Blog Post

Programmatic Digital Marketing: The Value of an Expert Partner

02/16/2021 - Sierra Ducey

In June of 2020, eMarketer found that the average American spent over 3 hours on their phone. That number doesn’t consider the time spent on any other internet-enabled devices such as computers, laptops, TVs, gaming devices, tablets, etc. Consumers are spending more time connected to their devices than ever before. This shift in media usage offers great challenges to advertisers to keep their brand in front of consumers. However, it also provides great opportunities. 

Programmatic digital marketing, the use of technology to automatically bid and purchase media, is one of these opportunities. Programmatic advertising allows marketers to connect with consumers digitally; backed by technology, programmatic ads are administered to achieve the best possible results. 

As a marketer, you may have already started to research whether programmatic marketing is a suitable investment for your brand. Maybe you have looked into the pros and cons and are wary of the necessity to have a strategic human-element backing this technological form of advertising. Yes, one of the best parts of programmatic advertising is the automated, machine-learning technology. But, people still need to be at the helm, monitoring analytics and ensuring buys make sense. That is where an expert programmatic digital marketing partner enters the picture. 

If you’re ready to invest in programmatic digital media, but you know you don’t have the internal resources to keep up with these campaigns’ demands, investing in a programmatic marketing partner may be the right move for your brand. Keep reading to learn more about what value a programmatic partnership can bring to your digital media strategy. 

Valuable Assets gained when hiring a Programmatic Digital Marketing Partner

1. Expertise

First and foremost, the most valuable resource gained when investing in a programmatic partnership is expertise. Although it sounds simple, understanding the intricacies, technology, and changes that quickly develop in the industry is no easy feat. But, a programmatic partner’s job is just that: to understand and implement the most strategic features into your campaigns to ensure the best results. 

Take, for example, the current conversations swirling about the depreciation of third-party cookies or previous worries regarding the birth of 5G. Without a programmatic partner, you’re left to research, learn, and understand how these changes will impact your advertising campaign. With a partner onboard, they can perform the heavy lifting, keeping you up-to-date with the information you need to know, ensuring your campaign performance continues to function effectively. 

This value can be seen on a more detailed level in terms of your campaigns, as well. Programmatic partners will utilize their media buying expertise to implement brand safety measures, determine which DSP is the best choice for the campaign, implement retargeting, apply an attribution study, or uncover new captivated audience segments – to name a few solutions. 

2. Technology Partnerships

You may have come across some articles highlighting the best features or options for DSPs, Demand-Side Platforms in your programmatic advertising research. (If you need a refresher on what a DSP is, check out our blog post: Programmatic Media Buying 101: What’s The Difference Between DSPs & Ad Networks.)

One of the most valuable assets an expert programmatic partner will bring to the table is its relationships with DSPs and other technology partners required to run effective programmatic campaigns. Different DSPs have various benefits, such as mobile compatibility, geotargeting features, or reporting capabilities, and a programmatic partner will allow accessibility. Alongside the DSP technologies, programmatic partners also have a breadth of data, brand safety, measurement, audience, and more channel-specific  (DOOH, audio, social influencer, CTV, etc.) partnerships for better targeting and channel diversification in your campaigns. 

3. Real-time Reporting & Insights

An expert programmatic digital marketing partner offers holistic, transparent reporting that fulfills your brand’s needs. Whether you are looking to realign how your team processes data or looking to solve for brand safety concerts, an expert partner will provide reporting that gives you detailed insight. 

A value that an expert programmatic partner can provide is the ability to create custom reports that meet your team’s exact needs. Working with your team to uncover where your brand can most benefit from reporting, a programmatic partner can build comprehensive, automated reports that update in-real time. 

4. Transparency

Transparency is an important aspect of any business partnership. However, in an industry where “lack of transparency” is the second biggest concern amongst senior ad buyers, a transparent relationship is essential. As you are researching programmatic advertising and evaluating programmatic partners, you will find tremendous value in those partnerships that put transparency at their company’s forefront.

A programmatic digital marketing partner should make you comfortable knowing the costs and fees associated with their service. You should have a clear picture of where your media budget is being spent. You should be able to see this transparency in every part of the relationship, all the way through the reporting and insights you receive.  

5. Top-Tier Service

Any programmatic company can run your brand’s media and send you reports after campaigns have concluded. But, you will understand the actual value of an expert programmatic partner in their customer service. 

A programmatic partner should be your trustworthy eyes and ears in the programmatic digital advertising landscape, ensuring that your campaigns are running at the most optimal level. They can offer optimization suggestions, channel diversification, new targeting tactics, industry news, and more. As a partner, you should be able to rely on them to answer all of your questions, running successful campaigns in the present, and looking to the future to ensure you are set up for success down the line. 

Digilant: Your Expert Programmatic Digital Marketing Partner

At Digilant, we have four guiding principles: winning client service, lead decisions with data, focus on outcomes, stay curious & stay ahead. These principles define how we approach our work and keep us on track to ensure we perform at the top of our game for each of our clients. 

Although each of these principles directly impacts our ability to create and execute transformative programmatic campaigns for our clients, our business’s backbone is our passion for providing the best client service. We understand that every brand has different needs and expectations regarding programmatic marketing, which is why we customize our solutions to meet your needs. Are you interested in learning more about the value that Digilant can provide to your programmatic advertising? Let’s talk.

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