What is programmatic display?
Programmatic advertising, a product of digital marketing, has been used for many years by communication professionals. Why? Because it offers very specific possibilities of exposure for advertisers.
A communication channel favoured by media traders
At a time when e-commerce has gradually imposed itself on consumer habits, digital advertising has become indispensable for standing out. Social networks such as Facebook or Snapchat, as well as search engines, are particularly interesting playgrounds for brands. There is however another way to establish a digital presence: programmatic display. But how does it work?
In marketing, programmatic display refers to the automated onlinepurchase of advertising space across a range of digital channels such as websites and mobile apps, but also television, audio and outdoor advertising. The objective for advertisers is to expose their brand and their offer to selected publishers whose audience corresponds to their target.
In the world of digital marketing, programmatic display is an essential advertising tool, and for good reason. It is a particularly effective channel for targeting prospective customers (age, gender, interests and location). It also allows you to extend your digital presence to premium sites and diversify your advertising investments.
There are two types of programmatic advertising:
- Geographic targeting;
- Location-based adaptation.
The different ways of buying
There are two purchasing systems for buying digital advertising space in programmatic mode, either through websites or specialised tools.
The first option involves open auctions. In this instance, there is no guarantee of inventory and the cost per thousand (CPM) is dynamic. Advertisers are then in competition for the same impressions. Once the bidding is complete, the marketplaces allocate the advertising space to the advertiser who has made the best offer. This solution makes it possible to achieve a large number of impressions (reach), but not necessarily qualitative.
The second purchase method is no longer an auction, with advertisers setting their own budget. There are two options:
- preferreddeals: the CPM is fixed, but the inventory is not guaranteed;
- guaranteddeals: the CPM is fixed and the inventory is guaranteed between a publisher site and an advertiser (premium offer).
These solutions are generally more qualitative than open auctions. It is therefore interesting to look into them during commercial periods when the competition is particularly fierce.
Why use location-based programmatic advertising?
Geolocation-based programmatic advertising is booming among advertisers because it offersmany advantages. The first is undoubtedly the excellent target granularity. Indeed, advertisers are able to precisely target a well-defined audience in a geographical area. This makes it possible to broadcast perfectly optimised campaigns with an advertising message adapted to the specific target.
Secondly, as the messages are fine-tuned and only distributed to a geographically qualified and relevant audience, the budget is largely optimised.
Another advantage is the ability to reach a large audience thanks to a presence on the most popular local channels and media (other than Facebook and Google). This is a very powerful solution for developing local awareness and boosting traffic to the point of sale.
With a personalised message, it is also easier to strengthen the relationship with customers. Customers recognise themselves, identify themselves and become more attached to the brand. This gives companies the best chance of maintaining a long-term relationship with their customers.
Finally, location-based programmatic advertising represents a powerful lever in terms of peak time, particularly during a promotion or during periods of high commercial activity. It allows brands to distinguish themselves from competitors by appearing on relevant digital channels that are used extensively by customers.
What are the key points to be aware of before launching location-based programmatic advertising?
Running a local campaign on programmatic display cannot be improvised. There are a number of important points to bear in mind. Companies specialising in programmatic display have clearly grasped the importance of this.
Key points
It is possible to buy advertising space anywhere on the web. But beware,some unscrupulous sites (false promises of geolocation, low quality...) are often integrated into media plans without anyone really noticing. To ensure the success of a geolocation-based programmatic advertising strategy, it is important to be familiar with the issues surrounding display.
The first element is the context. It is essential to select sites carefully, in line with the company's activity. Buying any old thing in any old way can have a negative impact on performance. And for good reason, some very low quality sites do not benefit from relevant visibility. As a result, the ads are not seen enough, if at all.
Another issue is the quality of the inventory. It is essential, because it allows you to obtain the most impressions possible while optimising the cost per click. Indeed, some impressions may appear at the bottom of the page on quality sites. In this case, the ads lose visibility because it is an unattractive location, often neglected by Internet users.
The number of sites should also be well balanced. There is absolutely no need to have too many, especially if the level of quality is not adequate. What is important is to balance the advertising pressure across the different outlets in order to optimise the campaigns and the distribution of the budget.
To achieve greater targeting accuracy, advertisers can buy data through advertising platforms, but this is more expensive and can impact campaign ROI. The key is to balance the price and the number of sites in order to ensure a consistent reach. Being less specific to reach more people is perfectly feasible, as programmatic allows a satisfactory catchment area to be determined.
Overview of programmatic platforms
Several companies specialise in programmatic advertising. One such company is Xandr, a successful Demand Side Platform(DSP). Advertisers who use it can buy and optimise their display advertising space. Microsoft has also acquired this DSP with the aim of accelerating the delivery of digital advertising solutions.
Another interesting solution is Google's programmatic platform DV 360. It allows companies to manage their digital media mix and offers multiple functionalities.
Both platforms are popular with advertisers because of their efficiency and the large inventory they offer.
DeepReach has real expertise in using both of these solutions. Thecompany integrates these two advertising networks into its platform to enable advertisers to achieve a better and more granular level of geo-targeting. Thanks to this technological combination, the cost per media is further reduced and campaigns are much more effective.
In addition, DeepReach selects the best sites on the market and is completely transparent about the quality of the inventory. The DeepReach solution coupled with Xandr or DV 360 therefore enables maximum campaign optimisation.
How to run a successful local campaign on programmatic display
There are several phases to implementing an effective communication strategy and increasing local visibility.
Define your audience
The first step is to define a precise target. Who is the target audience? To do this, several criteria must be taken into account, including :
- demographic data (age, gender);
- location;
- interests;
- behavioural analysis.
Once the audience has been defined, it will be easier to create an ad with a relevant message and suitable tone.
Choosing the right advertising formats
There are many different advertising formats available on programmatic display: videos, audio, banners, GIFs, HTML5... It is not always easy to find your way around! It is therefore necessary to select the formats that correspond both to the brand and to the target.
Using an advertising agency
Companies specialising in programmatic advertising support advertisers throughout the process. This not only allows them to avoid pitfalls, but also to optimise their budget and improve their local digital campaigns.
Define your budget
There is always some risk involved in advertising on programmatic display. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, it is important to constantly monitor your budget, because costs can rise quickly with auctions!
To summarise, thanks to geolocalised advertising on programmatic display, advertisers address a qualified audience, which allows them to achieve a significant reach. As a result, they can create even more personalised local digital campaigns and thereby optimise their budgets. A true complement to media, programmatic means a better user experience andtime and money saved for advertisers.
