In a new study by Comscore, encompassing hundreds of publishers, advertisers, agencies and tech providers, 62% of those surveyed say they expect to increase year-over-year investment in programmatic ad buying. The report shows an upswing in budgets allocated towards programmatic media as “more programmatic-first media channels emerge and advertisers become more attuned to the efficiency and addressability of programmatic advertising.”

Adweek has also weighed in, saying “the use of programmatic marketing is on the rise as marketers look for targeting methods to replace third-party cookies. Programmatic ad buying has many benefits, including efficiency and automation.”

Here are three key considerations marketers need to make note of in 2024 as they look to embrace programmatic for maximum impact:

1. PMPs: Boost Ad Quality and Avoid Risk

Research and insights firm Insider Intelligence reports that private marketplaces (PMPs), where ads are bought and sold between select parties, are on the rise as programmatic ads take off. It says the motivations for this shift include ensuring ad quality and protecting against ad fraud and brand safety risks. Although Insider Intelligence forecasts indicate PMP spending will still grow, approaching $180 billion by 2025, it states that it’s important to note that PMPs can face many of the same challenges that they were designed to avoid, such as advanced bots and fraudulent techniques. Like all digital ad platforms, they require careful management, oversight, and awareness of potential risks.

2. Increase Conversions with Omni-channel Retargeting and Triggering

ROI and performance are more important to marketers today as they sift through strategies like programmatic to find out what delivers the best results. At OMI, we have embraced programmatic advertising for years, leveraging its capabilities to execute targeted and personalized omni-channel campaigns for our clients that result in high ROI.

One of our key strengths lies in our “one-two punch” of triggered programmatic and email. By strategically placing programmatic ads in front of users who have previously engaged with email content, and vice versa, you maximize the chances of conversion. Using a tailored approach to triggering, you gain increased efficiency, scalability, and targeting capabilities. There are privacy laws to consider, making execution of this approach complex, with specialized expertise around anonymized data and other factors a requirement. Our OMI team has that expertise.

3. Ensure Transparent Media Activation to Boost ROI

There are clear benefits to programmatic, but a lot of criticism is being leveled around its lack of transparency. As advertisers rely on algorithms and data to make decisions about where their ads will appear, there’s limited visibility into the specifics and contexts around where ads are displayed. This makes transparent media activation a requirement to get the most out of your advertising budget.

It's easy to understand why OMI’s new results-driven, digital audience media activation service has become one of our most popular offerings. Backed by deterministic data for optimum accuracy and better results, our approach gives you the option to leverage our massive contact database, real-time intent signals, and our proven programmatic digital media buying expertise. The end-to-end media activation services let you engage and activate the most accurate, targeted omni-channel audiences for your campaigns for increased ROI. And we are fully transparent with reporting, so that you get real insights into how your campaign performed.

In recent years the terms “digital marketing” and “marketing” have become nearly synonymous, reflecting how digital everything has influenced our lives. When we talk about a marketing plan in 2024, we expect it to include digital, whether that's display, email, social, or CTV ads.

With the growing prevalence of programmatic–who knows? It could eventually become interchangeable with "advertising." What’s clear is that if you haven’t already adopted this approach, now is the time to get started – but you need to educate yourself first. Although programmatic has tremendous upside, it’s complicated. Reach out to our team today to learn more about best practices and strategies for success.