The Traditional Ad Salesforce needs a more Strategic Role
By: Mark Botha
Tags: Digital Marketing, Media, Mobile, Mobile Marketing, Programmatic

The rise of programmatic advertising will not put media planners out of a job, provided they are ready to recast their roles and become closer strategic advisors to their clients.

That’s according to Mark Botha, Head of Digital at Mediamark, who says that the traditional advertising salesforce and programmatic buying can have complementary roles in the media landscape.

Says Botha: “Many media planners fear that the unprecedented levels of automation programmatic brings to the digital advertising world may eventually eclipse their roles.”

“However, we believe that the rise of programmatic means that media planners and sales reps need to evolve into strategic consultants who help their clients make sense of a fragmented and complex media landscape.”

The rise of programmatic buys

Programmatic advertising buys allow advertisers to bid for display inventory on auction in a private network in an automated manner. Though publishers initially reserved their less valuable inventory for programmatic buys, premium inventory is also increasingly available on the programmatic networks. When one overlays that inventory with data segmenting audiences, it makes for a very strong media plan, says Botha.

According to Magna Global, half of online display ad spend in 2015 ran through programmatic channels. By 2018, programmatic buys will account for a staggering $50 billion in digital display ad spending. Programmatic buys are becoming popular because they are accountable and efficient.

Using data to drive performance

Advertisers are growing to love programmatic because they can buy inventory from multiple websites and publishers effectively and efficiently on a single platform. Traditionally, the inventory allocated to programmatic by publishers has been low-cost elements that appear below the fold, but as it evolves we are seeing premium inventory being made available with rich demographic, contextual and behavioural data that brands can use for targeting and re-targeting the right audience.

“Today, we can track users through first-party data such as registration information, second-party data from other websites, and third-party data gathered by tracking users online with cookies,” says Botha. “It all adds up to a rich and detailed picture of the consumer that advertisers can use to optimise performance. The better the data we have access to, the better the performance we can achieve.”

Competing Ecosystems

It is here where the human salesperson still has an important role to play, adds Botha. He or she can help customers make sense of the competing programmatic options in the market and to bring together an ecosystem that best serves the brand and the campaign.

“With the wealth of data available, media strategists have an important role to play in helping clients to choose between the platforms available in market and in understanding how to leverage the data to drive performance,” Botha adds. “Technology can enhance the salesperson’s role by giving him or her a better view of campaign performance across an ecosystem. But the sales rep needs to sharpen his or her technology skills and understanding of platforms and channels right across the board, rather than simply focusing on selling one website.”

Botha says a fully integrated strategy encompassing programmatic approaches and the strategic guidance of a media sales rep is the best road forward for advertisers today. It delivers the automation of programmatic tools, while leaving a gap for publishers and brands to create ‘rich’ tailored solutions that deliver superior ROI for each campaign.