The document discusses Programmatic Direct, which allows advertisers to engage specific publishers in an automated environment similar to a traditional digital direct sale. It provides a six-step process for advertisers to leverage Programmatic Direct, including asking questions about a vendor's publisher integrations, data options, reporting capabilities, available ad units, and creative services. The process emphasizes leveraging targeted creative and maintaining communication to optimize Programmatic Direct campaigns.

1. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi

2. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi
AdReady has created a simple six-step process that advertisers
of all sizes can leverage to master Programmatic Direct:
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3. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi
In the digital advertising world, “programmatic” has been a buzzword for years. When
it was introduced in 2009, programmatic was synonymous with real-time bidding
(RTB), referring to the automated auction of ad inventory on a per-impression basis.
While RTB vastly improved the efficiency and scale of digital media buying, it also
limited some of the control from advertisers over where their ads would run. As
programmatic buying has matured into a significant part of the display advertising
landscape, the market has evolved beyond the open auction to address some of these
control and transparency concerns. From this evolution emerged Programmatic
Direct, a process by which advertisers can engage a specific publisher in an automated
environment.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS PROGRAMMATIC DIRECT ?
This type of transaction most closely mirrors a traditional digital direct sale. The
deal is negotiated directly between buyer and seller, the inventory and pricing are
guaranteed, and the campaign runs at the same priority as other direct deals in the
ad server. The programmatic element of the transaction that differentiates it from a
traditional direct sale is the automation of the RFP and campaign trafficking process.
Negotiation through to fulfillment can be, should the publisher desire, completed
within the technology platform providing the automated reserve functionality.
IAB 20131
As the industry buzzes about automated direct buying, much of the focus has
been on the Supply Side – with the largest publishers mapping their inventory and
building/acquiring automation technology. The challenges and opportunities facing
the Demand Side are discussed less often. Direct buys were often too expensive
and time consuming for smaller advertisers to access, and those who did executed
programmatic and off-line direct strategies in silo. Programmatic Direct removes
these barriers, allowing advertisers to bundle the efficiency of automation with the
quality and reliability of direct deals.
“Programmatic direct opportunities are definitely not reserved for large brand
advertisers with huge budgets,” says Jeff Hirsch, President of CPXi. “By applying
lessons learned first in an RTB environment, marketers of all sizes can leverage the
ROI benefits of Programmatic Direct relationships with significantly lower barriers to
entry.”
Thisspecialreportwillexaminehowadvertiserscanmaximizetheiropportunitywithin
the burgeoning Programmatic Direct market by making automation technology work
for them.
PROGRAMMATIC
DIRECT IS ALSO KNOWN
AS AUTOMATED
GUARANTEED,
PROGRAMMATIC
GUARANTEED,
PROGRAMMATIC
PREMIUM &
PROGRAMMATIC
RESERVED
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While sophisticated digital advertisers have been leveraging programmatic buying
methodsforyears,alargepercentageofmarketersareonlyjustbecomingcomfortable
with the automated world in which we currently live. In 2013, programmatic accounted
for only 24% of all US digital display ad spend. By 2016, eMarketer estimates that
programmatic will lead the display advertising industry at 63% of a digital ad spend
(over $20 billion).2
Emerging automation trends and transaction methods will drive a significant portion
of the growth of programmatic in the coming years. Not too long ago, in 2013, RTB
accounted for 98% of programmatic ad spend (see Figure 1). Acronyms like RTB are
now being replaced by PMP (private marketplaces) and DMP (data management
platforms) as brand advertisers want to leverage automation technology to access
premium inventory via more direct relationships with publishers.
WHYISTHIS
IMPORTANT?
PROGRAMMATIC
DIRECT IS GROWING AT
A TREMENDOUS RATE,
AND IS EXPECTED TO
ACCOUNT FOR 42% OF
ALL PROGRAMMATIC
AD SPEND BY 2016
Figure 1: US Programmatic Direct Digital Display Ad Spending
Souce: eMarketer, October 2014
Note: Includes all programmatic ads that are transacted as blocks of inventory using a non-auction-based approach
via an API; includes advertising that appears on desktop/laptop computers as well as mobile phones and tablets.
