From papyrus wall posters to interactive graphics and videos – advertising has been shifting, adapting, and improving for millennia. Every now and then there came a change that completely revolutionized the process and set the course for the future of marketing. In this article, we will discuss the most current one: the introduction of programmatic advertisement buying. What is it and what role does it play? Find out below!
What Is Programmatic Ad Purchasing?
Programmatic ad purchasing means using platforms, systems, or programs to purchase digital advertisements. It is based on algorithms and automation to eliminate the steps usually associated with ad purchasing: requesting, tenders, quotes, and negotiations.
Examples of a system used for programmatic ad buying include supply- and demand-side platforms. These enable ad space owners to post and automatically sell their advertising inventory while letting marketers purchase the space and place their ads with minimum effort and maximum effectiveness.
How Did Programmatic Ad Purchasing Revolutionize the Industry?
Before programmatic advertising was introduced, purchasing or renting advertising space was a long and strenuous process. Marketers had to contact a middleman or the owner of such space, make bids, and negotiate – it could take weeks to get an advert live. With programmatic advertising, this has changed.
Nowadays, all that digital advertisers need to do is input their ads and criteria into the right system – that’s where their effort ends. Suitable advertising space is chosen automatically by the algorithms, and so is the price, while advertisers may spend time on more productive tasks – for instance, coming up with new strategies.
The Benefits of Programmatic Ad Purchasing
Apart from making the process of purchasing advertising space significantly easier, programmatic advertising comes with many additional advantages. What are they in particular?
- Higher conversion rates – The main benefit of programmatic ads is that they are displayed only to suitable users who fit into your target audience. This way, they are much more likely to lead to conversions, since they only show up for those who should or could become interested in the marketed product.
- Better ROI – With higher conversion rates comes a better return on investment. With programmatic advertising, you mitigate the risks of your ads being displayed to people completely mismatching your audience – every impression matters.
- Personalization – Programmatic ad buying leads to one extra benefit: enhanced personalization. The algorithms learn and analyze each user separately, letting you expose the users to highly customized content that will truly resonate with them – a different ad for every marketing persona.
The Takeaway
Programmatic ad buying is a true revolution. With it, marketers can save extensive amounts of time spent on negotiating and purchasing advertising space. What’s more, it is also beneficial for the effectiveness of the campaigns introduced. Being displayed only to a target audience that might be interested in the products, with the possibility to personalize them for every marketing persona, such adverts will come with higher conversion rates than conventional ones. Thus, it shouldn’t be surprising that they become more and more popular.
Bob Duncan is the lead writer and partner on ConversationsWithBianca.com. A passionate parent, he’s always excited to dive into the conversation about anything from parenting, food & drink, travel, to gifts & more!