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Nearly 90% of agencies and 81% of marketers plan to expand their programmatic buying capabilities in 2018. Bringing this expertise in-house allows digital media teams to unify their data, teams, and ad buying, giving them a better handle on the complexities and, ultimately, allowing them to take back control.
The unanswered question: Are digital media teams built to handle programmatic tools and technology? Are they equipped with digital knowledge to succeed?
As part of our research with Ad Perceptions, we took an in-depth look at the state of digital media teams including how they’re currently constructed and what needs to change as the digital landscape evolves.
Let’s take a step back …
Programmatic advertising has given the ad industry an incredible amount of capabilities and efficiencies that weren’t possible even ten years ago, such as automated and data-driven purchases of granular audiences at scale, real-time campaign optimization opportunities, and game-changing business insights. Not even a decade ago, for example, a digital media buyer would have to send 10 individual RFPs if they wanted their ads to run on 10 different sites – imagine trying to scale that process.
It sounds simple, but it’s come with a cost.
Programmatic advertising has also led to more complexity, more confusion, more technology, and more platforms than ever before. It has increased cost structures in the form of programmatic teams, departments, trading desks, and companies. The digital space used to consist of limited vendor types, creatives, platforms, one device (desktop), buying methods, cost models, and tracking metrics. Those working in the industry know that’s no longer the case today.
Complexity has exploded. We’re inundated with thousands of vendors, and creative for formats that run the gamut (display, video, audio, social, and more). Running a campaign requires multiple platforms – many of which need their own unique login. This doesn’t include solving problems and piecing together communication and strategy over email, PDFs, and Excel spreadsheets. Not to mention all the different devices, buying methods, and cost types.
Managing all of this has become overwhelming and unbearable. How are teams currently managing digital overload?
Today, agencies and marketers divvy their programmatic buying capabilities between various internal teams and outsourcing to external vendors. The preferred method depends on the business model. Marketer models are more diverse, according to our Ad Perceptions study. A significant portion of marketers surveyed (30%) prefer integrated internal teams. Compare this to 47% of agencies, which are less likely to outsource programmatic completely, and prefer instead to maintain specialized programmatic teams.
The amount of data sources and analytics tools being used on a day-to-day basis certainly doesn’t help. For campaigns, digital professionals are gathering data on search, ad serving, CRMs, social media monitoring, mobile and geo-location, syndicated media measurement, credit cards, and sales data. It’s a lot, and it should come as no surprise that 30% of agencies and 51% of marketers find it unmanageable.
How do we expect marketers and agencies to address this going forward?
Well, programmatic and direct buying aren’t going anywhere. So businesses must identify alternative and innovative solutions to differentiate their offering and remain competitive in the digital market – while also controlling costs.
The biggest shift over the next 12 months? Agencies and marketers plan to rely less on purely outsourcing models. And the majority of respondents indicated they plan to increase integrated programmatic and direct teams. Why outsource digital media buying, the thinking goes, when instead you could equip your own teams and leverage your own expertise and take back control?
Want a more comprehensive look at the driving forces behind programmatic investment in 2018? Download the full report.
Calling all digital nerds: February is private marketplaces month at Centro. And what better way to celebrate than by tuning into a PMP webinar?
We know you’re busy, and that there’s no shortage of client calls on your calendar, digital campaigns to create, and media dollars to put to work. But hear us out: According to eMarketer, private marketplace spending will increase to $7.6 billion in 2018, or 46% of U.S. programmatic spend. That number is only expected to grow – meaning PMPs aren’t just a passing digital fad.
What better time than now to understand what they are, what they aren’t, and how to best leverage in your campaign strategies? You’ve got questions, and we’ve got answers. Give us 45 minutes of your day, and we’ll give you:
WHAT: By Invitation Only: A Primer on PMPs
WHEN: Wednesday, February 21 @ 1:30 EST
WHERE: Register here!
We caught up with our fearless speaker Christine Kim before the webinar and rounded up a guide to PMPs. Happy reading! We’ll see you on February 21.
At Centro, we know that keeping up with the trade pubs and latest trends can be tough and time consuming. To make that easier, we’ve compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy our latest list below!
McKinsey’s perspective on how companies should be thinking about and embracing continued digitization of their industries and businesses. It’s 2018, meaning everybody is a tech company (regardless of company type). The ones who will maintain (or take) the lead are companies that don’t think about it as adding tech or digital, but rather about developing a digital strategy that adds value for their core business and customers.
