Programmatic Direct 101

Over the past few years there have been significant developments in the way digital media is bought and sold.

Over the past few years there have been significant developments in the way digital media is bought and sold. The rise of programmatic technology has streamlined this process significantly.

Currently, the concept of programmatic media solutions can be divided into two broad models: Real Rime Bidding and Programmatic Direct.

Both these methods have similar advantages such as aiding publishers to sell their inventory with quickly and easily. So, what is different?

Programmatic Direct is used to handle media sales between a publisher and an advertiser – it cuts out the need for a middleman such as a DSP, Exchange or Agency.

RTB is an auction-based way of selling inventory.

RTB involves some uncertainty. For instance, the variables (price, publisher, date etc.) are negotiable with real time auctions based on parameters according to what the publisher has set.

Both methods are automated, however unlike RTB Programmatic Direct allows Publishers control over certain variables.  With Programmatic Direct Publishers have control over who purchases the inventory as well as the creative used, as they can reject any orders that they don’t feel is a suitable match to their website.

Programmatic Direct technology is integrated with a Publisher’s ad server making the inventory available to advertisers that may not have had access to the inventory prior.

Programmatic Direct handles everything in the transaction – checking availability, creative upload, reporting and even ad-serving if necessary.

Programmatic Direct sits quite nicely in between sales teams and remnant sales (RTB). It is ideal for sales that require very little customization – standard ad units, standard creative and purchased either on an impression or sponsorship format.

Programmatic Direct automates the manual processes managed by sales teams. The traditional back and forth between publisher, media agency and advertiser is reduced significantly or removed entirely. It creates efficiency and allows sales team to build relationships and focus on selling larger more complicated deals – thus increasing revenue in the long term. It compliments rather than removes the need for having a sales team.

Programmatic Direct is also great for advertisers – as they are guaranteed the placement of where their ad is going to sit on the site as well as the number of impressions they’ll receive since they are purchased guaranteed inventory. This gives the advertiser a lot more confidence when making a media purchase, and also ensures that the publisher can have some predictability of how much they can make from the campaign.

Programmatic Direct is still in the early stages – and a lot more developments are likely to happen over the coming months and years. With more tools and features being added to platforms making it more and more effective and efficient. What this means is more publishers will switch to Programmatic Direct, which means it will become more attractive to larger advertisers and media agencies.

Programmatic Direct makes media inventory sales faster and easier, as well as ensuring that issues such as media planning, execution and buying easier to manage, balancing brand and performance requirements, making display advertising a lot more desirable for everyone.

These are some features and advantages of Programmatic Direct and why it is quite useful for advertisers and publishers. Visit AdSlot.com for more information.

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