Recommendations to help media buyers optimise programmatic investments

In a new report, the ANA also says buyers should consider having direct contracts with all primary supply chain partners – demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply side platforms (SSPs) and ad verification vendors – and that advertisers should appoint a chief media officer to take responsibility for the internal media management and governance processes.

The report, titled ‘ANA Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study: Complete Report’, is a follow-up to an ANA ‘First Look’ study published in June 2023.  The new, enhanced study delves deeper into the world of open web programmatic advertising, with a focus on a pivotal issue: transparency.

‘The Complete Report’ states that there is the opportunity for US$22-billion in efficiency gains – amounting to one in four dollars spent in the $88-billion open-web programmatic marketplace. The study provides a range of recommendations that could save marketers billions of dollars.

Programmatic has its advantages, but …

“Over the past decade, open web programmatic advertising has become an indispensable investment opportunity for most marketers,” the report states. “It offers a plethora of potential advantages, including the precision to target the right audience and substantial cost efficiencies through automation. 

“Nonetheless, programmatic media is complex and can be non-transparent and therefore it is essential for marketers to maintain vigilance. Taking your eye off the ball can lead to questionable inventory practices, thereby diluting the potential of programmatic advertising as a potent tool for driving results.”

In a foreword to the study, ANA CEO Bob Liodice says a key challenge marketers face in optimising their programmatic investment is a profound lack of data access, data strategy, and information symmetry.

“Marketers are not fully skilled in optimising the management of their data,” Liodice said.  “Of critical importance, marketers are even less skilled in securing log-level data – a principal pathway to effective decision-making and driving growth via programmatic activities.”

He added that marketers are unable to fully retrieve their brand performance data because of contractual limitations with their respective partners in the digital media supply chain and are left with sub-optimal information to make the most effective marketing decisions for their brands.

The full report can be accessed here.