If you’re doing marketing, more than likely, you’ve probably heard of programmatic advertising.
Programmatic’s theory is sound. Instead of buying space on a platform — like a newspaper, radio station or television station — you’re “buying” the audience.
For example, a college administrator is tasked with trying to get an MBA program off the ground. With programmatic he can target:
With programmatic, you buy the desired audience based on desired geography, demographics and behaviors of the consumer’s online history.
Think of Big Brother stalking you online, keeping tabs and trying to sell you stuff.
Programmatic has seen great growth in recent years. According to a report by Invesp:
Combine a desired audience with a relatively low cost compared to other forms of marketing, and it’s easy to see the appeal. The theory makes sense to marketers.
But the theory is flawed. Programmatic has problems.
Lots and lots of problems.