A cleaner advertising market, an even more responsible industry : this is what is promised by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into force in May. Consumers will have more control over the use of their personal data online. The industry will be in a better position to explain the significant role of data monetization, not only as a source of income for publishers, but also as a guarantee of a high-quality experience, through better targeted advertising and messages that are consistent with users’ preferences.
Will 2018 be the year in which we work more effectively to tackle the disreputable practices that undermine our industry? The entry into force of French decree no. 2017-159 suggests that it will be! As of January 1st this decree imposes unprecedented traceability in the digital advertising industry, extending the application of the transparency principles of the 1993 French “Sapin” law to cover online translations. As a result, it substantially increases the information that advertising space sellers must provide to advertisers, particularly when it comes to programmatic. It tackles the lack of transparency in the sector by making intermediation between buyers and publishers’ representatives illegal.
In 2017, programmatic advertising became the norm when purchasing online advertising. Its technologies, practices and standards have been developed on the field, leaving training professionals very little time to grasp them effectively. The market is suffering from a shortage of skilled workers, with media traders being snapped up at high cost. Those who act as quickly as possible to implement training programms to meet the needs of the industry are doing the right thing!
2018 will be the year in which new purchasing methods will be applied by the best media traders in the market, in response to the widespread adoption of header bidding by publishers. This innovative solution has intensified the competition around the best impressions, increasing their CPM. But it has also increased the costs of purchasing platforms (demand-side platforms – DSP), while exposing the buyer to the risk of competing with themselves. The experience of media trading teams will make a huge difference when it comes to identifying the most direct route to the best price per impression.
The increased power of programmatic is revolutionising advertisers’ everyday life. In France, brands are expressing their desire to develop their teams’ skills in order to fully master the tactics of the game, the technologies and those who provide them. In the United States, some advertisers are going further in their pursuit to bring media trading in-house. 35% of marketers interviewed by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) have increased their internal purchasing capacities in relation to ad exchanges, compared to 14% in 2016. 50% of them operate more than $100 million. This trend is also starting to emerge in Europe.
Programmatic has helped to reconcile the supply and demand within several major advertising marketplaces. Yet, paradoxically, we will face an increasing market fragmentation in 2018. Now is the time for media and data to come together! Thos alliances will allow publisher to face the FAMGA stranglehold on advertising budgets. In this context, media buying operators must demonstrate their creativity and adaptability in order to guarantee complete access to different inventory sources. Let’s not forget that for each environment created, an integration is necessary, agreements must be made and a specific expertise is required.
The impact that social plateforms have on brands’ visibility is pretty obvious. What is changing is the power that these environments exert on the act of purchasing, which has never been stronger. Followers use consumers perceptions and news from brands that have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest as their inspiration. Short, powerful, and “snackable” content allows advertisers to stand out from the crowd, while adopting a more ROI-focused approach. Let’s not forget that these environments, renowned for their lack of transparency, are making an effort to open up to third-party campaign monitoring tools.
Streaming TV channels via mobile apps and the internet (OTT), online videos, smart TV, replay TV or VOD via a set-top box… The boundaries between traditional TV and digital technology continue to disappear, and television inventories are becoming increasingly more open to the targeting technologies used in campaigns based on data. Programmatic’s promise to deliver the right message at the right time to the right person will continue to gain ground in the French TV sector in 2018.
Initiatives to implement blockchain in the advertising world will increase in 2018, with key stakeholders becoming involved such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) which has established a working group dedicated to this concept. Blockchain makes it possible to store and transmit data in a decentralised and transparent manner. Each transaction is recorded in the blockchain, so that all members are aware of it. A number of analysts view this as a solution capable of boosting advertisers’ confidence and efficiently tackling fraud and data leakage.
Artificial intelligence will continue to strengthen online advertising. Data processing boosted by machine learning offers buyers high quality audience segments and a more reliable control over brand safety. The algorithms learn as data is processed, as inventories are scanned and campaigns broadcasted, and this process substantially strengthens the efficacy of programmatic campaigns.
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