they’re using. 
We have been helping marketers to transition towards the modern programmatic strategy with our AI-powered media-buying platform. By prioritizing audiences, we are placing them at the forefront of marketers’ media strategies.

Agency Reporter- The Trade Desk recently launched the report “Elevating your Digital Marketing Strategy with AI.” What key insights does the report offer, and what makes them particularly relevant for marketers now?

Tejinder Gill- With consumers engaged across numerous media channels and platforms, targeting the right audience with relevant advertisements has become a challenge for marketers. The newly released report underscores key insights gathered from India’s top advertisers on how brands can benefit from an ‘audience-led’ programmatic approach: 

• Embrace opportunities in a highly fragmented media landscape: With today’s incredible diversity of content, sticking to PG – the conventional way of securing ad spots upfront with select media outlets or social media platforms – is no longer sufficient. 
  Brands can now transform media fragmentation into opportunities for connection and conversion by leveraging their first-party data and diverse audience segments, available through third-party data marketplace on The Trade Desk. 
  
• Greater agility and cross-channel capabilities: With tech giants and media companies using their own methods to track ad performance, marketers struggle to compare performance across channels and platforms. Advertising leaders now stress the need for a comprehensive view of ad performance across all invested channels. 
  Modern programmatic advertising, an advancement from traditional programmatic guaranteed, enables brands to evaluate and compare ad performance across various channels on the open internet, including news/websites, music streaming, OTT/CTV, and online gaming. This allows advertisers to allocate budgets more effectively for better results.
  
• Prioritizing the scale of open internet over the convenience of walled gardens:
  While some advertisers find comfort in the convenience of programmatic guaranteed deals, there’s a fresh wave of understanding that brands don’t have to choose between the predictability of walled gardens and the potential scale and reach that await in the open internet.
  Savvy advertisers are moving towards modern programmatic advertising, which grants them access to a wider range of ad inventory on the open internet beyond walled gardens. Brands can now launch large-scale campaigns quickly, bypassing the slower, traditional publisher-by-publisher approach. By analyzing data to assess the value of each ad impression, marketers purchase only those impressions effectively target their desired audience, leading to more impactful business outcomes. 

Agency Reporter- One of the key findings in the report is the emphasis on audience-centric advertising in the face of media fragmentation. How can brands effectively navigate this fragmentation to reach their target audiences?

Tejinder Gill- Consumers now spend their time across the vast open internet, especially on premium content available through ad-supported OTT platforms. The old idea of relying on a single platform to reach your audience is fading away. In India, people spend more than half of their online time beyond search engines and social media networks, switching between watching their favourite shows on smartphones or connected TVs, listening to music, and playing online games. 

However, only 15% of India’s digital ad spend goes to the open internet, which means there’s an opportunity for brands to connect with audiences where they spend majority of their time. With so much diverse content available today, sticking to traditional methods like securing ad spots upfront with specific media outlets or social platforms isn’t enough anymore. Brands need to adapt quickly and use audience-led programmatic advertising to turn this fragmentation into opportunities.

Consider PepsiCo’s approach with Slice fruit drinks. Rather than relying solely on traditional linear TV ads, they collaborated with Publicis Media for a more targeted strategy. Leveraging both their valuable first-party data and third-party data segments on The Trade Desk, PepsiCo aimed at cord-cutters aged 18-34, passionate about OTT content. Using The Trade Desk’s cross-device targeting, they effectively expanded their reach across various devices. This resulted in reaching 100% of their goal, equivalent to over 12 million unique users, with a 13% increase in media efficiency. The campaign also achieved an 81% view rate and over four views per user, enhancing viewer recall.

Agency Reporter- The report mentions the prioritization of the scale of the open internet over the convenience of walled gardens by advertisers. What are some advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and how can advertisers strike a balance between the two?

Tejinder Gill- An average consumer in India spends over half (52%) of their digital media time on the open internet. Yet walled gardens get much more money for ads—about 5.5 times more—than the open internet, which only gets 15% of India’s digital ad spend. This shows that advertisers are hesitant to leave the familiar grounds of walled gardens. But the open internet has grown a lot lately. People are discovering new products through apps, websites, streaming services, and even in stores. If marketers are only focused on the walled gardens, they’ll miss out on immersive environments where people are engaged in.

To stay ahead, marketers should look at how people use the whole internet, not just one platform, to decide where to put their ad money. In this way,  they can better understand where to get the most value for their ads. According to the research ‘Gateway to the open internet’, brands advertising on OTT/CTV platforms are perceived as 33% more premium, and generate a 22% higher brand recall than those on user generated platforms.

Agency Reporter- What are the key factors that will drive India towards modern programmatic advertising?

Tejinder Gill- India’s programmatic ad spend share grew 72% in the past five years (2019 to 2023) and is expected to encompass 44% of all digital ad spend in the country by the end of 2024. In light of programmatic advertising’s increasing prominence within the advertising domain, the three trends propelling this expansion for marketers are:

• New and premium inventory will spur programmatic momentum
  Advertising leaders are excited about integrating new media types (such as CTV, digital out-of-home, and retail media) into the programmatic landscape. Such new ad inventory can create a broader spectrum of programmatic options for advertisers, providing them with unmatched accuracy in connecting with diverse audiences. 

• Data plays a crucial role in programmatic success
  Today, advertisers have a treasure trove of data at their disposal – from leveraging their very own first-party data to utilising top-quality data marketplaces. By harnessing these resources, brands can discover new potential customers and reconnect with existing ones in more meaningful ways, which can ultimately help boost media ROI.
  
• Integrating AI into ad tech provides unprecedented insights and capabilities
  Some of the innovations AI brings to audience-led programmatic advertising are real-time bidding precision, dynamic ad creation, and predictive analytics for audience behaviour. Brands embracing AI will gain a competitive edge, benefiting from greater agility and deeper analytical abilities to make optimal media-buying decisions. 

Disclaimer: Information mentioned here has not been verified or endorsed by Agency Reporter and is in accordance with the press release shared by the company or their appointed representatives.