Five prejudices about programmatic - and why they are wrong

In digital advertising today, data is as central as it is the subject of fantasy and polemic. And for good reason! The economic, legislative and social developments regarding the fair use of data require a reasonable questioning and the necessary transparency to better exploit the potential. At the heart of these measures are always the benefits and respect for the Internet user. Let's take a look at five prejudices that should be quickly and definitively forgotten.

1. killer factor DSGVO

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR or, in English, DSGVO) were introduced on May 25, 2018 with the following goal: To hold public and private entities accountable for the collection and processing of personal data, and to do so across Europe.

Although this date still resonates strongly in the minds of all marketers, it is undeniable that these last two years have at least allowed for a massive sensitization of all players about the value of data and a beginning of data cleansing, with the exception of a few conscientious organizations.

For all the others who are concerned about protecting their data, the GDPR has not harmed effective digital advertising and will not do so in the future. On the contrary, the measures have even enabled the emergence of so-called "2nd party data", i.e. data collected or exchanged in the context of a partnership with the consent of the Internet user.

This has resulted in three types of activation: "retail media" (making online retailers true providers of ultra-targeted data); "trade marketing" (which has replaced traditional trade with finer segmentation capabilities and better message design); and finally "audience extention" by publishers (which allows them to extend existing data by, for example, targeting Internet users across different media with better designed messages). It should be noted that in the United States, three quarters of publishers already have corresponding offerings for this purpose.

2. 3rd party data are the Holy Grail for efficient campaigns

The "3rd party data" is data that is available for targeting advertising messages for purchase and resale: Very sensitive data, in other words, and therefore often systematically considered the most effective... wrongly. We must remember that the goal of Programmatic Advertising is to target the right person, at the right time, with the right message...but also at the right price! The cost of data should always be set against the ambitions of the campaign.

For example, in the case of an acquisition campaign (be it for sales, leads or loyalty), it is essential to aim for the lowest possible "cost per conversion". The refined, and therefore expensive, "3rd party data" may not yield the best results. Today, there are alternative and also very effective targeting methods such as "Semantics", "Thematic" or "Lookalike". However, in the case of a branding campaign, where the CPM ("Cost Per Mille" or cost per thousand impressions) is 15-20 times higher (often video advertising and therefore more expensive to produce), the cost of data will be more marginal and therefore more relevant. In summary, it is important to remember that the performance of a campaign does not necessarily depend on the over-exploitation of data.

3. it is impossible to match online and offline data

This statement is also wrong. The data match perfectly and we can also prove this with two principles: Activation and Measurement. As far as activation is concerned, it should be noted that it is now possible to acquire digital screens for outdoor advertising (DOOH) programmatically via auction. In addition, Programmatic TV is a relatively new topic that has become much more important in recent months. It is now possible to buy TV spots programmatically at CPM price, which opens many new perspectives for very tactical on and offline strategies. In terms of measurement, it is now perfectly possible to measure the impact of an online activation offline (checkout boxes at checkout, geolocation of purchase journeys, etc.) and vice versa. So this complementarity exists and is very useful for targeting the right audience and measuring and managing media spend with as little wastage as possible.

4. data is useful to better reach target groups

But data also has very many other properties! Of course they are useful for targeting, but they also enable the design of tailored campaigns and the personalization of messages, for example, depending on behavior or a geolocation/address. And ultimately, they serve to boost performance! For example, by facilitating quantitative and qualitative pre-testing, the risk of error in the process is drastically reduced. In addition, closer monitoring and better knowledge of customers is a significant marketing advantage that can lead to strategic realignments that are normally difficult to identify.

And finally, as we have seen, it allows us to monitor performance with ever finer algorithms, such as the integration of "post-impression/post-view conversions," to name just one. Unfortunately, digital advertising has been run on a click basis for too long -leading to false inferences and an underweighting of individual channels such as display, often never really realizing the potential of digital channels. Today, the accuracy and power of programmatic compensates for this and supports an Internet user's journey through the entire conversion funnel.

5. cookies are at the end

The earth shook again for the sector's professionals when the giant Google announced that it would remove third-party cookies from its browser by 2022. This is certainly bad news, since Chrome represents more than 60 percent of the market, but it was also expected ... and is still quite far in the future! Two years is an eternity in the digital world, and that leaves us an eternity to work together to develop new targeting solutions for tomorrow. Some already exist, such as "Contextual Targeting", which has now reached maturity thanks to its development over the years. There are also a number of initiatives around Advertising ID. These are driven by consortia as well as representative bodies such as the IAB. Although it is impossible to predict which ones will last and catch on, all ad tech players are ready for a world without cookies. Numerous expert commissions regularly work on this topic.

These five prejudices are the tip of an iceberg, consisting of legitimate questions and fears related to data. We as players in digital advertising, have first and foremost the duty to be transparent, to educate and even to train, so that all companies can understand the contours of the issue. They are the prerequisite for the trust we want to regain by making Programmatic the cornerstone of a fundamental change in all advertising, towards more social responsibility (respect for the Internet user, control of content...), economic responsibility (more fairness in compensation, European preference of partners...) and environmental responsibility (measurement and compensation of the environmental impact of our campaigns...).