One of the best (and most well-written) recaps of CES, which has had its most exciting consumer electronic advancements come from not what you can see, but rather what you can experience (think less friction). A favorite consideration from the write up: could “voice” become less of the new interface or operating system, and more like a technology you’ll view as WIFI or HDMI today?
In an age of algorithms, the fact is that branding and creativity matter more now than ever. The best targeting in the world isn’t worth a damn if you don’t have something awesome, provocative, or helpful to say.
AdReaction: The Art of Integration, a new study released by Kantar Millward Brown, examines the global state of multichannel advertising campaigns. The study found only 46% of campaigns tested were considered “integrated campaigns,” or campaigns that presented a central idea across channels, while also creating customized content for each channel. Beyond general connectedness of a campaign that all marketers should strive for, integrated campaigns saw their campaign effectiveness increased by 57%.
According to a recent Salesforce report, advertisers are all about that data and, in fact, looking to ramp up their usage of first, second, and third-party data, as they look to segment, target, and drive performance in their media campaigns. 91% of advertisers surveyed have or plan to adopt a DMP in the next year, with 55% of advertisers using DMPs as their primary technology for measuring online ad effectiveness.
The Association of National Advertisers released a study that found the number of marketers who were expanding in-house programmatic media buying capabilities has more than doubled from their 2016 study, rising to 35%.
People-based measurement (PBM) is defined as the use of de-duplicated, cross-channel person level data to measure the impact of marketing, and it can help a marketer enormously when it comes to making connections between customers and campaigns.
Similar to the phased adoption of MRC’s viewable ad impression measurement, this new standard offers industry best practices for collecting and processing data used in estimating audience characteristics at the impression level. You should expect it to evolve and take some time before it’s widely accepted.
The number of influencer posts on Instagram nearly doubled to more than 1.5 million posts globally between 2016 and 2017. Interestingly, this study only measured posts with #ad or #sponsored hashtags, and given this NY Times report on fake followers, 2018 may be the year we redefine what an influencer really is.
Global OTT revenues are projected to hit $64.8 billion by 2021. This has been driven by the fact that Connected TV advertising has seen substantial increases in inventory availability and gotten more sophisticated in targeting tactics. Unfortunately, managing frequency across video providers continues to be a work in progress and will not be fixed until all the players in the space start working better together.
Launched by the IAB last May, ads.txt is intended as a way to help buyers avoid spoofed domains and arbitraged inventory, by listing the companies allowed to sell a particular publisher’s inventory. While tens of thousands of sites now use ads.txt, only 57% of the top 1,000 sites that sell programmatic ads have adopted the practice … though with recent support of the Trustworthy Accountability Group, this number is expected to continue to increase.
Advertising is big business, but will the valuations of companies that rely on ad dollars keep up with the projected growth of advertising and prove the naysayers wrong?
February's DIAL is also available as a PDF. Download it here!
Ask a Basis Expert is a blog series from Basis where we break down the complicated tools, tech, and trends you’ve been hearing about in the trade pubs and around the office. We reach out to some of our in-house experts to ask the tough questions and turn them into bite-sized Q&As for your reading pleasure. The last time you heard from us, we explored Connected TV. This month’s topic: Private marketplaces (PMPs). We talked to Christine Kim, Basis' VP of Client Learning & Enablement, for the breakdown.
Private marketplaces (PMPs) are customized, invitation-only RTB marketplaces where premium publishers make their inventory and audiences available to a select group of buyers. Usually, a negotiation takes place between the buyer and seller to create and agree on a private deal.
This is different from an open marketplace, which is unreserved inventory with no or low rates – which allows a larger pool of users to access inventory.
During this process, a Deal ID is provided by the publisher and given to the buyer – and it can be used to set up their PMP in a DSP. Deal IDs act as a key to the private marketplace. When a deal ID is negotiated, both parties are agreeing on two things: Approved access and a set of buying parameters like floor price and inventory type.
While private marketplace transactions are still subject to an auction, the competition is limited to buyers who have been invited to partake in the auction.
Preferred deals are a specific type of private marketplace that use fixed rates and include prioritization in the ad server (first-look). We’ve got a great analogy on our blog that might help clear this up even more.
Private marketplaces and private exchanges can frequently be confused – likely because they both have the word “private” in them – but they’re two different concepts. We actually have another great analogy for this, too. Check it out!
