• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, June 8, 2010

There are problems with automation, as the online ad industry matures. Don't expect to set it and go. Software glitches happen. Still, automation continues top of mind for ad and marketing industry professionals who realize they can achieve higher return on investments through conversions, not only for search campaigns, but display ads and more.

So, I wasn't surprised to hear about a survey Centro plans to release Wednesday that probed the digital media planning community to gauge productivity and efficiencies. I've written in the past about the need to automate. (Thank goodness for folks like Yahoo's Gabe Elliott willing to share their experiences by reminding us about Yahoo's early entrance into automation.) It's not a sexy subject, but as the ad industry continues to mature, antiquated processes and legacy software and hardware will contribute to struggles of clients demanding higher returns for investments.

Digital media professionals are feeling it now through longer workdays, outdated technologies and a disproportionate amount of time devoted to the execution of administrative and logistical tasks versus strategic thinking and planning for clients.

Centro's email survey of which nearly 300 media directors, media supervisors, media planners, media buyers or account executives reveal 45% work more than 10 hours daily on average, 43% spend more than four hours daily working in Excel, and 49% spend more than four hours daily composing or responding to email strictly for work purposes.

The findings also reveal 85% admit wanting to spend more time on strategic work, but are required to devote the bulk of their time to managing administrative or logistical activities. It's interesting to note that 40% of those who responded to the survey, conducted May 11 through 14, 2010, have been in the industry for eight or more years.

It's much more expensive to place an Internet campaign, compared with TV, making it more difficult to return a profit on the business, according to Centro Chief Executive Officer Shawn Riegsecker. "We don't think the technology exists today to automate these processes," he says, and points me to Transis, "the first automated displaying buying systems" released in March.

Riegsecker says Centro engineers continue to work on a feature in Transis that will automate the media planning process. Based on the information provided to the platform, it will respond back with the most optimized display campaign. The planner doesn't won't need to do anything more. He estimates it will save media planners between 60% and 80% of time. The tool is scheduled for release early next year.

For now, since the technology doesn't exist, according to Riegsecker, media buyers try to facilitate the purchase through traditional methods like email, spreadsheets and paper-based contracts. "The organization is numbing," he says. That means they have to buy in bulk, so they spend a lot of money in ad exchanges, portals, and ad networks. That means clients get watered-down media plans."

Riegsecker says the survey confirms the need. I don't. The need is there regardless of the data. As industries mature, old processes and the inability to adapt become like anchors that weigh and slow innovation. The ad industry embraced online media with open arms, but it will take technology and automation to generate the most from it.