Home What Programmatic Advertising Can Do for Businesses in 2022

What Programmatic Advertising Can Do for Businesses in 2022

The programmatic advertising industry has experienced a meteoric rise and swift adoption in 2022, becoming the most prominent digital advertising ad display method. At the end of 2021, programmatic ads expenditure reached over $150 billion, constituting about 71% of the entire digital ad spending. According to an industry report, the programmatic advertising market will be worth $297 billion by 2023 (at a GAGR of 18% during the period spanning 2018-2023).

Industry report by statista.com

The U.S. Has the Largest Programmatic Advertising Market

Adoption is especially strong in the United States, which has the world’s largest programmatic ad market. In 2021, marketers in the United States spent 41.2 percent more on programmatic display advertisements than they did the previous year, accounting for the most significant yearly rise since 2016.

While programmatic ad spending in the United States reached an all-time high of $90 billion in 2021, forecasts show that by 2023, it will increase by more than 50%.

The industry’s continuous growth is not coincidental; technological advancements and innovations in adtech have allowed for more game-changing ad formats, wider audience reach, and remarkable outcomes.

The Incredible Possibilities of Programmatic Advertising

We are already accustomed to the incredible possibilities of programmatic advertising and it’s easy to explain the sector’s growth and development. But when you look back in history, you’ll discover that it all started as a simple banner display ad in 1994.

Today, through ad exchanges, DSPs, ad networks, etc., brands and advertisers can deliver personalized ads to different people across various channels, using other devices and in different regions in real-time.

Programmatic Ads Were Once Limited to Banners

To put this into context, while programmatic ads once were limited to banner and static images, today, programmatic ads are displayed in rich media formats, interstitial, videos, and DOOH systems. In addition, brands and advertisers can also engage and target users via unconventional devices, like wearables with programmatic technology.

In 2018, Snapchat became the first company to offer programmatic augmented reality (AR) ads, allowing customers to view items in an actual store. These augmented reality commercials boost viewer engagement and provide a more meaningful customer experience.

What tasks can programmatic advertising solve for businesses/advertisers?

Reach a broad, global audience. Programmatic advertising allows businesses to reach a broad and diverse audience without the stress. With millions of websites and applications offering inventories and displaying ads to users, advertisers can utilize a programmatic system to reach these large and diversified audiences.

Improve brand recognition and customer loyalty. Every CMO, CEO, and marketer strives to increase brand recall among users and establish a loyal client base. Achieving this requires building personal relationships with potential customers.

But It would be nearly impossible for a company with more than 50 clients to develop personal ties with its customers using traditional mass advertising methods. Programmatic advertising solves this problem, because it enables brands to target and reaches customers based on their preferences.

Thanks to the data-based approach, customers’ marketing experiences are centered around personalization that becomes possible. It’s one of the most effective methods to demonstrate that you care about their choices.

Reducing Ad Spend With Programmatic Advertising

Reduce ad spending. The data-driven approach of programmatic advertising enables businesses to get the best out of their ad budget and optimize it. Brands can specify the ad channels, formats, and media types that bring the best results and focus their resources on those areas. Plus, programmatic solutions provide real-time insights, so that you don’t run ads blindly.

Simultaneously display and manage ad campaigns across multiple channels. Programmatic ad solutions enable you to manage all your digital ad campaigns from one central point.

Most display side platforms (DSPs) offer a dashboard where advertisers can integrate their campaigns across multiple channels and manage them all in one place. For example, you may manage your ads on social media, in-app, on CTV, etc., from one interface. This eliminates the effort and tool fragmentation.

Why is choosing a programmatic advertising contractor better than doing everything yourself?

It is better to choose a competent programmatic advertising contractor to handle your advertising than do everything yourself for three key reasons.

Leverage the experience of programmatic advertising contractors

Based on experience and extensive partner network, the programmatic advertising contractor or agency knows the best advertising platform(s) to serve your ads on, at the best times and for the best rate. So, rather than wasting money, time, and energy on guesswork and assumptions, it’s advisable to consult a professional who has years of experience in this craft to provide you with the best service for your budget.

Additionally, a programmatic advertising contractor is platform-agnostic. The programmatic advertising contractor or agency has full knowledge of diverse platforms to serve your ads on and, from the experience of working with different clients, where best to serve your ads at a given time: mobile, desktop, tablets, etc.

