33Across Blog | Programmatic News & Trends

What was the buzz around the office last week? CMOs prefer to outsource programmatic, advancements in ad tech must continue, and Facebook's MRC accreditation.

1. Outsourcing programmatic

In a recent survey of 120 CMOs, 43% revealed that they outsource their programmatic advertising efforts. With transparency and fraud being the main focus of many campaigns, the decision to outsource can be tricky. On the other hand, finding talent to run programmatic campaigns can present its own set of challenges. Emarketer discusses how some brands are choosing to manage some aspects of their programmatic campaigns while leaving some of the difficult aspects to the pros.

What was the buzz around the office last week? Buyers and publishers are putting quality first, ad fraud concerns may also end domain spoofing, and how publishers plan to monetize over-the-top video.

1. What happens when pubs and buyers choose quality  

Looks like ad tech is rooting for the premium publisher. Thanks to 3rd party verification tools; viewability and audience metrics have improved the relationship between buyers and publishers. Premium publishers have also nurtured their relationship with users by providing them a positive experience. According to AdExchanger, advertisers are moving further away from scale and going towards quality instead.

Last week in sunny Scottsdale, myself as a few other members of our sales team attended our first Digiday event- Digiday Programmatic Summit. While experiencing the humidity-free heat of Arizona I enjoyed connecting with brands and agencies throughout the three-day event. Discussions surrounding transparency, metrics, and artificial intelligence dominated numerous conversations. Unfortunately I could not bring back the amazing “lazy river” ride I went on however here are a few of my takeaways.

Transparency Is the New Black
Apart of nearly every conversation, transparency was the top buzzword during Digiday Programmatic Summit. Ever since the YouTube debacle, transparency is now demanded across the board. Brands are learning that successful partner relationships stem from consistent communication and the ability to have the curtain pulled back. With this, publishers should understand that media spend will indeed follow transparency.

Simplicity Works Best
There was quite a bit of a debate regarding the use of multiple SSPs, DSPs, and vendors; versus using only one.  Similarly there were several discussion surrounding brands that may have multiple KPIs. When looking at
30 different KPIs it is nearly impossible to determine campaign results. The consensus during Digiday was to nurture the KPI conversation by choosing to blend optimization metrics or to simply focus on 1-3 metrics. This enables a clear optimization path for vendors and simple determination for ROI.

Robots Will Not Take Over
We are hearing more and more about artificial intelligence within the digital landscape.  While it's certainly a part of our future it will not completely replace the human component of media planning. The digital advertising community should understand that AI will be used to make media buying smarter.  A robot is able to ingest and compute more data than a human however campaign initiatives will always need human consideration.

Getting It Right With Mobile
Mobile advertising has had its share of challenges including the fact that cookies do not work with mobile. Fortunately for all of us, mobile devices are not going away therefore we as an industry need to get smarter. Accurate device IDs, location targeting, and monitoring mobile ad performance more strategically will all help to improve mobile advertising.

What's the buzz around the office this week? The New York Times reports on ad blocking, the secret to The Trade Desk's success, and Hulu goes programmatic.