Using a PMP is a strategic decision. Sometimes it will make sense to add a PMP, and other times it won’t. That being said, here are a few reasons:
1. You’ve already run a campaign and know which sites perform the best, so you can try expanding into your same target and test a PMP.
2. You have high-impact units or video where inventory is not as available in the open marketplace
3. The goal of the campaign is viewability
4. The advertiser is blocked in the open marketplace (like pharma or gambling)
5. You or the advertiser need to know where their ads are running at all times
6. There is a specific package you need from a publisher
The use cases for a direct buy vs. a PMP are very different. If you’re looking for a guaranteed buy or want 100% share of voice on the homepage, go with direct buy. Instances where you’d go with a PMP buy would be similar to the list above. Another reason to go with a PMP instead of programmatic direct? You're not looking for guaranteed inventory, but something slightly better than what's available on the open marketplace.
It’s important to first understand the history of PMPs before we explore the reasons behind their growth. After the digital industry embraced automated buying and RTB, it became apparent that programmatic was not without its faults. Advertisers found themselves worried about things like brand safety, viewability, inventory quality, data capabilities, and transparency. In order to alleviate those concerns, publishers began to offer premium inventory and page placements, high-impact ad units, and the usage of first-party data through PMPs.
The open marketplace and programmatic advertising has gotten a lot of bad press lately. Having more control over inventory and being in brand-safe environments has become increasingly important, and advertisers are responding by starting to shift to PMPs with even more frequency. In fact, according to Digiday, ESPN is reportedly spending 95% of their programmatic buys through PMPs.
Blocklists protect against purchasing specific domains, but oftentimes the point of running on a PMP is that you typically already know where your ad is running and don’t need to protect against that. So, while you don’t necessarily need to use a blocklist, it’s also true that buying premium content does not always mean protection against the unique and specific brand safety concerns of each advertiser.
If you need to use a large block list with your deal, consider looking for a different deal or creating your own. But if you’re only looking to avoid a few domains, then layering in a small blocklist is OK. Brand safety contextual segments can be considered as well.
Today, the most common form of digital media buying is a hybrid of programmatic and direct. PMPs have the potential to bridge that gap by taking the best of both worlds and giving advertisers and buyers what they want and need from a buy.
We can expect to see continued growth in PMPs – especially as technology makes it easier to implement them. According to the AMA, there’s been more growth in particular with Connected TV PMPs and mobile PMPs in the last six quarters.
Of course, header bidding has the potential to change all this – but we’ll have to stay tuned.
Reach out to info@basis.com for more resources that will help you understand private marketplaces.
According to a notable Digiday State of the Industry survey, 45% of agency employees said the most challenging aspect of their current job is the number of resources and tools they utilize. In that same survey, 25% of respondents said they are switching between software tools and platforms 21 times or more per day.
We recently partnered with Ad Perceptions to survey digital media professionals in ad tech, and the message was loud and clear: the tools we're using at our digital day jobs have become unmanageable.
On average, advertisers work with 4-5 programmatic vendors across the different ad tech categories. Among business management tools, advertisers regularly employ multiple business and campaign management tools.
Looks like the ad tech industry has a bit of a workflow problem.
We’re constantly seeking and using technology in our personal lives that allow us to be more productive and efficient. It would seem like common sense to take the same approach in our professional lives. So, why does the adoption of centralized technology at work seem so impossible?
The entire digital media industry is built on the promise of technology doing more, reaching more customers and being more effective – but the tools and systems we’re using are outdated, disconnected, and inefficient, and we can’t keep up.
With so many apps, platforms and screens being used to execute a single digital campaign, there are enormous reverberating effects, and the cost adds up quickly.
The lack of centralized operations in digital media workflow manifests itself in a number of detrimental ways:
And the more spread out the agency is, the more exacerbated the problem becomes. With teams in multiple cities and offices, it becomes a challenge to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Many agencies have attempted to combat this by throwing more people at the problem. With team members in ‘task mode’ all day, you’re certainly looking at additional overhead, but are you looking at additional profitability? How about efficiency or efficacy? Additional FTEs, like media directors, planners, buyers, and more, are all spending the majority of their days switching back and forth between Excel, Google docs, Outlook, and more for campaign set-up, negotiating rates, and campaign execution.
The end result: You can’t get ahead while you’re ‘getting your house in order.’ So, how do we fix this?
