• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 25, 2015

“Is Programmatic ready for prime time,” asked OMD’s Kathleen Brookbanks, introducing a Tuesday afternoon 4As session on the topic.

It was a rhetorical question, she acknowledged. “I think we all know it is.”

Panelists “debated” whether the platform was more valuable as an audience targeting tool or as an automation process for buying ads.

The answer is programmatic is exceptionally valuable for both. Starcom’s Amanda Richman noted that as a targeting tool agencies “can change the marketing conversation.”

Horizon’s Dave Campanelli said the two applications were not “mutually exclusive, but you don’t get to use the data unless you have automation. You can’t reach [the audience] in real time.”

Hulu’s Peter Naylor probably summed it up best. Programmatic is “like a peanut butter cup. It's two great flavors in one.”