Getty Images Dive Brief: Sixty-six percent of marketers expect that their programmatic advertising budgets will increase in the coming months, according to a new study from Ascend2 shared with Marketing Dive. “The State of Programmatic Advertising” report is based on survey conducted the week of May 4, 2020 that […]
ansparency is a problem for the sector, with the programmatic advertising supply chain between marketers and online publishers seeing about half the money spent by brands going to digital middlemen. Remarkably, 15% of those dollars disappear into the unknown, according to recent research by the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers.
Some marketers are addressing these challenges by taking greater control over their programmatic programs. The Ascend2 findings indicate 82% of marketers have taken their programmatic programs in-house to some extent, reflecting a broader trend across brand marketers toward in-housing important capabilities. Among the 82% of respondents who are taking this approach with programmatic, 29% use in-house resources exclusively and 53% use a combination of in-house and outsourced resources.
At a time when many consumers are spending less because they’re out of work or are being more cautious with their money, marketers are hoping programmatic ads can help them drive sales. Sales were named as the primary objective for programmatic ads by 53% of Ascened2 respondents. Other top objectives include: lead generation, named by 47%; brand awareness (47%); customer retention (36%), and social engagement (22%).
With 76% of respondents saying they are using programmatic as part of their digital marketing and 93% seeing some measure of success from their efforts, the strategy clearly already plays a significant role in digital marketing. Ascend2’s report points to how the strategy may gain further steam in the months ahead as marketers increase their programmatic budgets.