Also, the programmatic advertising agency knows the best specific ad size/dimension format to use on different devices; thus, it would be able to advise or place your adverts for the best ROI.

Reduce unnecessary economic waste

Because programmatic systems are automated, they eliminate the need to manually search for qualified publishers and take away the lengthy and tedious process of negotiating ad display charges.

Instead, programmatic advertising connects you to eligible publishers. It displays your ads only to the audiences that you specifically target, guaranteeing that every dollar of your ad expenditure is accounted for.

How does programmatic advertising work?

Essentially, with a programmatic ad agency, a brand doesn’t waste money on showing ads to the general public and people who are unlikely to use their service or product. Additionally, DSPs allow you to set a daily ad budget limit, restricting how much of your ad budget is spent on campaigns every day.

Deal with extensive supply networks

Most established programmatic advertising DSPs have comprehensive and long-term connections and partnerships with multiple supply-side platforms (SSPs) and traffic partners. Hence, they can serve clients optimally while offering wider reach, traffic from direct publishers, and more significant opportunities overall.

Account managers on such DSPs can also give the best suggestions for the client’s budget. Hence, working with established programmatic advertising DSPs gives you an advantage you wouldn’t get if you were manually placing the ads elsewhere.

What additional opportunities does programmatic advertising offer in 2022?

We certainly have not seen the best of programmatic advertising just yet. But, in 2022, more ad channels will get exposure. Here’s how programmatic advertising can help businesses in 2022.

Wider reach with audio ads

Audio advertisements are not new in 2022, but they will be an essential medium for businesses looking to reach a larger audience. Audio streaming channels have reported a growing user base, signifying that more people are interested in audio content than text. In addition, as programmatic recently went audio, it has become possible for the brands to serve ads with the same level of targeting precision as is possible on the web.

Improved customer-business relationships through first-party data

It is no longer news that the use of third-party data may soon become history. Although this may cause some difficulties, innovative organizations may collect first-party data to develop better customer relationships based on direct-to-customer campaigns.

This data should be accumulated, organized, and structured on programmatic advertising systems, such as DMP or CDP. The DMP is then linked to advertising platforms (DSPs), allowing for more precise targeting.

Better outcomes with Digital Out of Home

DOOH advertisements are an innovative way to target outdoor and on-the-go audiences. Personalized and relevant ads can be displayed on electronic billboards with programmatic ad systems. This advertising technique encourages outdoor user participation and interaction.

When the pandemic ends and people start to spend a massive amount of time outside, DOOH can become the next big thing, so brands should seize the moment to adopt this new medium.

What you shouldn’t overlook when choosing a demand-side platform

In selecting a Demand Side Platform (DSP), there are four key things you shouldn’t overlook for the best return on ad budget. These are:

Supported devices

A good DSP should serve ads on a large pool of mobile and desktop platforms, among others. Also, a good DSP should be able to display ads on an extensive collection of websites/blogs, web browsers, and apps to meet a variety of advertising needs.

Formats coverage

Can the DSP serve various ad formats and sizes, e.g., native ads, in-banner video, rich media ads, text-based ads, billboard, filmstrip, etc.? If a DSP offers this mix of different ad formats/sizes, which can run as static and dynamic ads, you are in the right place as you get more media mix opportunities.

Control capabilities

Running ad campaigns that you cannot optimize, control and analyze is like driving a car without brakes – nothing can be more lethal. So, in choosing a DSP, watch out for the client’s ability to analyze, change and pause/stop the performance of a campaign in real-time, regulate the frequency of impressions served, adjust the limit of daily ad spend, etc.

Targeting capabilities

As a marketer, you surely have a well-established portrait of your potential customer. Therefore, when choosing a DSP, ensure that it has all the targeting options that your campaign requires to quickly get the maximum ROI from advertising.

To wrap up

Businesses in this era require innovative and automated solutions to keep up with the competition and maintain the relevance of what they address customers with.

When it comes to marketing, programmatic advertising technologies provide the best opportunities for effective user acquisition and outstanding brand recognition.

As programmatic technologies seize new mediums – such as audio, DOOH, or CTV – they deliver more chances for the brands to create meaningful and effective advertising user experiences.

Image Credit: by David Geib; Pexels; Thank you!

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Liz Tokareva
Editor

Director of In-house Products at SmartyAds, a full-stack programmatic ad tech company with over 8 years of experience.

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