Programmatic, no longer the new kid on the block, but still rocking!

Rachmah Gamiet takes us through the ins and outs of Programmatic and how if used correctly it can be more than just a Brand awareness tool. Find out how you can adjust your strategy and assist clients with lead generation and conversions using Programmatic.

As most of us know, Programmatic is no longer the new kid on the block, so I won’t bore you with all the basic details. However, I do want to talk about how Programmatic can be used, or more importantly, what it’s done for me.

Programmatic was initially positioned as a brand awareness tool

In the beginning, Programmatic was sold as a system that could deliver high volume traffic at a much cheaper rate. It primary position in the sale pitch was for the sole purpose of increasing brand awareness. And as we know clients adore nothing more than cheaper rates, which made it a rather easy product to sell.

The case study

After running campaigns through Programmatic for a few months, I was able to clearly show clients how this product gives brands that extra push it needs. I was then fortunate enough to get a 6-month investment from a client for a Programmatic campaign and this is where it gets interesting. The campaign was sold on Brand Awareness, which of course dictated it’s set up. The strategy was simple, drive traffic to the website. Two months passed by and the system identified an audience who were very interested in the brand. A remarketing strategy was then implemented, in which we targeted this group with a set of creatives aimed to drive conversion. User groups were also re-targeted in terms of products they had shown an interest in during previous visits to the site.

The results

Much to our surprise, not only did traffic to the site increase, conversions increased drastically. Thus after 2 months we tactically changed our campaign objective from ‘Brand Awareness’ to ‘Conversion Generation. This strategy together with many others has changed the way we look at and use programmatic. Various campaign optimisation allows you to use this product in more ways than one and better yield results according to clients needs.

Programmatic vs tradition Ad display networks

As a Programmatic rookie 3 years ago, I thought this discovery was amazing; initially, I was under the impression Programmatic was very similar to a conventional ad network. However, there are key differences. With a network, targeting is selected, and ads are served to that specific target group. With Programmatic, on the other hand, the system finds you the perfect audience. Once this audience is established, it's up to the practitioner to optimise vigorously to achieve the desired results. One of the simplest tactics is remarketing.

Programmatic and remarketing

Remarketing allows one to target users who have already visited the clients’ website or even a specific landing page. When remarketing is implemented, we can catch the user at that right moment which results in a greater chance of users converting into customers.

Integrating your campaigns

Now don’t get me wrong, Programmatic is amazing, but the smarter strategy would be not to focus solely on Programmatic. Programmatic can be used as a conversion driver, we still need to make everyone aware of the campaign driver before the conversion can occur. Focussing on awareness is great but we also want a presence on sites that we know are popular and that we know has regular users.

Yes, I’m talking about premium sites. After many a campaign, I believe premium sites serve as a great support for Programmatic. If the user doesn’t convert through Programmatic, they are very likely to convert through a premium site after seeing one of the programmatic ads sometime throughout their journey (and vice versa).

I know everyone may not agree with me, but this is my experience, and it has worked remarkably for all my campaigns. Programmatic is great with acquiring conversions, but I do know that when other channels are involved (e.g. Premium Media, Search, Facebook), the performance is far superior. And in the end, we’ll find these channels support each other and assist each other in delivering great results.

About the author

Rachmah is a passionate marketer and always looking at innovative ways to drive results for her clients. When she’s not working, you can find her eating (big, big foodie) or spending time with her awesome kid and husband!

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Tags: digital strategy, guest post, programmatic, remarketing, targeting