programaticProgrammatic is currently one of the hottest marketing buzzwords, for some simple reasons, however, illustrating at the same the dilemma of well-known methods. If earlier, in the less complex marketing times, the largest gathering of people meant the greatest potential for advertising, it is today all about individual's interest. In the big data-driven, sophisticated marketing world, Programmatic Advertising wants no more and no less than serve the customer perfectly by addressing the individual in the proper context - hence avoiding wastage.

… is an unobtrusive assistant, not an annoying salesman…

Programmatic Marketing takes customers by the hand, which a small metaphor could probably illustrate best: Let’s assume a customer roams in the digital desert, but he knows his destination - even though he might not know exactly how he gets there, what it looks like, or whether it is even desirable. In the past, marketers would have shown such a customer something and claim “That’s what you need!” – completely independent of the roamer’s intention. The programmatic approach, however, is different and always starts with the observation phase: Who is that person and what does he/she want? Programmatic always tries to figure out the destination of the roamer, the concerns and character of the consumer. When sufficient data is collected, a pro-active approach follows – directly and personally. The message sent is then not only a hint into one direction, but a concrete offer to help. Maybe you know, for instance, a contact person on-site with whom the consumer gets a discount when mentioning your name? Programmatic Marketing takes the customer by the hand. It doesn’t intend to sell, but wants to help in the first place, that way laying a good foundation for the customer journey. With the programmatic approach you are an invisible companion of the customer on his way to a purchase. And that’s how you are perceived: as an unobtrusive assistant, not an annoying salesman.

… and fully automated

While Programmatic Advertising of course still needs capable marketers, who set up and evaluate campaigns, the actual process must be conducted by machines. The large amount of data and the bidding process on advertising space in a matter of seconds makes automation inevitable. It is a paradox that we can only understand when we join forces with computers. That’s the only way how the modern marketing world can imitate the successful concept of the big players like Google, Apple or Amazon. Automation is the real reason why Programmatic Marketing is effective and consequently unstoppable. It manages not only to see and understand the customer, but to crawl into his brain.

By Daniela La Marca