• by Stacia Hanley , Op-Ed Contributor, May 11, 2015

Ten days ago, MediaPost hosted its Publishing Insider Summit. I attended, as one of the few agency representatives, to moderate a panel as an impartial third party, as well as to learn more about key issues in the space. Guests and speakers included media elites from Hulu, HuffPo, Condé Nast, Gannett, and Fox, among others.

Although the focus stayed predominantly on digital, there were many applications for cross-channel. Most apparent were the themes of programmatic and mastering data, and how the two are coming together to revolutionize the landscape.

Programmatic requires advertisers and vendors to better understand the technology behind the opportunity, in order to apply it to its full potential. As we pitch and stumble into the future of programmatic, it can feel a bit like we’re chasing after the White Rabbit. It begs to be fully realized while simultaneously and consistently falling short of expectations.

Meanwhile, for all intents and purposes, programmatic just makes sense. That is why it managed to so much gain traction in the first place, right? It’s found its way into your living room, your favorite magazine, your phone and your daily commute.

And these publishers — in addition to radio stations, magazines, and television networks — are tapping into the system more effectively and efficiently than ever by taking bids, auctioning off unsold inventory and capitalizing on exclusive first-party data. And since advertisers are still able to efficiently target specific audiences at scale, while consolidating the number of reps they work with and the amount of paper being pushed, everybody wins.

But the big takeaway for now is that each publisher has actually learned to work with programmatic a little differently. Each had a particular business context and set of circumstances that led it to a specific solution or set of solutions.

Programmatic might be automated, but the approach is far from standardized. We need to shift the discussion towards understanding how all of the pieces work together. We need to understand that programmatic works for different reasons in different channels and in different ways. We need to be just as familiar with the technologies being used, as we are with the vendors and audiences.

Data is becoming the bridge between disciplines that were previously at odds. The best example of this on the publisher side is the editorial/sales divide, “church and state.” For some publishers, data is now actually used as a common lexicon — a single point of reference to help both sides understand one another in terms of what editorial content or ad products are developed and why.

Advertisers and vendors are also uniting more effectively, increasingly able to bring together each party’s set of data and developing custom Key Performance Indicators from there. It’s no longer a matter of “my data or yours,” or “can you accept this pixel?” It’s about working together, collaborating on customized measurement plans that are dictated by the specific sets of data and tools available to a particular campaign.

Third, data is being acknowledged as both art and science. In a data-driven advertising world, data-led decision-making is actually a bad thing. There’s so much context we still can’t capture at this stage in the game. So publishers are working on developing human talent that not only knows how to read the data but also is able to analyze, evangelize and interpret that data in a meaningful way.

Context is critical. Our world is constantly shifting, and we’re all just swimming around in it, chasing after a shiny object here, clinging to an old stale “solution” there just to stay afloat. Securing some contextual relevance on the planning and buying side is just as critical for completely understanding new technology and resources as it is for advertising placements.

Publishers are going to respond to the marketplace based on what they feel they can monetize best. The onus is on advertisers to make sure they understand what tools are being used, and why. Then partners will be better held accountable for measurement, security and accuracy.

So, where do we go from here? Get outside of your bubble. A few years back, the Atlantic ran a piece on the rebirth of American industry. Companies were bringing previously outsourced assembly lines back to the U.S. due to increasing oil costs. As a happy by-product of that shift, production got closer to management, design and marketing teams, which enabled everyone to more effectively and efficiently address key design and business challenges, resulting in better working relationships, job satisfaction and overall product quality.

Three days at a publishing conference proved invaluable because context was flipped on its head and conversations were more neutral and engaged as a result. I have a better understanding of what these guys are caring about. I can actually empathize with their day-to-day and understand why the line items on my proposals are showing up the way they do. Even better, I am better armed for richer and more enlightening conversations on behalf of, and with, my clients.