• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, December 1, 2015

Craig Teich is EVP of global sales at Connexity (formerly Shopzilla), which focuses on programmatic sales of first-party retail data. From that perspective, here are Teich’s predictions for 2016:

Teich: First-party data will become the foundation for more sophisticated audience modeling:

1.In 2016, marketers will increasingly partner with outside data providers that can add value by supplementing the marketer’s own online and offline customer data. Marketers will no longer be pigeonholed into simple retargeting campaigns, or even buying off-the-shelf audiences that were created without any insight into the marketer’s unique customer set. Instead, by combining assets with third-party providers, they’ll identify new, meaningful data signals that provide the basis for more sophisticated audience targeting.

Teich: Big players will get bigger, but small stars will shine, too: 

2. In the coming year, as programmatic technology matures, the largest marketing technology companies will continue to eliminate gaps in their product suites so they can offer marketers complete end-to-end solutions. In order to remain accessible, smaller, best-in-class vertical and format specialists should prioritize integrating their solutions into these larger consolidated tech platforms. Despite the dominance of larger companies, niche providers will continue to be recognized and prioritized for delivering significant incremental value. 

Teich: Programmatic will help marketers take action on insights:

3. In 2016, marketers will begin to evolve to a new model of actionable insights, seamlessly integrating consumer insights into programmatic media campaigns. In years past, marketing teams struggled to translate customer insights into media programs. Learnings were passed (and diluted along the way) from client to agency to media vendor via spreadsheets and presentations. The automation and speed of programmatic will close the gaps between insights and media and help marketers better connect with the audiences they want to reach. 

Teich: Fraud and viewability concerns may stick around for a while longer:

4. Publishers will be held increasingly accountable for delivering the value they promise. Fraud caused by phantom clicks and dodgy, bot-driven activity is being discussed openly by all, and significant progress will be made in the coming year to overcome this challenge.

Unfortunately, players will find new ways to game the system, meaning marketers will need to stay vigilant against fraud. Viewability concerns will also persist, as publishers still want to create as much inventory as possible, while many marketers focus on aggregate performance and overlook ads not seen by audiences. Reliance on private programmatic marketplaces built from quality publishers will grow as an easy solution to fraud and viewability concerns.

Teich: Programmatic TV is coming soon, but the supply isn’t there yet:

5. In 2016, more brands will experiment with connected & programmatic TV – but the delivery systems and supply still have a way to go. After the plumbing and inventory are in place, the same data we use to target audiences online could be used to target audiences via programmatic TV. There’ll be little difference between running a programmatic TV campaign or pre-roll on YouTube.