• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, October 2, 2014

In the first morning panel at OMMA RTB focused on whether programmatic buying can be fused with creative storytelling, agency executives suggested data can be used to inform ad creative as well as audience targeting. Rachel Pasqua, head of mobility, MEC North America said humans would still be responsible for shaping the overall creative message and variations, but that the actual assembly of the ads could be handled by machines. Jen Brady, CEO of Fred & Associates, and Craig Atkinson, chief digital officer at PHD added that more fluid communication among agency departments would help foster a better integration  of technology, media and creative elements.

To that end, Eric Porres, CMO of RocketFuel, said the company will soon release a guide on how best to suit ad creative to programmatic based on data from tens of thousands of campaigns run. “I want to give creative the blue print for what works,” he said, noting insights for different industry categories. Pricing and incentives, for example don’t work in auto ads, but do work for credit card offers. For retail ads, you want to show people actually wearing the clothes advertising. “I can say with data these are the things you should be thinking about,” he said, which helps to eliminate creative options that won’t work.