Most of the adverts you see online are bought and sold automatically in milliseconds. This process is known as programmatic advertising, and it has transformed how digital advertising is bought, sold and optimised.
Every time you visit a website, open an app or watch a streaming service, there’s a good chance the advertising you see was bought programmatically.
Rather than relying on traditional manual negotiations, programmatic advertising uses technology and data to automate the buying and selling of digital advertising in milliseconds.
Here’s how it works and why it matters
At its simplest, programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of digital advertising space using software rather than traditional manual negotiations. Instead of advertisers contacting individual publishers to buy ad placements, sophisticated technology platforms match advertisers with available advertising inventory in real time.
Every time someone visits a website or opens an app that carries programmatic advertising, an automated process takes place in a fraction of a second.
Information about the available advertising opportunity is shared with potential advertisers, who can decide whether they want to bid to show their advert to that particular user. The highest suitable bid wins and the advert is displayed – all in around the time it takes for the page to load.
Why does programmatic advertising matter?
Programmatic advertising has fundamentally changed how digital media is bought and sold. For advertisers, it offers greater efficiency, scale and the ability to target specific audiences using data and automation.
For publishers, it helps maximise the value of their advertising inventory by making it available to multiple buyers simultaneously.
Today, programmatic technology powers advertising across websites, mobile apps, connected TV, streaming audio, digital out of home screens and even some retail media networks.
As artificial intelligence becomes more widely integrated into advertising technology, programmatic platforms are becoming increasingly sophisticated at helping marketers optimise campaigns, improve performance and make faster buying decisions.
The latest developments and deals in the programmatic advertising sector are just one of the areas covered daily by Mediashotz.
Benefits of programmatic advertising
- Better targeting
- Faster campaign buying
- Real-time optimisation
- Reduced manual work
- Greater scale
Challenges of programmatic advertising
- Brand safety
- Fraud
- Privacy
- Transparency
- Complexity
VIDEO: What programmatic leaders were talking about at this year’s Cannes Lions…