Agencies, Marketers See Different Benefits In Programmatic
- by Tyler Loechner @mp_tyler, June 13, 2014
While agencies and marketers are on the same side of the equation (buy-side), they each have a unique view on what programmatic offers.
Agencies are more drawn to the efficiency promise of automation than marketers (46% versus 36%), while marketers are more attracted to reaching targets without waste than agencies (35% versus 24%).
The data comes from a recent study released by Purch, a content and commerce platform formerly known as TechMedia Network. The study was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions, a media research firm.
Despite machines being front and center in programmatic, advertisers in general still prefer to deal directly with publishers when running programmatic campaigns. The majority of buyers (36%) prefer publishers as their programmatic partners, while trading desks (23%) and DSPs (21%) are the second- and third-most-preferred partners, respectively.
The study also found that a lack of premium inventory was the No. 1 element restraining “programmatic direct" from further growth.
This "lack of inventory" roadblock was mentioned again at the RTB Insider Summit on Friday afternoon, when Rubicon Project’s head of seller cloud Kaylie Smith said that while there is a lot of buzz surrounding programmatic direct, it hasn't been met with equal action. However, Smith said publishers are testing the waters and becoming more comfortable with the idea of transacting higher-quality inventory in a semi-automated fashion.
The study was conducted in Q1 2014 among “high level U.S. marketer and agency advertising decision makers,
spending $1 million or more on digital advertising," per a release. The survey topics included both programmatic and native advertising.
"Two
paths" image from Shutterstock.
I usually don't comment, but seriously, I really would like to know what marketers and agencies believe "premium" content means? It is overused, poorly-defined, and it is at odds with the notion of content fragmentation and the idea that programmatic display can find premium CUSTOMERS on mid- and long-tail sites that would otherwise be impossible to aggregate and buy directly.
Jon - yes, many publishers are not leaning forward as much as they could/should with inventory and sales/ops team integration. But having seen these studies before, the answers are often, like most surveys (not against AP) dependent on how the questions are asked. I'll bet if you surveyed our 8-year-old daughter on 11/1 and asked her what was missing from having a better Halloween, she would likely click the radio button next to "more candy," no matter how full her pumpkin bucket was the night before...