Common myths associated with programmatic advertising

Programmatic has long had the association of complexity, risk, and confusion, reports The Drum, but as it continues to move up the industry agenda, growing in stature and revenue, media businesses know they need a strategy to embrace the shift in trading model. Sue Hunt, UK MD at Improve Digital tackles some common myths associated with the space, and how they can be addressed.

Programmatic will cannibalise my sales
It is still a common concern amongst publishers that embracing programmatic trading risks revenue by opening up back door access for agencies to buy the same space, at a lower price. This may be true if programmatic is only viewed in the context of “remnant” inventory. Unsold, unmanaged advertising space that rarely makes it onto a direct deal.

The industry has moved on. With the abundance of data available, and the sophistication of how that audience data can be applied to buys, every impression has a value. Making that content and audience available through programmatic channels has been proven to increase fill rates, yields and overall revenue. Performance, and increasingly brand budgets are being diverted to trading desks, so without a programmatic solution in place, these budgets will simply be spent elsewhere. They are rarely made available to direct buys due to the centrality of data and efficiency of technology.

At Improve Digital, our philosophy is to give the publisher safeguards to mitigate that perceived risk. Floor price controls can be managed to every level of granularity, with or without private marketplaces, ensuring audience and environment are traded at a fair price, complimenting not compromising direct channels.

Read the rest of this article at The Drum.