Programmatic Direct is poised to see exponential growth in the coming years. In 2014,
Programmatic Direct accounted for only a small fraction of the $10 billion spend
for programmatic advertising in the United States. This percentage is expected to
skyrocket, growing to 26% of programmatic spend in 2015 and 42% in 2016.3
Clearly
this is the moment for forward looking players to start leveraging this rapidly growing
strategy.
In the next few years, more buyers and sellers are expected to automate direct
buys and benefit from the technological advances and infrastructure improvements
created during the early years of programmatic. “We are seeing more and more
publishers who want the higher CPMs from Programmatic Direct and private
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marketplaces,” says Jonathan Slavin, Chief Revenue Officer of CPXi and head of the
company’s programmatic division, bRealTime. “Demand clients are also lining up to
access quality inventory that was previously off limits unless they were willing to pay
high premiums for direct buys. Programmatic direct is a win-win scenario.”
Large brand advertisers who had previously avoided RTB due to its lack of guarantees
will now adopt Programmatic Direct as a low-risk entry point into the world of
programmatic. Similarly, advertisers with more modest budgets will experience
increased opportunity by having access to premium inventory sources without
spending the time and resources needed to participate in lengthy, manual RFP and
I/O processes.
Regardless of size, technological sophistication, or marketing budget, advertisers will
need to enter the Programmatic Direct market in the near term, and it is important
that marketers have the right tools in their kit to make the transition as easy and
seamless as possible.
SIXSTEPGUIDETOEFFICIENCYTHROUGHAUTOMATION
It is no longer necessary to spend countless hours and valuable budget on executing
lengthydirectbuys,orelsebeleftoutofthedirectbuyingworldalltogether.Leveraging
a simple process and the right tools, you can easily enter the Programmatic Direct
market without breaking the bank.
ASKQUESTIONS
When evaluating potential Programmatic Direct vendors, you need to make sure to
ask the right questions. The automated buying market is extremely complex and
technical. To ensure transparency between you and your vendor, you need to become
empowered and educate yourself about how the partner executes Programmatic
Direct buys. Some questions you can ask during the RFP process include:
Programmatic direct integrations can take a variety of forms; some vendors have
direct integrations with publishers via APIs that automate every layer of the buying
process, while others are able to integrate with publishers on a one-off basis
in a semi-automated fashion. You should ask vendors about their integration
processes to know whether significant development cost and workflow alterations
will be required to add a publisher you would like to target.
STEP 1:
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WHAT IS YOUR
PUBLISHER
INTEGRATION
PROCESS?

6. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi
All programmatic buying enables the use of various data sources to inform
targeting and optimization. In addition to third party data sets and the advertiser’s
own data, Programmatic Direct also enables the use of a publisher’s first-party
data to enhance contextual relevance and audience targeting. It is important that
a vendor be able to access and ingest a variety of data sets into their executions.
As with any vendor you work with, you need to have a deep understanding of your
Programmatic Direct partner’s reporting capabilities. In order to identify which
metrics to track and report on, you should be transparent about your KPIs and
goals. For example, will you need attribution tracking or any advanced analytics?
Through an open conversation around your goals and a potential vendor’s
capabilities, you will have an easier time identifying the right match. And don’t
forget to ask for a demo of the vendor’s platform!
Some programmatic platforms are known for being experts in only one specific ad
type (standard display, mobile, video, native, etc.) while others are more agnostic
in their inventory access. When it comes to Programmatic Direct, it is essential
that you do research into the websites you may want to advertise on in order to
understand their available inventory types. The last thing you want is to find the
perfect publisher partner for your brand, only to learn that the majority of their
inventory is off limits because your chosen vendor is not able to access it.
Even if you have access to the right inventory through a chosen platform, you also
need to take the creative process into account. As we will show, testing, iteration
and optimization of creative is a pre-requisite to achieving optimal campaign
performance. If you don’t account for creative production in your budget, you
can find that creative agencies may limit your potential ROI. Many vendors offer
programmatic creative services to automate the mechanics of the creative process
and save you money.
