An estimated four out of every five ad dollars was spent programmatically in 2017, with over 75% of total advertising spend transacted programmatically in 2018. This growth means the market is set for some big changes, including growth in how ad servers and exchanges operate, especially in media streaming. These are just some of the trends shaping the future of programmatic
Programmatic TV
The rise in programmatic ad sales on television is set to hit 5% (or $3.8 billion) by 2019. The industry covers broadcast television, Video On Demand (VOD) options such as Netflix, digital channels such as Sling, and YouTube-like video content. With the growth in programmatic, the advertising options in these avenues will increase exponentially, inspiring expansion of existing models like over-the-top (OTT) and ad select.
Programmatic Radio
Internet and streaming radio are growing rapidly, and this provides plenty of ad sales opportunities for the likes of iHeartMedia, Spotify, and TuneIn Radio to all participate in programmatic with the inclusion of ad servers such as AppNexus, FreeWheel and Adswizz available.
VAST’s Evolved Video Advertising Standards
The Video Ad Serving Template is a script that dictates what ads to play, for how long and if they should be skipped along with the target audience. This standard, set by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), creates a shared language between video players and ad servers, which in turn increases the volume of content ad publishers can sell.
Dynamic Pricing
Selling the entire ad inventory at the best possible price is always a challenge. Dynamic pricing creates a situation in which pricing is based on results as opposed to predicted outcomes. It’s hard to match supply and demand. Content changes, as do the preferences of prospects and leads. It’s far easier to place ads on exchange portals, where the pricing structure follows the dynamic rules of the market and moves with supply and demand. This deviation from guaranteed contracts provides flexibility and transparency, offering creative pricing solutions that include options such as cost per thousand impressions (CPM), cost per click (CPC), and Cost per acquisition (CPA).
Artificial Intelligence-Powered Ad Sales Management
AI is set to play a leading role in ad sales management. While AI has yet to replace humans, it’s certainly assisting them, offering predictive capabilities that can rapidly streamline the relationship between advertisers and publishers. The array of new data available and more accurate ways to measure ad impact are changing the way digital advertisers work.
AI can build separate custom inventory management and ad selling algorithms to use with each client; provide personalized recommendations, options, and rules depending on location and industry; and ultimately improve fill rates, increasing ROI and ad revenue when used effectively.
So, there you have it. These are just some of the ways that programmatic is set to evolve over the coming years. Be sure to keep on top of these trends to get the most out of your programmatic strategy.