Have you heard of programmatic advertising? No? Me either up until a few weeks ago. Programmatic advertising is a fairly new process that has developed over the last four years and still has yet to explode in Australia. In basic terms, it is the practise of agencies utilising your cookie data (which includes information on what you’ve searched, what websites you’ve visited, and what keywords and links you’ve sent/received in emails and private messages), overlaying it with personal information they buy from companies you use, and using that collected glob of data to create a profile about you based on your ip address.
So? You say. How does that affect me?
Ever gone onto a web page and a really annoying automatic video starts playing? Usually it starts with an ad right? Well in the one second it takes to load that video a ping is sent to a third party agency who has your profile on hand. They then ping a ‘stock exchange’ of sorts and let advertisers know what kind of person is about to watch a video – your interests, your age, your latest searches etc. Those advertisers then bid to get their advertisement played on your screen, the winning bid is the one that starts playing, making you groan out loud because you hate automatic videos.
It’s pretty crazy to think that all of that happened in one second right? It’s maybe a little crazier to think about how much advertisers can now find out about you. There are even developments to get programmatic advertising onto tv and radio – can you imagine? I would be subjected to continuous ad rolls about cat related products.
If you’re not like me into finding new ways to help businesses get their message out, then the idea of programmatic advertising is probably making you feel a bit queasy and violated. If you are like me then you are secretly squealing a little bit inside. After all, you’re basically having your target audience served up on a platter. There are a few key considerations for both sides of the argument though.
Ethics, and the practise of ethics in advertising, public relations and marketing, is a growing consideration for practitioners, agencies and industry bodies alike. Gone are the days of the first public relations campaigns that influenced women to take up smoking, and in are the days where agencies must consider voices they are disenfranchising and stereotypes they are strengthening in all material they send out.
Ethically it is impossible to uptake programmatic advertising without asking how far is too far. Is it ok to collect data on everyday people? Is it ok to use that data for the purposes of monetary and profile gain? Do people have the right to “opt-in” to such schemes, given most people are unaware that companies use cookies to track their online movements? And from a pr perspective – how will people react once they find out how knowledgeable advertisers are getting? Will there be outrage or will the general public like the idea of getting targeted ads they may actually be interested in?
Targeted interest is the benefit to advertisers.
It’s no secret how expensive traditional advertising is, and with programmatic advertising still being in its infancy in Australia it is very much a space where only large companies play. Imagine if it was affordable for businesses of every size…Joe’s Pizzeria would be able to sell their family deal exclusively to people within a 5km radius, around lunch and dinner times, who may have recently shared a family friendly pizza recipe link with their friend via email.
The great thing about programmatic advertising is that there is minimal audience fishing. Advertisers are not sending out wide-spread television ads or direct mail in the hope that it’ll reach a few interested parties. They now know better than ever exactly who may be interested, exactly where they are located, and adjust their campaigns depending on which audience niche they want to sell to. There is so much potential it is extremely exciting for businesses and advertising/marketing/PR agencies alike.
If you’d like to know more about programmatic advertising contact us and we’ll be happy to run through a few things with you.
Now you know about programmatic advertising, what do you think? Do you foresee ethical issues with the practise? Would it benefit your business?