Once your campaign is running, it is essential that you remain in close communication
with your partner throughout the entire campaign process. Programmatic direct
improves the efficiencies of traditional direct buying process so things should run
smoothly. But if you have questions or want clarification, don’t hesitate to ask!
LEVERAGETARGETEDCREATIVE
One of the largest benefits of programmatic advertising is the ability to target unique
audiences in real time. In order to capitalize on this capability, though, advertisers
need to ensure that they are able to reach each user with a relevant message.
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WHAT ARE MY
DATA OPTIONS?
WHAT ARE YOUR
REPORTING
CAPABILITIES?
WHAT TYPES
OF AD UNITS
ARE AVAILABLE
THROUGH YOUR
PLATFORM?
DO YOU OFFER
PROGRAMMATIC
CREATIVE?
STEP 2:

7. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi
According to a recent study by Digiday and Celtra, 91% of respondents think that
adapting creative messages based on temporal, geographic, and demographic
factors is important.4
Once your target audiences are identified, you must create
a messaging hook that will resonate to encourage interaction and engagement.
But there’s a problem many advertisers run into…building creative is expensive.
Celtra and Digiday report that 66% of marketers are prevented from achieving true
creative scale due to lack of creative resources, and 58% have insufficient operational
resources.5
A creative agency may charge as much as $10-$20K for a set of high-impact flash
banners. This cost typically comes as a percentage of the advertiser’s overall campaign
budget.6
So for a $100K budget, one set of banners can reduce the amount of spend
used to reach potential consumers by 10%. Then take into account the idea that
to drastically improve campaign performance, it is suggested that you have various
versions of each ad tailored to each target audience. The money spent on creative
production can easily skyrocket. This is an even bigger problem when advertisers
are trying to purchase inventory via Programmatic Direct channels, which tend to be
more expensive that traditional RTB.
By automating the creative production process, advertisers and agencies can save
time on tedious resizing and reformatting tasks and focus solely on getting their
message right. Within minutes, programmatic creative platforms are able to combine
your various creative assets into a full suite of ads that can be used across media and
devices.
TEST,TEST,TEST
Having a variety of ads and knowing when and where to use them are two very
differentthings.Googlerecommendscreatingatleast3-4variationsofeachad,testing
different messages and imagery to see which resonate best with your customers.7
RTB provides an ideal testing environment, as it is generally the least expensive
buying method. For instance, among AdReady clients, average CPMs on the open
exchange are approximately 76% lower than average CPMs for inventory purchased
via direct buying methods.
Data and analysis are everywhere in the digital advertising process, and some
advertisers can fall into data overload. But if you have access to the right technology
through programmatic buying platforms, you can gain valuable insights without
drowning in pivot tables. In addition to testing performance by placement and
STEP 3:
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audience segment, by leveraging programmatic creative in Step 2 you can derive
insights around which creative elements align with each target audience without
needing to conduct time-intensive, cost-prohibitive focus groups.
EXPANDADSIZESELECTION
Once the message is finalized, it is also important to build out the right sizes that
will maximize your opportunity across premium publisher sites. Many marketers,
particularly those with smaller advertising or digital budgets, will create only a single
300x250 ad (or maybe add in a 160x600 or 728x90) so that they can access the most
inventory for the least creative development cost. However, many premium sites
have placements beyond these top three sizes that may have less competition and/
or lower rates (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Available Ad Sizes by Select Publishers
Source: Kantar Media SRDS, February 2015
STEP 4:
Programmaticcreativeallowsmarketerstoleveragepre-madeorcustomadtemplates
that automatically generate various ad sizes by using a single creative asset library.
This allows advertisers to compete more effectively for Programmatic Direct buys.