Basis. Software that automates your digital media – all with a single sign-on, with every team, task, and transaction in one powerful platform:
With Basis, your digital media teams are using one tool – all the while cutting their screen-switching by 45% and boosting productivity by 32% — and spending more time meeting client demand. Every step necessary to run an informed, successful and powerful digital media business is available in one centralized platform.
Bottom line: It’s time to focus on your bottom line. With Basis, it’s never been easier to do.
To learn more about Basis or request a demo, visit our website or email [email protected].
As unrelated and abstract as it may seem, a juggling act is the perfect visual representation for programmatic advertising today. Programmatic advertising has become a mainstay and a necessity in the digital media industry – but it’s not without its confusion or difficulties.
We know, we know. You’ve heard it all before. The current digital landscape isn’t a surprise to those of us steeped in the day-to-day complexities. We should be asking the tough questions though: How can businesses grow without adding more fuel to the chaotic fire? How can digital media professionals remain competitive in a fluid and ever-evolving industry? What solutions and tools are available that will boost performance, make the most of the data, and offer the most value?
Given Centro’s focus on helping to minimize the industry’s chaos, we decided to get the lay of the land and the state of the (programmatic) state. And we went straight to the source: the digital labor force. We talked to advertisers and marketers who are tasked with making sense of it all every day.
By partnering with research firm Advertiser Perceptions to survey more than 150 digital media professionals, we were able to uncover pain points, expectations, and wish lists for programmatic advertising in 2018.
Most of the optimism lies with programmatic advertising: Nearly 40% of digital media ad spenders that we surveyed project PMP spending growth, and 30% project growth on open RTB. What’s also clear from the results is growth in programmatic doesn’t eliminate the need for direct buying – 62% of respondents said they will maintain their direct/IO-based buying in 2018.
With both media buying models intact and securing a piece of the digital media pie, it’s become increasingly important for digital professionals to find ways to mix the two in order to differentiate their offering.
But the tools needed to do just that have become unmanageable. Today, agencies and marketers divvy up their programmatic capabilities between external vendors and various internal teams. Our survey revealed that, on average, advertisers work with 4-5 programmatic vendors across the different ad tech categories – ‘DSPs,’ ‘data provider and management tools,’ and ‘other.’ Among business management tools, advertisers employ multiple business and campaign management tools, with ad servers deemed the most important among respondents.
The line between investment and performance is more blurred than ever before, and we lack insight into what’s working and what’s not – leading to increased costs and less control. It takes a village to make programmatic and digital buying work in tandem effectively for your unique business goals.
And, interestingly enough, our survey revealed there’s increasing desire for efficiency and control in the digital workplace. In the next 12 months, 90% of agencies predict they will handle some parts or all of programmatic buying in-house. When asked why they planned to bring programmatic capabilities in-house, respondents ranked control as the biggest deciding factor.
Which begs the question: Why outsource when you could dive into programmatic advertising on your own and begin to take back control?
In this survey, we also took an in-depth look the state of media buyers and planners – specifically the way media teams are being constructed to manage programmatic today, how programmatic management will evolve, and insights into the factors driving programmatic in-house adoption.
To get a comprehensive look at programmatic advertising expectations in 2018, download the full report here.
Making a resolution this year? You’re not alone. When the calendar flips to January 1 every year, it’s the perfect opportunity to wipe the slate clean, set your intentions for the next 365 days, and start fresh. Like most people, you’ve probably already made your personal resolutions for 2018. By this point, they’re in full swing and maybe you’ve already had a chance to break them – at the very least you’re probably regretting the decision to put the Christmas cookies down and use your gym membership. (I know I am.)
But, have you thought about your resolutions for your business, your teams, and your campaigns? We have. Our recommendation for digital media agencies in 2018: Resolve to get organized. Lack of organization is the biggest road block to success and performance, and creating organization at every level of your business has the power to free up valuable time in your day, create operational excellence, and put you back in control this year.
Have you ever been house hunting and walked through a professionally staged home? Every element inside is perfectly curated and organized, and you’re able to see how each item in every room works together and flows seamlessly into the next – contributing and enhancing the overall value of the entire space.
As unrelated as it may seem, the digital media industry feels a lot like a house that hasn’t been staged. The digital landscape is cluttered and complex, and agencies haven’t found a controlled and effective way to do digital. And, combined with the different and disconnected systems we use in our everyday jobs, it’s nearly impossible to find time to step back, figure out what works, what doesn’t – and what should have been thrown out 10 years ago.
Chances are, your digital media operations ‘house’ is out of order and it’s time to take back control. And with a new year approaching, what better time to take a fresh look under the hood of your digital media ops?
