Programmatic advertising trends 2019

This an old report. Check our latest programmatic advertising trends report here!

Advertisers worldwide are ready to invest 65% of their digital ad spend in programmatic in 2019. In fact, programmatic channels are rapidly becoming the most important medium for digital marketers worldwide.

What does this mean for advertisers? What does the future of the programmatic landscape look like?

Read on to find out…

Programmatic DOOH will explode into the mainstream

For the first time this year, spending on digital out of home (DOOH) programmatic ads will outpace that of ordinary OOH. Brands such as Innocent and Mercedes Benz have been leading the way, with innovative campaigns that leverage real-time data.

And with the integration of DOOH into many premium creative management platforms (CMP), we expect a more unified digital strategy that for many brands, ones that include display ads to DOOH in the coming year.

Advertisers will reach audiences via online/connected TV

For too long advertising via programmatic channels on TV has been limited; with too few avenues to buy and sell inventory via this medium. However, this is starting to change.

First, with the rise of companies such as Sky AdSmart in 2018. And now in 2019, the launch of programmatic into the mainstream. Indeed, Hulu recently announced that they would be displaying ads on their shows when viewers pause a show – opening the door for brands into advertising with online TV.

Plus, in 2019, eMarketer predicts that U.S. advertisers will buy $3.8 billion in TV ads, a 236% increase in 2017; much of this via programmatic channels.

ePrivacy: the battle over personal data continues

2018 was marked by GDPR, and exactly what it meant for marketers was a bit of a mystery until the last moment. The same could be said for ePrivacy in 2019 – just even more so.

The new regulation is expected to be released in the second half of 2019 and is set to extend the reach and powers of last year’s GDPR. In particular, it will expand upon consent requirements for website cookies. With an opt-in section for sites tracking those cookies. Read more about it here.

Yet the regulations exact dates and nature are still up for debate. The European Parliamentary elections in May will hold a lot of ramifications for the direction of ePrivacy.

The final bell tolls for the cookie

In 2019, cookie usage will continue to decline. Increasing difficulties associated with browser restrictions on tracking, as well as limited cross-device tracking, mean they’re becoming outdated.

Instead, expect to see the rise of deterministic and probabilistic tracking in 2019.

What are they?

• Deterministic tracking offers the opportunity to track users across devices as long as they are logged in to your service on each device. For the giants of the industry such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon this relatively easy – for smaller companies, less so.
• Probabilistic tracking is slightly less accurate but no less effective. With algorithms that track billions of anonymous data points tied to a user’s digital presence. Such identifying factors as device type, operating system, location, wifi network, and behavioural data feed into one unique anonymous fingerprint for each individual.

Whichever suits your business model, they both present far better opportunities for cross-device targeting than the existing outdated method.

The unceasing rise of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) was the talk of 2016, 2017, 2018, and now, 2019. Indeed, with the endless possibilities of AI, it’s unsurprising that its dominance in programmatic advertising continues to rise.

The most exciting developments are happening in media buying and dynamic creative optimisation (DCO). With IBM Watson recently demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing cost-per-click (CPC) and DCO demonstrating that hyper-relevance will once again be a priority for marketers this coming year.

The in-house revolution continues…

With 91% of those surveyed from the Bannerflow/Digiday State of In-housing report responding that they had moved at least some of their marketing in-house in the past year.

What does this have to do with programmatic advertising?

Well, for 96% of our respondents advertising technology was the driving force behind their in-house move. New ad tech is enabling faster, more efficient, and more effective processes.

Conclusion

2018 was an exciting year for developments in the programmatic landscape and we expect 2019 to be no different. In this arena, there are constant developments and changes that means there is always something new around the corner!

Creative management platforms are an integral part of this: allowing for greater transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness throughout programmatic advertising. If you would like to find out more about how they do so, please get in touch with us.