With the advancement in AI and digital marketing, the face of advertising has changed globally. The predictions of replacing humans with robots sure have put various job holders at risk. Online advertising is changed a lot with the use of programmatic creativity. The programmatic creative buying refers to the use of machines instead of humans in purchasing digital advertising. Still, ad blocking challenges the promotion of these ads. The hype around for the use of programmatic creative was that it made buying ads cheaper eliminating the human elements. Although programmatic creative platforms have gained a lot of interest from consumers, the backlash against these ads increases challenges.
Role of Creativity in Programmatic Advertising
The rise of ad blocking might make advertising appear in a negative role, but for consumers, it still works if the ad is good. So creation actually plays a great role in programmatic creative sales. The creatives add more personalized experience in programmatic campaigns for the audience and change the overall experience of the consumer. It basically means that the use of programmatic creatives can be tailor-made according to the location, time of the day and what consumers are doing. This is in other terms called the dynamic creative optimization (DCO). During the advertising process, DCO supports what best suits the user. The ads are created for individual users still reaching a larger audience.
What to know more about performance marketing
The approach of marketers and advertisers reaching the mass market is way different then DCO. The ads are generated according to the various data collected during campaigns. This not only creates long term loyal customers but also increase returns for the various digital or non-digital campaigns organized. With new creation, the old rules including the standout, relevant and engaging content and context are still important. The director of media and advertising of ISBA, Bob Wootton said that:
“The biggest challenge is the need to marry dynamic creatives with the way digital adverts behave. Too many agencies cluster around the 30-second TV content and are reluctant to change.”
Programmatic media buying has used the single click approach for engaging and optimizing. But these clicks by individuals don’t mean the campaign will get any response. But with creative tools, if used properly, the right audience can be identified, and more insights can be analyzed like location, mood, intent, etc.
Problems related to engaging creative with programmatic advertising
- Issues related to resources: Tom Lancaster, Topman’s senior digital creative manager, claims the reason that some brands find difficulty in engaging creativity to programmatic advertising is the increase in resources needed. The brands do get a positive response, but it gets complicated with putting too much energy and resources and personalizing sites to match the ad for visitors. Purpose and relevance still play an important role in programmatic creative.
- Usage of data: The success of programmatic advertising with creatives primarily depends on how effectively a brand uses the data. The AOP research showed that only 4 % of campaigns use first-party data and 68 % use no data at all. The creation of data is not equal and depends on how this data is used. The tech and data can take advertising to a whole new level. An example of the usage of clever data is the use of weather data and information by TUI. The idea is when people search for beach holidays show ads showing sunny destinations.
O2 also uses personalized ads according to various situations. The head of digital excellence at O2, Nick Adams, claims a 128% increase in click-through rates ads on devices by using these programmatic creative.
Deprioritizing creative content
The blame falls on the agencies or not providing creative content, but agencies only provide content according to the client’s demand. The clients only get what agencies get to pay for. Programmatic creative media buying tools are being used to create making new expressions. The various functions performed by these tools include the sequencing of messages to build a story, surfacing rich content to the consumers and creating a new sense of intimacy by combining audience data, contextual data and environmental signals. The creative professionals themselves need proper incentives to produce and deliver the relevant content. The brand should also be clear about what they ask for.
Also, the complex nature of creating programmatic media content leads the company to believe that only pre-tested sites offer viability for the content. In addition, there is a minimal type of audience for sites that leads to the exploitation of a true programmatic creative approach.
Role of display ads changed by programmatic advertising
Programmatic creative display ads are redefined with programmatic taking a larger portion of digital marketing budgets. By 2019, the flow of display ad via programmatic will be 4 out of 5 US digital display ad dollars. The experience is unique rather than obstructive, and marketers need their displays to be relevant for the specific audience. This not only results in centralizing the customer needs but also enhancing user experience.
It should be noted that programmatic real-time buying is different from real-time bidding (RTB) as RTB includes selling an ad space via auction while programmatic creative is used for automatic media buying and placing of ads in display space. The purchase of advertising space modes is different in both cases.
The use of creatives in programmatic advertising has both positive and negative roles. On one hand, it sure proves to be effective in reaching out to the more relevant audience by taking into account intricate details like weather, location, and mood. Whereas, the adblocking and lack of resources and data lead to obstruction in the advertising programmatically. The challenges in merging both creative and programmatic advertising put a lot of pressure on both brands as well as programmatic creative professionals. Programmatic advertising provides customized experiences and the role of creatives in enhancing these ads by targeting a relevant audience. Programmatic creative media buying tools are being used to create making new expressions. The various benefits of programmatic creative tools include the sequencing of messages to build a story, surfacing rich content to the consumers and creating a new sense of intimacy by combining audience data, contextual data, and environmental signals. So creative have a lot of importance in programmatic advertising if used effectively.
