• by Tyler Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_tyler, April 7, 2015

While serving as managing director of the Mindshare trading desk, Joe Weaver saw an opportunity. He saw brands taking programmatic ad-buying operations in-house -- or at least contemplating it -- and experienced firsthand the types of questions and demands marketers were making, some of which were left unanswered and unmet.

So roughly half a year ago, Weaver branched out and started his own company, Promatica, serving as president and CEO. Promatica is a programmatic consulting firm, and Weaver says he’s working with “major brands to help craft their programmatic framework.”

Real-Time Daily spoke with Weaver about his decision to launch Promatica and the general trends he is seeing in the market today as it pertains to the still-hot topic of brands taking programmatic in-house.

Real-Time Daily:When did you start Promatica, and what does the company do?

Joe Weaver: Promatica was started in October of last year. We’re a boutique consulting firm specializing in helping brands accelerate activation of their programmatic marketing framework. We act as an extension of a brand's marketing department.

RTD: What did you do at Mindshare, the trading desk?

Weaver: I developed the first programmatic trading desk outside of the holding company option (Xaxis). This was a direct result of Unilever and Kimberly-Clark’s requirement and need for full transparency, enhanced visibility, and 100% ownership and control of their data.

RTD: While working with brands such as Unilever and Kimberly-Clark at Mindshare, what led you to think of starting Promatica?

Weaver: Brand marketers have demanded more transparency, accountability, and control for years. This demand has gone largely unanswered. Over the past 12 months, more brand marketers have actively pursued other programmatic activation options. These can range from full “in-house” capabilities to having a brand-led, agency-managed option.

What has been most surprising to me is the lack of response from agencies on marketers' demands for a more open approach. That was my primary motivation for creating Promatica. As simple as it sounds, I wanted to focus on helping brands navigate the complexities of this ecosystem while providing a fully objective view.

RTD: What brands and agencies do you work with now?

Weaver: While contractually I can’t provide specifics, I can say most of my engagements have been with top 20 media spenders.

RTD: How does a major brand decide whether or not to bring programmatic in-house? What are they saying to you? Do you work with their agencies?

Weaver: Some brand marketers are very serious about bringing programmatic management in-house and others realize that they aren’t equipped to manage that process.

The most popular programmatic model today is the brand-led, agency-managed framework. This allows a brand to maintain complete ownership of their data and technology, while allowing the agency to manage the activation. I still believe agencies are uniquely positioned to understand how programmatic media fits into the overall marketing strategy.

Promatica is included in all those steps and works with the agency to develop best practices and a process framework that works for both the brand marketer and the agency. All brand marketers operate differently and have very different needs.

The biggest feedback I hear from marketers has to do with their agencies. They are frustrated by the ongoing lack of transparency and objectivity from a company they compensate to act as their agent and represent their best interests. There also seems to be a lot of denial and avoidance of these issues, so I think that adds to the frustration. It seems most large agency groups (not all) have abandoned the role of agent and are playing the role of supplier.

RTD: What are brands doing differently in the programmatic space than they were 24 months ago? Twelve months ago? Six months ago? What will they be doing in one to two years? 

Weaver: There has been significant change over the past 24 months and there are no signs of slowing down. The biggest change has to do with brands taking more control, recognizing they don’t have programmatic expertise internally, and engaging third-party advisors to help them identify the best way forward. That’s a more recent trend, that has just taken hold over the past six months. I would guess that’s because there are a limited amount of folks who have real practical experience in this space.

Specifically, over the past year, marketers have taken a closer look at the ways in which they utilize their own data. Brands have been talking about this for the past two years, but now they’re actioning on it. This has resulted in brands bringing data management capabilities truly “in-house.” While brands still require activation specialists to execute media campaigns, they have recognized that closer data proximity can create competitive advantage. I think this approach is here for the long term.