More than two thirds of digital ad spending is currently under the programmatic umbrella. Over $30 billion in digital programmatic ad spending is estimated this year, and $38 billion in 2018.* Clearly, if you have not yet embraced programmatic digital ad buying, then you may want to start paying attention. Why are brands flocking to programmatic digital ad buying? 
 
The answer is simple: efficiency. Unless you love spending your day negotiating direct buys, programmatic ad buying provides an efficient way to place targeted media through real-time bidding (RTB). This method of placing media through auctions maximizes ROI on campaigns by eliminating the bureaucracy of ad buying, and allows for real-time optimizations through AI and predictive modeling. Buying remnant ad space through an auction on Tier 1 sites at a reduced rate certainly won’t hurt your bottom line.
 
So why not go 100% programmatic with your media buying? The answer is not so simple. Depending on campaign goals, direct buys with high SOV, or custom rich media ads could be a necessary component to achieve campaign target KPIs; these placements are sometimes not available through programmatic buys. In addition, programmatic ad buying doesn’t guarantee that your ad will be shown when you need it most; for time sensitive campaigns, it might be better to secure your inventory and avoid buying through an auction.
 
Since programmatic buying is done by software algorithms, which lack the emotional connections necessary to determine brand association with surrounding content, brand protection has become a hot topic in 2017. With AT&T (along with other brands) pulling their ads from YouTube due to “questionable” content that could be associated with their brand, third party brand protection services like Double Verify and Integrated Ad Science have developed their business models around ensuring brand protection and monitoring ad fraud. Without third party verification, you run the risk of multiple ads on a publisher site, ad stacking, impression fraud, click fraud and having your beautiful new creative placed next to a video of some teenager with his pants down at a supermarket.
 
To find out how Oxford can help you navigate the programmatic digital world, contact us: solutions@oxfordcommunications.com
 
*eMarketer