From Sync2

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:

•  People with a college degree who have an interest in continuing education
• People located within a 25-mile radius of campus
• Commuters in and around the campus
• Income levels
• And more

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.

A growing trend

Programmatic has seen great growth in recent years. According to a report by Invesp:

•  62 percent of US marketers use programmatic to achieve brand awareness
• The amount of money spent on programmatic is expected to have increased more than 226 percent from 2013 to 2018, accounting for nearly $37.88 billion
• 32 percent of marketers surveyed said more than 50 percent of their online budget was programmatic and 98 percent said their programmatic spend would remain or increase in the coming year

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.

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