Programmatic advertising is predicted to skyrocket to an impressive $271 billion in 2025—an increase of over $100 billion from 2021.
The surge in growth anticipated for 2024 can be attributed in part to it being an election year, since political advertising lends itself well to key benefits of programmatic advertising, like behavioral and contextual targeting and data-driven personalization. However, the continued growth in programmatic spend is part of a broader expansion of available ad types that present exciting opportunities for advertisers when integrated successfully.
In this article we’ll break down some of key trends and opportunities within programmatic advertising operations that ad ops leaders should consider as they plan their 2024 strategies.
Automation will increasingly enable advertisers to scale programmatic media and drive “full funnel” strategies.
Ad execution professionals have historically faced significant challenges in implementing programmatic rich-media formats at scale. The primary hurdle lies in the substantial labor and resource investment required. This often involves intricate planning, labor-intensive asset creation, complex coding requirements, and resource-intense monitoring and optimization.
However, the media landscape is rapidly evolving, and these formats are increasingly lending themselves to automation. This shift is primarily driven by technological advancements in AI and data integration. By connecting the data and assets required for rich media formats together into unified ad management platforms, advertisers will be able to streamline delivery of programmatic media and break down operating silos that have historically existed within execution teams. As we move forward, expect to see automation playing a prominent role in the scalable execution of programmatic rich-media formats.
AI will enable faster development, implementation and testing of video and image formats.
In 2024, several emerging programmatic trends will shape the advertising ecosystem. One of the most significant trends is the rise of video ads, propelled by advancements in programmatic technology and an increased appetite for visual content among consumers. Video ads offer a dynamic and immersive experience, allowing brands to create compelling narratives that engage their audience on a deeper level. The rise of AI will help accelerate this trend further by helping advertisers personalize their video advertising and increase audience relevance.
AI will also create new opportunities for display and image ads, long a bedrock of programmatic advertising. Advertisers will be able to leverage AI to support improved creative development, making this tried-and-true ad type more impactful.
Compliance, brand safety, and unified reporting will be increasingly important and advertisers scale programmatic media.
Beyond campaign execution and faster creative development, automation and AI will support key ad management workflows in the year ahead–including brand compliance and multichannel reporting and optimization at scale. Having programmatic advertising integrate within a holistic advertising strategy that also includes demand capture tactics like search ads will lead to improved performance outcomes.
For instance, a consumer's day might start with viewing an ad on social media, followed by exposure to an audio ad during their podcast during their commute to work. Their browsing sessions at work are interspersed with diverse display ads with product carousels and product selections, and a leisurely walk to lunch may include encounters with digital out-of-home advertisements. The consumer's day concludes with connected TV ads while enjoying their preferred streaming show. Hence, maintaining a coherent and unified advertising approach across these platforms is paramount.
Automation of this entire process not only ensures delivery consistency of personalized experiences, but conserves time and increases the effectiveness of your advertising—all while mitigating brand management and compliance risks.
Key takeaways: Major opportunities for programmatic advertising strategies, powered by emerging automation and AI technologies
As we move forward into 2024, the increasing significance of cross-platform advertising demands advertisers' attention. Ensuring a consistent brand image and message across various platforms becomes a critical strategy to maximize impact. This is because audiences are engaging with content throughout their day across various mediums.
Automation will be key to helping power this multichannel approach, unlocking your organizations’ full potential in the programmatic space, driving:
- Scalable Ad Creation: Launch advertising in bulk to maximize your efforts.
- Consolidated Ad Management: Manage all of your advertising channels from one place to increase efficiency, save time, and boost performance.
- Consistency and compliance: Create and manage consistent messaging cross-channel.
If you're interested in learning more, we encourage you to get in touch with us.
