January 17, 2022

Thanks to constantly-evolving AI technology and a growing number of online platforms, digital advertising is always changing. To keep up with these changes, one of our greatest tools as marketers is programmatic media buying. Rather than trying to keep up with every new placement opportunity individually, programmatic buying allows us to reach who we want, when we want, and on the budget we want.

How does it work?

The concept of programmatic media buying is actually very simple. As the buyer, we have access to an AI-powered  Demand Side Platform (DSP), which allows us to select who we want to advertise to and how. The DSP searches through several Supply Side Platforms (SSP), where sellers post their ad placement inventory. The DSP then automatically bids on the corresponding ad spots through an auction between other DSPs and advertisers.

While the concept is simple, a DSP is a powerful piece of machine learning software that accomplishes all the above instantaneously and continuously throughout the life of a campaign. 

Targeting

Dynamic audience targeting is easily the biggest advantage of programmatic ad buying, especially if you are using a top notch DSP like we do at Mosaic. Being able to target by job titles, demographics, likes, dislikes, and habits are key for every ad campaign. Programmatic buying allows the building of very specific targeting. If you owned a seasonal apple orchard, being able to target people who loved baking and the holidays, and who live within driving distance, this messaging ability would be a huge advantage over a competitor merely trying to sell at farmers’ markets.

Strategy

Whether your marketing content is in the form of audio, display, or OTT, programmatic can target and place all of it, making it a one-stop solution for almost all campaigns. Incorporating KPI’s into your DSP, adding retargeting, and even mobile tracking make programmatic tactics a highly effective force to be reckoned with.

Budget

Controlling cost is important, and being able to predict the ROI for your budget is even more important. By utilizing hyper targeting with programmatic, an advertiser’s budget can go farther and hit harder. Companies get to use multiple tactics on their target audience and seemingly appear everywhere, while only spending a fraction of what they would have through other means.

Overall, programmatic is changing the game. It is a force on its own and greatly impactful when combined with other tactics and tools. If you’re looking to advertise, then you need to advertise with someone that uses this tool.