In 2015, programmatic advertising was at the centre of discussions and events across the advertising industry. From Advertising Week in London and Interact in Berlin to the Festival of Creativity in Cannes, it has never been far from the headlines. With 2016 underway and a comprehensive schedule of outputs planned, we asked some of our Programmatic Trading Committee members to reflect on the challenges and achievements of 2015 and what we can expect from the year ahead. This blog is part of a Programmatic Future Trends series.
This blog includes contributions from Amit Kotecha, Head of Marketing EMEA at Quantcast, Anthony Rhind, Chief Strategy Officer at Adform, Andy McNab, UK Managing Director at Rocket Fuel, Paul Coffey, Director, Customer Solutions and Innovation, Platforms at EMEA Google, and Nick Reid, Managing Director UK at TubeMogul.
"The data and technology is already there to buy ads across devices, however the key to doing so effectively is in measuring success in the right way. By measuring the entire customer journey with an attribution tool, and taking into account all brand interactions on everything from mobile to webpage visits, search, social, video and so on, marketers can really start to shed light on the messages, campaigns and tactics that are working for them, regardless of which device or channel. Further to this, by leveraging the first site visit within measurement tools, marketers are also benefiting from the ability to split the funnel, and gaining insight into what works for upper funnel prospecting activity vs. lower funnel retargeting. The key here is still in the measurement. Measuring prospecting success against a last touch (click/view) isn’t a fair metric if, for example its purpose is to drive engagement, not sales. By measuring in this way, marketers are now able to correctly credit vendors and allocate budget, as well as learn from upper-funnel activity and apply those insights further down the funnel."
"2016 will be a year of innovation and regression. Device proliferation, heavily biased to mobile OS, means cross-device consumer experience planning is now critical. Effectiveness relies on anonymised identity solutions that work across devices persistently, combined with a media ecosystem that enables “universal unique iDs" to inform media and creative optimisation. Device graphs will become more pervasive and accurate in 2016. Unfortunately, the largest media and (potential) data providers are limiting effectiveness by establishing walled gardens. Data Management Platform (DMP) solutions that combine desktop and mobile data will be critical, linking iDs deterministically and probabilistically. As divergent stakeholders question data and algorithm bias, the independence of adtech will be an increasingly critical issue."
"Technology providers like Rocket Fuel are now able to have a more complete picture of a users’ digital touch points and a large amount of data to make informed decisions than if making decisions based on a single-device profile, up to 200% more data on average.Technology is providing a cross channel solution that doesn't just unify profiles across a person’s devices but actively scores every moment to influence a customer on each device to maximise the ROI on marketing to that user, we are seeing 30% better ROI from cross device."
"Robust, effective cross-device targeting and measurement means smarter advertising and a better experience for the consumer. It’s fundamentally an attribution challenge, but an attribution model only truly succeeds when it can be applied at scale. Programmatic provides this, enabling an accurate view of a user's path to conversion.
At Goole, we continue to be very thoughtful about how we develop these tools in a way that prioritises consumer privacy. We measure mobile behaviour using industry-standard device identifiers that users can monitor, reset and configure to opt out from interest-based advertising. Further, we use a consumer-friendly, privacy sensitive methodology to measure cross-device conversions. And finally, we only share anonymous performance reporting with advertisers. This approach gives marketers, agencies and tech providers the tools to treat consumer data in a sensitive and respectful manner."
"Programmatic technology already allows marketers to employ effective cross-device marketing strategies. In fact, TubeMogul launched its cross-screen tool in the US in late 2015 and has already seen strong pick-up by clients. In the UK, the introduction of programmatic TV options last year, plus the advent of programmatic digital OOH and radio saw the final pieces of the puzzle to allow cross-screen development and measurement. By using a single platform (such as TubeMogul), advertisers can now plan, buy and optimise across almost all advertising formats and on all screens found within the average UK household. It's not the future - it's available now."
"Cross-device shopping is the new normal. Today, nearly 40% of all global ecommerce transactions happen cross-device[1]. This represents a challenge and an opportunity for marketers, particularly when it comes to developing strategies that ensure a relevant, consistent and measurable customer experience. Continued advancements in digital programmatic advertising have seen the emergence of two options when it comes to designing an effective cross-device strategy:
For advertisers utilising both implied and exact match will provide a combination of reach and precision that will maximise spend performance. This enables the delivery of highly targeted customer communications, no matter how many devices are in play. There’s more to come too. Programmatic ecommerce will soon connect users not only across screens and devices but also across the entire online/offline journey, providing brands with more data and insight than ever before."
[1] Criteo Mobile Commerce Report, Q4 2015
