RBC Capital Markets has posted a roundup of the AdExchanger Programmatic I/O conference that recently took place in New York, and while there are numerous reports and estimates indicating the
growth of ad tech, perhaps the best proof of programmatic’s growing importance is in how well-attended conferences on the topic are. RBC said that attendance at AdExchanger’s Programmatic
I/O event this year more than doubled compared to last year, with over 650 attendees.
RBC kicked off its roundup by noting that the balance of power between agencies, brands and ad tech
providers was a leading topic of discussion at the AdExchanger event. This topic has been highly visible of late, perhaps fueled by a recent World Federation of
Advertisers (WFA) guidance report that said the trust between brands and agency
trading desks is deteriorating.
In a research presentation outlining how agencies and brands should “pick the right programmatic media management model,” AdExchanger
analyst Joanna O’Connell, formerly of Forrester Research, “effectively … categorized her findings into three emerging programmatic models: 1) agency in control; 2) agency
involved (marketer directly working with tech partner); and 3) agency in back-seat (in-house programmatic using self-serve tools),” writes RBC.
The roundup adds that during one session,
the “general theme was that brands, agencies, and tech vendors should increasingly coordinate efforts to maximize ad spend effectiveness, which would lead to more ad dollar allocation toward
programmatic channels.”
A similar sentiment was shared with Real-Time Daily earlier this week during a Q&A with Keith Lorizio, the newly appointed chief revenue officer
at Chango. Lorizio said that rather than approaching the topic as agencies versus brands, he plans to “focus on both the agency and the brand [to create] a harmonious relationship,”
because that’s what he believes “will be … most effective.”
RBC also notes that the programmatic TV “ecosystem” is still developing, but that
“marketer awareness and interest levels for programmatic video advertising continues to rise.” David Muehle, director at Videoplaza, recently told Beet.TV that he believes programmatic
video is still two to three years behind display.
You can find RBC
Capital Marketers’ full roundup of the
AdExchanger Programmatic I/O conference here.