Programmatic advertising’s booming entry into the media buying market has revolutionized the way we can purchase digital advertising. It is projected that by 2018, programmatic will account for 50% of all digital ad sales. The ability to automate your media buying while still driving quality leads furthers the ever-present need to prove and manage the value of your advertising choices.
With programmatic a new digital advertising landscape is emerging. Which, tied to the growing number of people who will be viewing programmatic advertising on their mobile devices, will ultimately be directing more calls to your business. Tracking and managing these calls is vital to the success of your programmatic advertising.
Not exactly sure what programmatic is? Let’s breakdown some programmatic basics, how it is already being embraced, and the implication it has on marketers’ advertising decisions.
Programmatic 101
Programmatic advertising can be summed up in three words: automated ad buying. The decision-making process is taken directly out of the hands of humans and placed instead with artificial intelligence technology. Parameters are created that enable you to specify price, network reach, and targeted audience preferences, before software algorithms are used to automate and optimize the buying process.
At its core, programmatic advertising is all about data. It uses data to guide the automated buying process and creates data through campaign results. More data allows for greater systematic customization of campaigns, with programmatic buying taking a large portion of the human factor and manual work out of the traditional optimization process.
Its growing popularity is helping marketers shift more ad dollars to digital as well as create efficiencies in their overall media buying process. This is a key way in which call tracking can help marketers make decisions about how to allocate their digital investments.
What’s in It For Me?
Taking advantage of programmatic advertising enables marketers to build more well-rounded and effective advertising strategies. While not necessarily cheaper, programmatic makes your dollars work more efficiently and ultimately allows you greater range in your overall investment. Campaigns gain:
- Speed: bringing efficiency to your ad buying process
- Data: making data work harder for your business
- Optimization: enabling up front, automatic campaign customization
- Resources: freeing up your employees’ (or agency’s) time to spend more productively
Programmatic strategy is only the first half; voice-based marketing automation tools will help you manage the conversations with your customers that come next. Interactive voice response (IVR) can help you qualify customers and intelligent call routing offers your business flexibility in routing calls based on your needs.
The Proof is in the Pudding
According to a recent AOL survey, 76% of brand marketers stated their companies are buying display ads through programmatic buying. The growing proof is evident: several prominent companies can be seen actively embracing this new form of media buying, through both their increased emphasis on the tool and the growth in sales they’ve already experienced:
- Procter & Gamble wants 75% of their digital media to be bought programmatically by the end of 2014 (AdAge)
- AOL’s ad business was up 20% in Q2 2014 due to its programmatic ad buying platform (AdWeek)
- MagnaGlobal has stated they plan to automate 50% of their clients’ budgets by 2016 (AdAge)
- Nearly all (98%) of U.S. publishers are exploring a programmatic marketing approach (IAB)
Programmatic advertising ultimately means a new way to interact with your customers. Combine that with 53% of brands and agencies that plan to increase programmatic spending specifically in mobile within the next six months (AOL Platforms study) and the result is a mobile audience that is increasingly exposed to your message. A valuable audience with “click to call” and “call us now” features at their fingertips. Make sure you know how they are engaging with your advertising and that you are having the most successful conversations as a result.
To learn everything you need to know and more on the ways VBMA can help your programmatic advertising, you can download the white paper, The Buyer’s Guide to Call-Tracking Software for Marketers.
