The evolution of programmatic in 2021
Last week, we attended the Ashton Media Programmatic Summit. Here’s what we learnt, key takeaways, and what we are working towards in the programmatic space this year.
Identity and data
- Identity was a huge theme of the day. There are two main solutions to consider: identity in a walled garden, usually powered by first-party data (Google, Amazon, Verizon, Facebook, etc.), and the interoperable market-wide, open-source solution led by The Trade Desk (Unified ID 2.0). Both of these identity solutions have pros and cons.
- There was a call-out from nearly every speaker about how important contextual targeting will be moving forward. Test it and become comfortable!
- First-party data strategies are going to be increasingly important for brands. The collection of accurate and scalable data for personalisation will be key, and this can be enriched where possible for further value via a CDP or DMP.
- Small to medium publishers without first-party data will struggle and will need solutions (single sign-on (SSO) is one, but is not yet adopted). Buyers will only be addressable on publishers with a first-party data network.
- It’s essential to clean out your supply by buying from reputable sources, and utilise verification techniques for more valuable media investments.
- Google’s FLoC solution, effectively a cohort of anonymised users that show similar online behaviours to build targeting pools, will be important but is met with some scrutiny and tentativeness.
- The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has pulled together an interim report to outline the power of tech players in the market, and their ability to generate potentially unfair revenue given their standing and influence on all aspects of the supply chain. The ACCC is doing some good work around consumer privacy, which may fold into consumer law in the coming year. Keep your eyes peeled for the final report.
Metrics of success, and channels
- Attention will be a metric of success moving forward. This is spearheaded by one of our newest partners, Playground XYZ. While still in testing stages, there are some promising AI results regarding the attentiveness of ad units. We have previously used viewability, which is a great metric to measure if there were opportunities for ads to be seen, but not if the ad was actually seen. Attention metrics represent the evolution of viewability.
- CTV will continue to grow. Understanding cross-environment (linear/digital) incremental reach is still something that the industry is striving for, but there is no complete solution. We are still waiting on VOZ for planning, and there are some measurement solutions out there, but they are not yet completely scalable.
- User-generated content (UGC) can be just as engaging as premium BVOD content, and it comes at a much lower cost. It’s important to note that there’s a risk of brand safety as it is not regulated.
- Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) will continue to grow. The platforms have seen more spend this quarter compared to the previous two years combined.
At Bench, we are constantly testing solutions as we enter a new era of data and privacy, and we can talk you through how to apply these as part of your programmatic action plan.
