Programmatic Media Buying for Agencies
Programmatic media buying uses software to support the purchase of digital advertising inventory. ATD Partners works with agencies on programmatic media and describes real-time bidding as part of its buying approach.
Real-time bidding is one method within programmatic advertising. It concerns bidding for advertising opportunities through an auction; it is not a synonym for every form of software-supported media buying.
Put the Media Plan Before the Buying Method
An automated purchase still needs a clear purpose. Define the campaign objective, intended audience, budget and creative before deciding how a placement should contribute to the plan.
Audience research can inform those choices. An audience insight does not automatically establish that a particular audience is available to buy on every platform.
Programmatic media will transform your business
- 60%
- Of marketers interviewed, 60% say their multichannel campaigns meet or exceed their KPIs most or all of the time.Source: ROI Evolution
- 100B
- The programmatic advertising market for retail is predicted to reach a market size of $100 billion by 2025.Source: ZipDo
- 86%
- By 2026, a staggering 86% of overall digital advertising revenue will be generated from programmatic advertising.Source: Statista
Watch the format in motion
Software supports the purchase; the campaign brief decides what it is for.
Example creative. It illustrates the format, not a measured outcome.
Planning and Activation
The campaign brief should connect the audience, message and placement. Establish where the creative is intended to appear and which buying options fit that environment.
Software can support buying decisions, but it does not remove the need to review the plan. Creative approvals, placement requirements and the division of responsibilities between the agency and its media partner should remain explicit.
Reporting and Controls
Decide what needs to be reported and what each measure means. Delivery, interaction and attributed outcomes answer different questions.
Review changes against the campaign's objective rather than assuming that more impressions or a lower unit cost always means better business performance. Reporting and analytics helps frame those comparisons.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Real-time bidding is an auction-based buying method within the broader category of programmatic advertising. Other buying arrangements should not be assumed to be part of a campaign simply because it is called programmatic.
Discuss Your Buying Brief
Bring the objective, audience, creative and reporting needs to the conversation. For channel context, explore connected TV and digital out-of-home; access and buying arrangements need to be defined for each plan.
Discuss programmatic media buying
Bring your objective, audience brief and current media needs. We reply by email to scope the work that fits your team.
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