The need for more efficient ad targeting with increased transparency began to attract marketers to the use of programmatic engines, but a recent study spearheaded by the CMO Council, "Brand Protection From Digital Content Infection: Safeguarding Brand Reputation Through Diligent Ad Channel Selection," shows relatively few have adopted the technology.

The news of a steadying economy will also enable companies to spend more on technology that supports online marketing and advertising, including cloud services. The data comes from Forrester Research in a report titled "2018 US Tech Budget Outlook: Growth Will Accelerate To Almost 6%."

It seems either marketers have made smarter campaign investments or technology has stepped in to improve performance. it's probably a little bit of both, according to the data.