We’re often asked by clients and prospective clients for our thoughts on programmatic advertising and whether or not it’s a good fit for their business. This method, which just a short decade ago was considered the “new kid on the block”, has grown to become the bread and butter of digital strategy for many businesses, especially major advertisers. 

If you’re not familiar, programmatic advertising refers to a method of buying ad space across multiple exchanges at once, as opposed to on a single network as with display advertising. It’s favoured in many cases for the ability to better target specific audiences, make automatic adjustments in real-time, and reap the rewards via greater efficiency. 

The answer to the second question — as ever —  depends, but we’ll try to summarize: programmatic advertising can be an incredible tool for organizations looking to take the next step in their growth, provided that:

1. They already have a strong foundation of digital marketing to build on and a robust, multi-touch attribution system they can trust.

2. They already have a digital ad spend approaching or in excess of $200,000 per month, so it isn’t something we’d ever recommend to an early-stage startup or small company. If you want stellar results, you may need to become comfortable with sky-high costs.

Among our clients who have already implemented programmatic marketing campaigns with us, motivations vary, but most would cite the ability to advertise across different countries, to reach the most relevant audiences for a vast array of different products, and to target top publishers specifically as major draws. 

If your business doesn’t (yet) meet these criteria, it’s highly likely that you’d see a better return on investment by focusing on your digital marketing fundamentals for now. If it does describe you, however, or if you’re just curious to know what programmatic advertising might do for you if it did, read on.

It’s great for top-of-funnel

If you’ve hit something of a roadblock with your SEO strategy, you’re likely thinking about ways to increase your reach and find new audiences. Alongside paid search (which we would recommend for just about any business), programmatic advertising ought to be given serious consideration. 

Programmatic advertising takes its lead from the classic advertising playbook in that you’re effectively doing media buying in a very controlled manner and gearing your creative to a very specific audience. It’s great for branding and awareness, and typically would be used for that particular part of a co-ordinated, full-funnel effort — think display, video, YouTube, connected TV and digital out-of-home advertising. 

Again, it’s a method that’s better suited to established brands and larger organisations (with matching budgets) than start-ups and smaller businesses. Did we mention it’s expensive?

You’re in control

The biggest advantage we see to introducing programmatic advertising to your mix is the level of control it offers. At a time when Google continues to remove more and more control over your ad placements, programmatic advertising offers a way to take it back: you get a much bigger say in exactly who sees your ads, where, and when — a fantastic boost for brand safety, for those who can afford it.

You deal directly with the platforms themselves

Programmatic advertising allows you the ability to work directly with the specific platforms you want to deal with, which has obvious benefits for targeting. Defining a broad marketing persona as a reader of The Economist or National Geographic, for example, can be helpful when working with any channel. Programmatic advertising, however, gives you the power to deliver your message directly to the real-life incarnation of your Economist reader — and from a site she trusts.

Augment your results with automation

One of the biggest advantages of programmatic advertising lies in the degree of automation that’s possible. Unlike traditional display advertising, with programmatic, we can automate the entire ad-buying process — from bidding to targeting to delivery. This kind of real-time optimization means ads can adjust instantly based on performance data, ensuring they reach exactly who you want to reach, when you want to reach them. With a little bit of setup, you’ll both save time and achieve better results. Not a bad deal at all. 

Use your own ad server

This one requires a little more setup, and can be tough to scale, but the option of using your own ad server for programmatic advertising is not one that should be overlooked. The benefits are threefold: You gain even greater control over delivery, targeting, and performance tracking; you’re better able to customize your ad formats, and you keep ownership of all your data, so you’re better able to analyze and optimize campaign performance. 

If the above sounds appealing, and you’re looking to take the next step from an already-successful display advertising program, we’d strongly recommend giving serious consideration to programmatic advertising. It’s a real step up from display in terms of required effort, expertise, and budget, but equally many businesses find it to be a comparable step up in results.