Five Myths of Programmatic AdvertisingProgrammatic ad buying is, simply put, a method of

putting your message in front of your desired audience

at the right place, at the right time, and at the right

price. It’s a way of cost-effectively displaying ads while

your customers and potential customers are using

the Internet.

Programmatic ad buying is effective: it allows you to

show your ad to your target audience for less.

A Channel Surrounded by Myths Still, myths prevail in the programmatic ad universe.

“Isn’t this the same thing as Google Display Network?”

you might ask. Or, “It sounds good, but isn’t it just too

expensive for a small company to run those types of

online ad campaigns?” You might wonder what the

difference is between programmatic ad buying and

all those banner ads you see splashed across the top

of every website in town: “Isn’t that all we’re talking

about here?”

In this article, we tackle some of the popular myths

and realities of programmatic ad buying. We’ve built

multiple programmatic strategies from scratch, and

we’re constantly updating our own playbooks and

expertise based on the latest developments and

changes in the field. Read on to uncover the truths

behind the myths in the programmatic ad space, and

how knowing the difference can help you take your

company’s digital marketing to the next level.

Continued

Programmatic ad buying is, simply put, a method of putting

your message in front of your desired audience at the right place, at the right time, and at the right price.

Point It is a full-service, award-winning digital marketing agency that helps clients achieve results, worldwide.

pointit.com

Leveling the Playing Field: Programmatic TermsBefore we delve into the myths, let’s define a few

terms. Programmatic ad buying is the automated

process by which ad inventory is auctioned and sold

to the highest bidder in the approximately 0.3 seconds

between the time a user clicks on a link, and the time

it takes for the page to load. The inventory consists of

all the available space for advertisements you see on

nearly every well-trodden website out there today.

In essence, every single time you load a page while

you’re browsing the internet, there’s about a 0.3

second delay as that page loads. In that 0.3 seconds all

of the available ad space that’s on that page is being

sold off in real time, whether it’s through a direct buy

or whether it’s through a real time auction. That’s what

digital marketers are talking about when we discuss

“inventory.” Inventory exists in many formats, including

desktop, mobile, social media, video, and native.

Integrating Programmatic Advertising into Marketing StrategyIt’s important to note that programmatic ad buying

should be a part of an overall robust, multifaceted

marketing strategy—not an end in and of itself. How

your programmatic strategy fits in with the rest of your

marketing efforts is an important part of the digital

marketing puzzle as well. Keep your overall goals in

mind when considering what programmatic ad buying

is (and isn’t) and how it can work for you.

Now, let’s tackle five of the common myths that are

out there, and learn more about how programmatic

ad buying could be a powerful asset to your marketing

strategy.

MYTH

1Doesn’t programmatic advertising only give me access to “leftover”

inventory that isn’t premium quality?No! Programmatic offers access to almost every site

on the internet. There is so much available inventory

as every new page load brings a swath of new

inventory. Billions per second. Because of this, most

of the inventory from sites with inventory is auctioned

and sold through an ad exchange. Essentially, we’re

bidding on premium inventory that is being sold

in an auction format because the publisher (the

website owner, in other words) didn’t sell ahead of

time. Networks and exchanges manage this inventory

and supply-side platforms (SSP) make it available to

demand-side platforms (DSP) for programmatic buying.

However, programmatic header bidding has made

publisher direct inventory available by allowing sources

to bid on the inventory alongside other inventory in

the auction. DSPs also negotiate private deals with

publishers—a setup called programmatic direct, which

guarantees available impressions on a network to

the buyer.

MYTH

2Isn’t programmatic ad buying the same thing as Google Display Network?

Not quite! Think of Google Display Network as

just one of the many possible ways that your ad

can be served to your desired audience. It is an

easy access point to programmatic ad buying, but

it’s comparatively very small. There are over 2,000

point solutions in the programmatic ecosystem. The

Google Display Network is just one of them. If you’re

relying on the Google Display Network to reach your

audiences, bring new users into your conversion funnel,

and identify new users for you to target, then you are

leaving ad dollars on the table that might work more

effectively for you in a more robust programmatic ad

buying strategy.

Continued

“It’s important to note that programmatic ad buying should be a part of an overall robust, multifaceted marketing strategy—not an end in and of itself. How your programmatic strategy fits in with the rest of your marketing efforts is an important part of the digital marketing puzzle as well.”

Programmatic advertising offers access to almost every site on the internet. There is ample available inventory as every new page load brings a swath of new inventory.

Some people say that programmatic advertising is

“Google Display Network with a conversion optimizer.”

