Industry Discusses Time-Saving Technologies at Ad:Tech SF

Programmatic ad buying – the use of software to purchase digital ads – was a hot topic at ad:tech San Francisco this year. Based on the conversations and panel discussions at the event, the demand for programmatic technology continues to grows and is rapidly being adopted by advertisers. By 2017, eMarketer projects that advertisers will spend more than $9 billion in programmatic advertising, which accounts for 29 percent of total US digital display and ad spending.

This major shift in advertising is a response to the explosion of mobile devices and social media. In 2013, Nielsen reported that Americans spent an average of 34 hours per month using mobile devices, which is more than the average 27 hours they spent on PCs. However, advertisers have been slower to move away from traditional methods and fell behind in digitally targeting potential customers.

Automated systems in advertising can make decisions based on real-time data points and algorithms to deliver the best, targeted and relevant ads to consumers across all platforms. Similarly, advancements in semantic technology can discover relationships and understand similarities between ad content and publishers’ web pages, eliminating the need for advertisers to manually select and manage keywords

Technological advancements such as these are great for advertisers, as running a robust campaign across multiple platforms is painstakingly difficult. By having some of the menial tasks taken care of, advertisers can focus more on the creative process of a campaign. Publishers also benefit from automated and efficient ad sales that maximize revenue. And ultimately, consumers will have a more positive experience by seeing relevant ads that are specifically targeted just for them. Everyone stands to benefit from this cohesiveness.

While these technologies will remain a hot topic of discussion in the industry, time will tell how fast advertisers are willing to adapt. In order to keep up with the rapidly evolving media landscape and changes in consumer behavior compel, the industry must also evolve in their approach to combine the art and science of running a successful advertising campaign.