Programmatic technology, once an instrument for media buying, is now beginning to establish itself as the industry mainstream. With the ability to provide scalable and efficient advertising campaigns, programmatic has become a growth engine for digital media trading in my business as well as many other organizations. With this in mind, there are several factors to consider for marketers who are not yet on board with programmatic.

It’s An Industry Trend

Programmatic media buying has been showing continuous growth at least since 2014. By the end of this year, it is predicted to become the primary advertising method, according to eMarketer, with four of every five U.S. digital display dollars transacting programmatically. Whether in private marketplaces or via real-time bidding (RTB), ad buyers and sellers are moving away from performance solutions in search of improved precision and greater efficiency.

The U.S. is leading the way in adoption of programmatic technologies, while the U.K. and China trail with smaller ad spends. At the same time, the incremental growth rates worldwide, and especially in China, show potential for programmatic technology. Exponential growth is also predicted for South-East Asia (registration required). As we’ve noticed here at Clickky, there is a big gap to be filled in Asia, and a number of enterprises are looking to advertise on a varying scale.

The growth trends are also impressive in mobile: By 2019, nearly 80% of programmatic ad spending will be for mobile devices. Programmatic has become indispensable for buying ads, and if the trend continues, both major brands and publishers could be moving exclusively to programmatic.

It Increases The Efficiency Of Media Buying

Programmatic relies on advanced technology, which removes the need for lengthy person-to-person negotiations. The technology also offers an in-depth analysis of large data sets, bid requests, cookie and device ID data to assess each user individually. The technology lets advertisers bid on specific user profiles, not just audience segments. In the end, the price of each impression traded programmatically is connected to the predicted value of users and calculated according to the possibility of their converting into customers, helping to improve the cost-efficiency of the campaigns.

Programmatic technology can also deliver results on a large scale. With this technology, brands get the opportunity to reach out to more people, while retaining high engagement and conversion rates. Programmatic platforms like Smaato, AppNexus and PubMatic, which combine functions of digital signal processing (DSP), supply-side platforms and ad exchanges, all experienced a surge in market demand because of this increased efficiency.