• by Thomas Moyer , November 1, 2013

Addressing a brand’s image, reaching its target audience, or simply maintaining an existing base requires thoughtful direction as consumers consume more content on more devices and platforms than ever. Most of these mediums can be tapped in real time via programmatic buying and, managed correctly, will amplify campaign objectives.  According to the Wall Street Journal, “Programmatic buying is set to rise 56% this year to reach $7.4 billion in the U.S., roughly 53% of the display ad market, according to a study from Magna Global. About $3.9 billion of that total will come through real-time bidding platforms.”

Although many savvy marketers are familiar with RTB, there are a few opportunities not always in the spotlight that can give your brand initiatives an added dimension it has not had before:

Mobile Exchange

As consumers rely more and more on their mobile and tablet devices, mobile advertising is becoming front and center for many advertisers, especially those in the travel and retail space.  Marketers in these verticals have struggled buying this media due to the limited tracking available.  Whether in-app, off app, and/or mobile search, these advertisers have promoted branding initiatives, app downloads, and sign-ups through mobile ad networks.  Today, those same advertisers can take their campaign one step further by including exchange-based mobile inventory with enhanced analytics that go post-click.  Marketers can go to the major DSPs for this inventory or turn to smaller players like AApsalar that can provide an additional layer of analytics.  Alternatively, a mobile analytics layer for any mobile media is a great option from companies like AD-X or Kochava.

Programmatic Branding

Exchange-based buying is not just for the direct-response advertiser anymore.  RTB is now used by some to supplement brand-based initiatives.  Brands can leverage video, rich media and display banners to distribute their brand’s messages to people who have never visited their site, along with retargeting those who have.  Brand advertising can demand high CPMs from publishers, so leveraging exchange-based inventory can be a good solution to deliver accountable brand-based ads one impression at a time.

Paid Social Advertising

For marketers, DSPs aren’t the only “programmatic” game in town.  There are several variations of the “technical” definition of programmatic buying, I tend to subscribe to the following: “The automation of the buying and selling of advertising using real-time-bidding.”  For those who subscribe to my liberal definition (or one similar to it) of the practice, than the big tent of programmatic buying applies to the likes of Facebook Marketplace, FBX, Twitter and Linkedin all the same (barring the strategic and tactical differences each require). 

Those digital agencies successfully leveraging paid social advertising will certainly be doubling down on that success this holiday season.  The unique opportunity to reach various segments of the social media landscape is one that should be considered for the B2C or B2B marketer.

Simply jumping into paid social advertising won’t make you an expert, but building a track record to inform future campaigns will get you on the right track.  The best way to get started is to go into the self-serve user interfaces to understand what targeting is available, consider contacting a Facebook PMD or Twitter rep for best practices, and make sure there is enough budget behind the campaign to glean lessons.