Commentary

Why Brands Still Face Challenges Bringing Programmatic In-House

Despite all the benefits of bringing programmatic buying in-house, brands face a multitude of challenges. The lack of communications across organizations still creates silos when it comes to sharing information.  

The challenges were noted in the findings of the European survey released last week by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The IAB Data Center of Excellence Board, and Accenture Interactive sponsored the report.

The report -- European Programmatic In-Housing -- details reasons why brands chose to bring programmatic in-house despite concerns of working with the siloed advertising channel and lack of resources.

The report’s quantitative results are based on the Ipsos MORI Omnibus Survey fielded in March 2019.

The European-based brand representatives who participated in the survey also pointed to a lack of internal resources and skills -- including the ability to understand the data and optimize CPMs in real-time. Marketers said they typically turn to their media agency partners to pick up the slack.

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Brands often don’t know the types of skills they are looking for, said Orchid Richardson, VP and managing director of the IAB Data Center of Excellence. “Investment bankers who come from the trading world typically do well because they have the understanding of how to analyze real-time market changes,” Richardson said. “Programmatic requires a technical skill, so they must understand how to plug into the demand and supply sources to buy inventory correctly.”

Programmatic 360 helps brands understand the media is one of several classes the IAB offers brands. 

Eighty-six percent of brands based in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom that use programmatic techniques acknowledge that they have moved or are moving functions completely or partially in-house.

And based on that success, they have been thinking about the possibility of bringing additional functions in-house such as search, digital video and social -- but using some of the same methods of programmatic in the other media, Richardson said.

Agencies still play a critical role in the process. It's the way the brand and agencies interact that is changing. Sometimes they use the agency's technical expertise or ability to optimize campaigns. 

The key drivers bringing programmatic in-house centered on controlling their brand messaging and transparency into their media buying and business. This is not necessarily a concern, but more of an observation. Marketers across markets have said this is critical to their overall success, Richardson said. 

Another interesting point, she said, is that GDPR did not have a negative impact on their business. 

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