In France, consumers are exposed to an average of over 1,200 advertising messages a day. Between television, social networks, online banner ads and mobile notifications… Advertising fatigue is a reality for the majority of Internet users. For marketers, this saturation makes it easier to engage their target audience.

This is were programmatic advertising comes in. By automating the purchase of advertising spaces, it makes it possible to target people with the right messages, at the right time and on the right channel.
In this article, we take a look at the benefits and challenges of programmatic advertising. We share practices for getting to grips with this marketing tool, and focus on gamification in programmatic advertising.

SUMMARY

• What is programmatic advertising?
• The benefits of programmatic advertsing
  
• The main challenges of this marketing lever
  
• 3 best practices for getting started with programmatic advertising
  

Programmatic advertising is a method of buying and selling online advertising space. It relies on algorithms and automation technologies to deliver ads in a more targeted and effective way.

Rather than negotiating with a publisher (as in traditional marketing), advertising space is purchased in real time. Particularly on specialized platforms called DSPs (Demand-Side Platforms), via automatic bidding. The best-known of these is Google Display & Video 360, which offers premium access to inventory from YouTube, Google Ads and other networks.

Programmatic advertising is based on RTB (Real-Time Bidding), a process whereby each advertising impression is sold in milliseconds to the advertiser aligned with the defined criteria.

Programmatic advertising fills many of the gaps left by traditional digital marketing methods. Here are the main advantages for advertisers.

Data hyper-targeting

Traditional marketing campaigns rely on demographic data (age, gender, location), which limits the precision of targeting.
By integrating behavioral and contextual data, collected in real time (searches or purchase history), programmatic advertising makes it possible to target precise segments. For example: “women aged 30-35 in Paris, looking for a stroller in the last 24 hours.”

Automated ad buying

Buying advertising space used to be a huge waste of time for marketers if they wanted to react as quickly as possible to market developments or buying trends.

Thanks to automation, campaigns can be adjusted in real time to maximize results. Brands can, for example, create automations to increase bids on high-performing locations.

Optimizing advertising budgets based on ROI

Before programmatic advertising, marketing budgets were allocated to channels without any tracking of performance, which could lead to a misallocation of ressources. Campaign performance is optimized on an ongoing basis. Algorithms automatically reallocate the advertiser’s budget to effective channels or locations, guaranteeing a better return on investment.

Overall, this lever also makes it easier to measure KPIs (such as impression rate or CPC, or Cost per Clic) at the end of a campaign and in real time. Based on metrics such as click-through, impression and conversion rates, advertisers can immediately adjust their settings.

A larger advertising inventory, instantly accessible

Last but not least, programmatic advertising gives advertisers access to a much wider range of advertising space. With a single point of entry, they can broadcast their message on a multitude of platforms (retail media websites, mobile applications and even connected TVs).

Despite its many, advantages, programmatic advertising is not without its challenges. To maximize its effectiveness, it’s crucial to identify its main challenges.

1. Measuring campaign effectiveness

The multiplicity of platforms and channels makes it difficult to measure the performance of programmatic campaigns. Especially when it comes to conversion attribution (i.e determining which channel or interaction led to a sale).
To assess the performance of your campaigns, it’s important to equip yourself with analytics tools and use tracking pixels to attribute each conversion.

2. Advertising fraud risks

Fraudulent impressions (bots, fraudulent clicks, false views) cost advertisers billions every year. These activities artificially inflate campaign performances while having no real impact on ROI. It is crucial to integrate anti-fraud tools such as IAS (Integral Ad Science) or DoubleVerify, which detect and block fraudulent activity in real time.

3. A coherent brand universe

With programmatic advertising, ads can sometimes appear on sites or alongside content that is not consistent with the brand’s universe, or is even inappropriate.
This has a direct impact on reputation and buyer confidence. To avoid this, brands can activate exclusion lists (also known as blacklists) and define sensitive categories to to be avoided in their DSP.

4. Targeting and RGPD

With data privacy regulations (such as the RGPD in Europe), ad targeting has become complex. Third-party cookies are now on the way out. Without a data collection strategy respecting user’s privacy, marketing campaigns run the risk of violating current regulations and being less effective.

That’s why it’s important for advertisers to switch to an approach based on first-party data (collected form buyers), which offers control and compliance.

Alternatives to cookies include the server-to-server approach (S2S) allows data to be transferred between servers, without relying on storage on the user’s browser. This method improves data security and limits the loss of information due to browser restrictions.

In addition, universal identifiers (such as Unified ID 2.0) offer an alternative by enabling pseudonumized, consenting tracking of users across platforms. Finally, contextual targeting, which is based on the analysis of content viewed rather than past user behavior, is enjoying renewed interest as a privacy-friendly solution.

5. Relevance of advertising creations

Today’s buyers are more sensitive to personalized communications. They expect brands to understand their needs and make ultra-targeted recommendations. But automating the delivery of campaigns can dilute the message or undermine brand consistency.

To preserve the coherence of their brand universe, advertisers can use a Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) tool. This allows them to personalize their ads according to the profile and context of each user.

Programmatic advertising offers great potential for advertisers, but it can also be quite complex to get to grips with. Here are 3 best practices for taking your first steps, with a focus on the us of gamification (i.e. the introduction of playable mechanics) to optimize performance.

1. Using gamification to refine customer knowledge and targeting

Playable advertising allows you to engage users and collect data on their behavior and preferences at the same time.
By integrating game elements into programmatic advertising, advertisers can understand what each audience likes based on events (e.g. X users clicked on product A, and X users clicked on product B), what motivates their engagements, etc.
Del Arte Restaurant uses gamification in its programmatic campaigns. It integrates interactive quizzes to help audiences discover how the pizzas sold in its restaurant are made.

2. Using first-party data for more precise and ethical targeting

The use of first-party data is crucial, especially with the new regulations on online privacy. This data, collected directly from users, makes it possible to optimize campaigns without relying in third-party cookies, while respecting privacy.
Nike has perfectly integrated the use of first-party data by leveraging its mobile applications to collect information on users’ purchasing and sports habits. Using this data, the brand can create personalized programmatic ads that target customers with products that precisely match their sporting activities or style preferences.

3. Create differentiating and contextual advertsing messages

For programmatic campaigns to be effective, message must be personalized, relevant and adapted to the context of use. The use of Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) enables advertisers to create ads adapted to the user’s profile and browising context, thus increasing the chances of conversion.

The Spotify platform uses programmatic advertising based on listening context, adjusting advertising messages according to the time of day and the musical genre that is listened to. An advert for an energy drink might appear when listening to dynamic music, while an advert for a premium subscription will generally appear at the end of the day.

Conclusion

Getting started with programmatic advertising can be a real challenge for your marketing teams. Don’t panic: the right tools and the gamification reflex, you can not only better understand and target your audience, but also maximize the impact of your campaigns by offering a more memorable and engaging brand experience. Find out how Adictiz can help you turn your programmatic campaign into real conversion levers!