• by Molly Glover Gallatin , September 7, 2018

I’ve been giving this some thought — and, while it may be a stretch, being a programmatic platform is similar to being a middle child, something I am very familiar with. Think about it:

Middle children want everyone to get along. Programmatic doesn’t take sides. By definition, programmatic platforms sit in between buyers (advertisers) and publishers, and aim to make the transaction as easy as possible. Programmatic platforms provide arbitration, planning, and measurement tools to ensure both sides have a good experience.

Middle children often disparage themselves. It’s a contentious time in digital advertising, and there is often a love/hate relationship with programmatic. Programmatic is a growing trend and the next step in the evolution of advertising technology, but it is also complex, leading us to believe at times that we are the problem when, in reality, we are the solution.

Middle children get stuck in the middle of arguments, and often get the blame. OK we’re all tired of hearing about Facebook, GDPR, and other issues plaguing digital.  Brand safety issues and data compliance breaches with digital services have — understandably, but also unfairly — left people wary of all advertising technologies. So that leaves programmatic  stuck in the middle of these arguments.

Middle children rarely get credit. Everyone loves to point the finger at programmatic for all of digital’s problems, but we hardly get the credit we deserve. After all, we are the foundation that makes automated ad buying and selling possible. Without us, people would still be making transactions via phone. Not to mention, programmatic provides real-time performance metrics. How else are you going to know your campaigns work?

Middle children are independent — sometimes to a fault. Programmatic stands alone — which can be good and bad. We don’t own the data, nor do we own the inventory on either side. GDPR is a case in point. At its onset, Google stepped in and put the onus on programmatic platforms to seek consent. Not fair.

If you’re a middle child, you probably relate to my analogy more than others. Although being the middle child isn’t always easy, the middle child is often the strongest. There’s no escaping the future of programmatic advertising, and it’s time to pay closer attention to its strengths.