In reality, the GDN is just a small slice of the bigger

programmatic pie. Purchasing programmatically

through a DSP offers a great deal more optimization

functionality, more targeting capabilities, and a wider

range of inventory than what the Google Display

Network offers. The GDN only accesses the AdSense

ad exchange to buy inventory. AdSense is only a part of

the larger Google Ad Exchange, and a full-fledged DSP

accesses between 25 and 50 different

ad exchanges.

MYTH

3Isn’t this just too expensive to do effectively, especially for smaller

companies?Quite the opposite. In the past, companies that wanted

to advertise had to create large departments devoted

to creating print, television, or radio ads that invariably

cost a great deal of money. We have the ability with

today’s online advertising to target narrow audiences

and bid on ad space in real time to cut out unwanted

audiences, thus buying inventory more efficiently. This

process spends ad dollars where they are most likely to

reap benefits.

MYTH

4Isn’t it difficult to see where my ad dollars are going with programmatic?

Companies that are ready to explore the programmatic

possibilities might start with an in-house effort, but

of course, agencies also exist to offer expertise,

transparency, and cost consolidation when you are

ready to expand your strategy. The challenge in the

online advertising ecosystem today is understanding

where your ad dollars are going. Are they effective?

Are they being optimized continually? What

percentage of cost is going towards strategy and

planning and what percent against the media itself?

The best agencies add transparency to this process,

increasing the marginal value of your ad dollars.

MYTH

5Isn’t programmatic ad buying just banner ads?

Not at all. Banner ads are just one of the many ways

that companies can reach out to their audience online.

They can be very effective, but the more touchpoints

you have with your audience, the higher the chance

you have to interact with potential customers. With

programmatic technology, you can purchase video,

audio, and native inventory, covering all media points

that are available online. Programmatic video is

booming and top-quality inventory is becoming more

available through OTT (over-the-top) devices.

Track Success with AnalyticsWhen we look closely at the myths behind

programmatic ad buying, it’s possible to tease out just

a few wide-ranging best practices for approaching

your own ad strategy. Most importantly, it’s key to

ask your marketing team to define your goals for an

ad campaign as specifically as possible. In today’s

digital media landscape, just about every click and

action online can be logged to learn more about

your intended audience’s interests, actions, and

buying patterns. That makes it crucial to understand

exactly what you’re looking for (bottom-of-the-funnel

sales? social media follows? top-of-the-funnel brand

recognition?) before tackling the tactics of your

programmatic ad strategy.

Continued

“Most importantly, it’s key to ask your marketing team to define your goals for an ad campaign as specifically as possible.”

“Think of Google Display Network as just one of the many possible ways that your ad can be served to your desired audience.”

“The challenge in the online advertising ecosystem today is understanding where your ad dollars are going.”

Banner ads are just one of the many ways that companies can reach out to

their audience online.

We have the ability with today’s online advertising to target narrow audiences and bid on ad space in real time to cut out unwanted audiences, thus buying

inventory more efficiently.

From there, look at programmatic advertising as just

one piece of your overall strategy for building out all

levels of your sales funnel. What does your content

calendar look like? Are you using webinars to educate

potential customers about your brand? What gated

assets are you using to provide value to potential

customers while building your audience? These are

compelling questions to ask when you think about the

place that programmatic ad buying could have in your

overall advertising ecosystem.

Sum It Up: Getting the Most Out of ProgrammaticFinally, remember the key to effective online

advertising: Feed your funnel. Are you reaching

your users? Are you bringing new users into that

conversion funnel? Are you making sure that you’re

getting the most value out of your digital marketing

efforts by keeping the funnel healthy, and fed, and

sustainable? Are you looking at your entire strategy as

one interdependent ecosystem (such as looking at your

paid search campaigns and programmatic ad buying

campaigns as complementary channels)?

Companies that view their programmatic and display

campaigns separately from search campaigns are

immediately limiting the effectiveness of each

strategy. Look at your funnel strategy holistically,

with a view toward programmatic as one of the

many complementary channels to your other digital

advertising efforts.

“Finally, remember the key to effective online advertising: Feed your funnel.“

Look at programmatic as just one piece of your overall strategy for

building out all levels of your sales funnel.

Look at your funnel strategy holistically, with a view toward

programmatic as one of the many complementary channels to your other digital advertising efforts.

When you’re ready to learn more,

we’re here to help. Point It is a digital marketing agency

that manages your entire strategy, top to bottom, with full transparency so that you know exactly where your ad dollars

are going and what benefit they are creating for you.

Call: 206.525.3000 Ping: info@pointit.com

>> SEE IF YOU QUALIF Y FOR A PROGR AMMATIC CHECKUP!

Contact us to learn more about how a programmatic ad strategy could

benefit your company.