With social distancing policies and stay-at-home orders in place, everything and everyone are currently online. While many campaigns, events, and plans have had to be rescheduled, revamped, or even cancelled, there are some opportunities that come with this “new normal”. For marketers and advertisers, now is the time to take advantage of programmatic advertising.

What is Programmatic Advertising?

If you have never heard of the term “programmatic,” the general definition simply means a form of digital display advertising. In the world of marketing and advertising, it’s a method of using software to automatically purchase digital advertisements on a network of websites and apps to viewers who meet precise targeting criteria.

So How Does it Work?

Through this process, advertisers can use exclusive data that is obtained through users’ browsing history, cookies, IP addresses, online purchases, and more. Advertisers can use this data to their advantage, with display ads that are directly related to a person’s online behavior.

A simple programmatic tactic that people are most familiar with is retargeting. For example, let’s say you own a cleaning service and you spend an hour or two searching for some of the best, eco-friendly household cleaning products. You read reviews, watch a few cleaning videos, and then you exit out of your browser. At a later date, as you are browsing the web, you see an ad promoting a company’s all-natural bathtub cleaner.

Why it Works:

This “audience-first” tactic works so effectively because it targets a certain individual instead of speaking to a vast audience who might not have any interest or need for your product or service.

Another great point: this technique is 100% trackable, delivering detailed data on clicks, click-throughs, video views, time on a site, bounce rates, form fills, and more.

Advertisers can benefit from buying digital media programmatically for a multitude of reasons:

1. People are at home, spending more time online, and making online purchases, or at least researching products and services for future purchases.
2. The programmatic tactic allows advertisers to purchase quickly and efficiently, relying on less “man-power” because it’s completely automated!
3. It can be a cost-effective option because the advertising inventory is purchased at a larger quantity.
4. Digital ads are relatively easy to create, and do not require production studios or teams, like television or radio spots.
5. It can launch quickly. Once you place advertising, it can be up and running in a couple of days.

Results:

Think programmatic only works for the retailers of the world? Think again! The D&A media team has implemented successful programmatic advertising campaigns for healthcare systems, attorneys, public safety initiatives, nonprofits, professional service providers, and more.

• Vectren – 2019 Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year — American Marketing Association Baltimore. The Don’t Be That Guy Public Service Campaign had a 66% video completion rate compared to the industry benchmark of 60%, as well as a .10% blended clickthrough rate compared to the 0.5% industry benchmark. As a result, three out of four people agreed that Vectren ensures public safety.
• Carroll Hospital – The Family Birthplace Campaign significantly raised awareness for the hospital’s expansion. Results included nearly 3.6 million digital impressions on a small nonprofit-sized budget, a .31% overall display advertising clickthrough rate—more than 6x the national benchmark, and more.
• Carroll Hospital –2019 Award of Excellence for Community Relations – Mid-Atlantic Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. The Health Esteem Campaign succeeded in boosting call volumes to the service by 7.3% and achieved a digital newspaper ad clickthrough rate 24x higher than the industry benchmark for all display advertising.

Learn More:

Interested in creating a programmatic strategy of your own? Contact us today for a personalized plan, we would be happy to put you on the right track!