Though its implications are yet to be truly felt in the mainstream, the rise of digital programmatic advertising is already sending shockwaves through the advertising industry itself. Experts at the IAB report that programmatic advertising is already responsible for more than 45% of total online advertising spend and expected to rocket to around 80% by 2018. While there are certainly challenges to be faced in terms of keeping up with the pace of the technology behind it, this sea-change in how the industry is targeting users is largely good news for both advertisers and their clients. Let’s take a quick trip through some of the main implications.

It’s All about Efficiency

The planning and targeting efficiency of many forms of digital advertising has been historically spotty, but that’s finally on the verge of truly changing forever. The rise of the ad tech industry over the past five years has seen a new wave of companies relentlessly chip away at pain points in the overall process and let computers do the heavy lifting. From television to mobile, the days of having to jump through media company hoops with account setup, campaign management, and reporting are numbered.

No More Throwing Mud at the Wall

The increasingly sophisticated personal targeting that programmatic advertising allows is enabling advertisers to reach out to their audience in ever more effectively direct ways. The holy grail of advertising has always been a perfectly personalised pitch to each individual and we’re not a million miles away from that being a reality. Rather than being forced to aim messaging at broad socio-economic groupings, advertisers are now able to craft campaigns for incredibly targeted micro-audiences with the confidence that their efforts will automatically hit the right people at the right time. This has significant implications in terms of everything from copy to conversion tracking. Expect to start seeing more of the numerical rigour we’d traditionally associate with direct marketing to be a key factor in campaigns of all shapes and sizes.

Multi-Channel Targeting Is Just Around the Corner

We’re not quite there yet, but it won’t be long before persistent, multi-channel targeting is available across all devices. Expect to see ad tech companies closing that circle in the near future so that you will be recognised as you on every single device you consume content on. Picture a world where all advertising that you see on television is specifically targeted to your household, and where campaigns branch out and persist with further personalisation across each family member’s own suite of devices. We’re not far away from it.

Moment Marketing is on the Move

Real-time technology and top-notch targeting are starting to open up brand new advertising opportunities around breaking events that would have been simply impossible even five years ago. Nike’s Phenomenal Shot campaign from the last soccer World Cup was an early indicator of the type of creative approaches that are now possible. Google’s recent announcement of real-time ads shows that brands now have the technology to jump on micro-moments with carefully crafted mixtures of pre-made content and breaking inserts. Expect to see entire new categories of creative being invented in the next twelve months.

Keep Ahead of the Curve

At MediaSmiths, we make it part of our job to stay out in front of trending technologies to keep our clients firmly ahead of the pack. If you’re interested in finding out more about the opportunities and challenges that programmatic advertising brings to the table, our team of experts are ready to help you craft an appropriate strategy that will drive digital results. Get in touch today!