It's 'critical' for marketers to get a handle on programmatic now, to avoid being left behind, says Accenture Interactive MD, Marek Rucinski.
Rucinski, who is also APAC lead for marketing and analytics practice for Accenture Digital, said the biggest thing that’s happening is the expansion of programmatic from a small percentage of the digital spend to become a significant portion of a marketer’s overall spend.
“Traditional media (TV, press, out of home) are all just starting to be traded programmatically in very small and isolated cases with hurdles yet to overcome, but it is poised to grow as fast as we’ve seen in digital in the past five years,” Rucinski said.
“That’s why it’s so critical for marketers to define and execute their strategy and process now - it’s only going to become a larger part of their spend and waiting a few years to get it sorted will leave them at a huge disadvantage.”
Accenture works with clients to understand the programmatic landscape, and major players, to develop a programmatic buying game plan that will optimise ROI on media spend – while achieving efficiency that can allow marketers to focus their attention on their most strategic marketing objectives.
Rucinski said while the business is excited about leading its clients to understand the promise and realities of programmatic, from an objective consultancy perspective, helping them navigate and set up for long-term success, the reality in the market is that, for most major global marketers, there’s a compelling business case to bring the function in-house (or some other customised solution).
However, he stressed this is a a daunting task that requires strategic and operational expertise in programmatic.
“We’re seeing a pronounced shift with marketers moving away from using their media agencies and/or their agency’s holding company owned trading desks. They are moving toward in-sourcing the capability,” he added.
He said a lot of people equate programmatic with cheap inventory and while the space was founded on the idea of monetising excess inventory, the reality has become that programmatic is uncovering the market value for each impression.
“That market value is often higher than what it had been selling for in the old direct, non-automated model,” he said.
“In other words, media owners are able to more accurately, and sometimes more lucratively, price their inventory. The old idiom about “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is playing out in the programmatic market.”
On the issues with ad fraud and viewability, (Google reports finding 56% of ads out of view in a recent study), Rucinski also added this is why it's “critical” to have independent monitoring and analysis of digital campaigns.
Bolstering its Australian offering
In February Accenture completed its acquisition of Reactive Media Pty Ltd (Reactive), one of Australia’s largest independent digital agencies, specialising in creating and delivering differentiated customer experiences through digital channels.
The move was also said to enhance Accenture’s ability to assist CMOs and brand leaders in creating distinctive customer experiences and bring them to market with speed.
In February, senior managing director, Accenture Interactive, Brian Whipple, said with the acquisition of Reactive it was bolstering its growing portfolio of digital marketing services in Australia, New Zealand and globally.
“ We’re better positioned than ever to help marketing leaders provide innovative and engaging customer experiences across all channels as they look to capitalise on digital disruption," he said.
For more on what is happening in the programmatic space check out this week's AdNews in-print Special Report on Programmatic. It features Krux, Rubicon Project, Cadreon, Accuen, News Corp, RadiumOne, Fairfax, SpotXchange, PocketMath, Sizmek, VivaKi, Foxtel – and more. Subscribe here for your in-print or iPad copy.
And if you need to brush up on your programmatic knowledge, book your spot on the IAB Training: Programmatic Trading, in association with AdNews. It takes place on 16 April.
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