Due to its relative infancy, mobile advertising can cause confusion for brands as they struggle to understand how to reach audiences across multiple devices and technology platforms—often resorting to more familiar, traditional methods as a result. Times are changing however, and fast! Programmatic advertising delivers a wealth of benefits which is rapidly making bulk buying a thing of the past.
Go mobile or get left behind
A report by eMarketer earlier this year revealed a staggering 600% increase in mobile media consumption over the past four years. The average consumer now spends roughly 1 hour 49 minutes enjoying mobile content each day. Surprisingly, although mobile advertising spend surged 109% year on year in the first quarter of 2014 (Turn’s Advertising Index), many brands are still playing catch up.
Smartphones are becoming more affordable, and with 1.75 billion people predicted to own one by the end of 2014, this explosion shows just why mobile has so many advertisers scrambling to make the most of it. The ideal conditions for advertisers enable them to make the most of a captive audience that sees their phone as their most important item of ownership. Clearly, those that move quickly will gain first mover advantage.
How it works
As an example, for car retailers looking to reach a highly specific customer base, programmatic advertising can be directed to an audience with a current interest in cars, whether they have been browsing car sites, they are active on a related forum, or they have just bought a new vehicle.
Programmatic advertising provides invaluable data and audience segments, enabling marketers to deliver an optimal message to the right person at the right time instantly. Through the use of data management platforms compiling insights in a way that is easily understandable for them, marketers are given the information they need to be able to exploit the power of this data.
Unlike traditional advertising techniques, programmatic advertising is completely transparent. By defining the exact target audience, marketers view the size of the opportunity prior to investing. A user’s interests can be understood within milliseconds, enabling marketers to adapt and control the campaign with ease.
Marketers provide as much insight as possible into their ideal target audience along with campaign goals and objectives. This data will be input into a data management platform where it will run through an audience profiling process where the interests of the target demographic are recorded, along with the best way to reach them. Once switched on, the data received will help to further streamline the process.
Be part of the new wave
The days of traditional display advertising are numbered. Programmatic is relevant, cost effective, targeted and what’s more – it provides instant returns. The question is therefore not whether to get involved but when. With more and more advertisers moving all their budgets to programmatic in line with ad exchanges making their entire inventory available, an arms race is on to take advantage. This is only the beginning—new technologies such as geolocation, video and developments in native advertising are making it so attractive for brands. The rewards are significant for early adopters who can also become increasingly responsive to their consumers. The industry is buzzing and it is no wonder!
About the Author
Charlie Faulkner is the head of EMEA and APAC at Manage.com. He has been part of the rapidly expanding team since its early beginnings. Currently, as head of international growth for EMEA and APAC, Charlie has successfully grown a portfolio of clients to include marketing leading brand advertisers and the biggest spending performance advertisers.
Prior to this, Charlie was responsible for global sales revenue where he was instrumental in generating a growth of 1700% from 2012 to 2013. Before joining Manage.com Charlie was Business Development Manager at TBG Digital, a leading social media agency.