You can’t expect different results if you haven’t made any changes. So, what do you need to change to get organized and reap the performance payoff in 2018? Here’s a list of what’s in and what’s out in digital media this year:
OUT
IN
An organized business is a high-performing business, so let’s make 2018 the year you keep your resolutions. For more information on how Basis can be your go-to platform for organization and put you back in control in 2018, reach out to [email protected] or request a demo.
At Centro, we believe we can make the world a better place. It’s a pillar of our corporate manifesto: Each individual is responsible for his/her own improvement, the improvement of the company, and the improvement of those around them.
This belief is best exemplified with Centro’s Giving Tree program. This philanthropic initiative encourages employees, with the help of regional liaisons in each office, to commit their time and fundraising efforts to various associations, charities, and organizations. In return, Centro matches a portion of some of the funds raised.
Below is a recap of some of the Giving Tree initiatives across the offices so far this year:
At Centro, we know that keeping up with the trade pubs and latest trends can be tough and time consuming. To make that easier, we’ve compiled all the articles, reports, and other bits of awesomeness you may have missed, but should definitely read. Enjoy our latest list below!
Trials and Tribulations For Brands In-Housing Their Programmatic Advertising
More and more advertisers are bringing programmatic in-house, and when you combine that with a brand team’s ability to manage their own first-party data, there’s promise of more efficiencies and transparency. Some of the challenges these teams face range from hiring and training, vetting new partners, and retooling how they’re working with existing, longstanding partners.
Forrester Report: Predictions 2018, A Year of Reckoning
As the economy grows and signs of the marketplace as a whole changing, Forrester’s 2018 predictions describe how companies looking to evolve into modern marketers will need to take aggressive action with regards to customer experience and new technologies. Or else marketers will be faced with a year of reckoning as advertising budgets remain flat.
The Duopoly Will Capture Almost All Advertising Growth In 2018
The latest report out of Magna Global puts 84% of current share of global digital ad investment with the big two: Google and Facebook. If that seems like an incredible data point, Zenith also released their latest numbers and claim both platforms accounted for 96% of growth in global digital ad spend in 2017. Could next year be the year that Amazon steps up in a big way to be the challenger? It won’t be from new dollars coming from CPG, auto, telecom, or retail sectors, because each will continue to cut or keep their overall ad spend flat in 2018, while advertisers will look to shift investment into programmatic buys.
LUMA’s State of Digital Marketing at DMS West 17
Take a look at Luma Partners’ yearly report, which contains market updates with continued consolidation via M&A activity, ad tech ecosystem considerations regarding the opportunity beyond the duopoly, and industry trends (and demands) towards more integrated tech platforms.
Publishers See a Slow Shift, Not Rush, To First-Price Programmatic Ad Auctions
Programmatic media is seeing a shift from second-priced auctions to first-priced auctions as buyers look to gain a better understanding of the true value of an impression, and publishers are able to offer more transparency – and often better win rates.
5 Ways to Protect Against the Ad Fraud Surge in Q4
Ad fraud levels will reach their peak during the holiday season, and White Ops has some good ideas on how to ensure that additional investment does not get stolen. Tips range from increased transparency and accountability to making sure targeting parameters are set up to deliver human, non-bot traffic.
Mobile Ad Trends: Ad Fraud Tops Transparency Concerns
For a channel that is seen as more complicated that desktop, marketers identified ad fraud as their top concern within mobile programmatic, followed closely by viewability, and targeting.
15 Things You Should Know About Location Based Advertising
Fifteen members of the Forbes Agency Council offered key considerations all brands should know about location-based advertising before they get started, including some tips you probably already know (it can be highly personalized and measurable) and some to start thinking about (consider context and intent).
Apple’s New Operating System Will Kill the Cookie
Apple's latest software, iOS 11, features "intelligent tracking prevention," or ITP for short. ITP blocks the use of third-party data after 24 hours, changing the way advertisers can use cookies. What does this mean for consumers and, more importantly, for marketers and technology providers?
5 Key Questions to Ask an ACR Wielding Vendor
Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) data from smart TVs can be confusing for many advertisers and marketers, as they’re not quite sure where the data comes from, how reliable it is, how it’s gathered or how representative it is of the viewing audience. What are the key questions to ask (and get answered) before working with the dozens of companies selling products that make use of ACR?
December’s DIAL is also available as a PDF. Download it here.