Shift 2015: Is programmatic a game-changer for newsbrands?
Programmatic advertising has the potential to be a game-changer for newsbrands, but there are some myths that need dispelling if it is to reach its true potential, says Dentsu Aegis’ CEO, Tracy De Groose.
Speaking at Newsworks’ Shift event on Tuesday during a session on the merits and pitfalls of automated trading, De Groose said that the debate is no longer just about driving sales versus driving brand engagement – and that there is real evidence that the industry can now do both.
“At its simplest programmatic is a bit of technology that takes the guesswork out of what media planners have been trying to do for years, which is finding the right audience at the right time and making the message resonate in the most meaningful way,” said De Groose.
“Now we have data and tech that allows us to do this better.”
De Groose said that if the numbers are to be believed – that programmatic currently accounts for 50% of display advertising – in five years’ time it could be 50% of all advertising.
Prior to this, Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis had revealed some topline findings from research carried out with a dozen senior executives from brands and agencies. Titled ‘Context is Queen’, the bulk of the research focused on views around automated advertising, with the key findings in the opening slide: brand owners believe context is key; the “black box” shouldn’t be trusted; and there are “fundamental obstacles” around fraud and promises made. Agencies put the two latter areas down to “teething problems.”
When asked whether agencies and brands are aligned, David Wheldon, managing director of brand, reputation, citizenship and marketing at Barclays, said the “intent is alignment,” but the reality was rather different. De Groose differed, saying “we are aligned.”
Citing John Wanamaker, who said that he always knows that half of his advertising doesn’t work, he just doesn’t know which half, the Dentus Aegis CEO said that programmatic will allow newsbrands to know which part of their advertising is working – “because the potential of it is really proving the value of advertising and that advertising works because we can track it and measure it in a way we’ve never been able to before.”
The problem, De Groose argues, is that programmatic is growing so quickly that all the governance that needs to be put into place to manage it cannot keep up with the pace it is growing.
“The appeal is because it delivers to the money-men [the CFOs at the clients, she clarified] because it delivers a sense of value and returns.”
“We’re still in the early stages of programmatic and where it’s being applied is around how we can use it as a performance tool using inventory that’s hard to sell and that’s where it’s naturally gravitated towards, but it’s changing and it’s changing at a pace.”
De Groose forecast that we should expect to see the growth of private marketplaces.
An interesting debate all-round, with De Groose making an intelligent case for the benefits of programmatic and the Enders report trying to do the same for context. However, the audience were left none the wiser about where newsbrands stand regarding automated trading, and, in a microcosm of the current market, it was the agency very clearly leading the programmatic discussion.