Additionally, eMarketer found that some non-traditional ad sizes actually have better
viewability rates worldwide, with the 300x250 at the bottom of the list (see Figure 3).10
CHOOSEYOURDIRECTPUBLISHERS
Once the creative messages are tested and finalized and the ads are built out in a
variety of high-performing sizes, it is time to roll out campaigns on direct publisher
sites with Programmatic Direct.
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STEP 5:
MANY TOP PUBLISHERS
ARE EXPANDING
AD SIZE SELECTION
BEYOND THE TOP 3,
ENABLING ADVERTISERS
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF LESS POPULAR
SIZES IF THEY HAVE THE
CREATIVE ASSETS TO
COMPETE

9. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi
AD SIZES OUTSIDE
THE TRADITIONAL TOP
THREE ACTUALLY HAVE
BETTER VIEWABILITY
RATES WORLDWIDE,
WITH THE 300x250
TRAILING THE PACK
WITH ONLY A 41%
VIEWABILITY RATE
Figure 3: Viewability Rates of Digital Display Ads Worldwide, by Size
Source: Google, November 2014
To succeed in Programmatic Direct, you have to work with your account manager to
identify a publisher hit list based on your brand needs and campaign goals. There are
a variety of criteria to consider when choosing a group of websites that will deliver
optimal results for your Programmatic Direct campaign, including:
Audience: You can choose publishers based on your target audience. Insights
gained through RTB testing can help identify the segments that work best for
your campaign, such as demographic, behavioral characteristics, device usage,
geo-location, and more. This information can help you identify publishers with a
similar audience, and Programmatic Direct can ensure efficient access to premium
inventory on those sites.
Engagement Data: You may decide to use RTB to optimize toward a particular
audience and rely on direct buys to align with specific sites. Publisher engagement
data can ensure that your ads are appearing alongside content with which
consumers are actively interacting. Some engagement metrics to consider include:
unique visitors, page views per visitor and bounce rate (the percentage of users
who look at only one page before leaving the site). There are a number of free
sources that provide this engagement information.
Brand Perception: Programmatic direct buys can be very helpful for branding
campaigns. It is important to identify the characteristics of your target audience,
and then extrapolate a list of publishers with whom you would like to associate
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10. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi
your brand image. For example, if you want to align your brand with financial
expertise, you may choose to advertise on a credible, business-oriented publisher
like The Wall Street Journal. Alternatively, if you want to be in touch with a more
alternative, youthful audience, VICE may be a better choice of publisher.
TRACKRESULTSAGAINSTAPPROPRIATEMETRICS
Once a campaign is in progress, the final step is to measure performance across
media types and sources, and to optimize accordingly. By rolling everything up into
a single dashboard or interface, it is easy to identify best-performing elements and
optimize campaigns accordingly. However, it is important to remember that you are
not always comparing apples to apples. Different ad buying strategies have different
metrics associated with them:
Real-Time Bidding: RTB has traditionally been used to generate conversions from
the right audiences. Audience insights are important to identify which users are
converting against which messages at which times. Often, transactional metrics
such as click through rate are used track for these campaigns, as well as cost-per
metrics such as CPM, CPC and CPA.
Programmatic Direct: Direct publisher buys are often leveraged for branding goals.
Presence on specific publisher sites can have a large impact on the associations
consumers make with your brand; it’s about being in the right places. Often for
branding campaigns, it is important to track post-impression engagement and
brand lift over a longer tracking cycle.
You have to make sure that you are not using your RTB metrics as the measure for
success in Programmatic Direct campaigns. Having a firm grasp on the different
strategies you are using will position you to drive maximum results.
As with all trends in the history of the digital advertising industry, the technological
changes that come from the rise of Programmatic Direct will revolutionize the way
advertisers buy inventory across the web. These changes are happening whether
you are prepared or not, but it is easy to become a Programmatic Direct pro with the
six step process outlined in this report. In order to get the most out of Programmatic
Direct, you need to be curious about the unique benefits this strategy provides.
We have removed the barriers to entry that many advertisers face, so you will be
positioned to succeed in this new market, regardless of your budget, team structure
or experience in programmatic.
STEP 6:
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CONCLUSION

11. © 2015 AdReady, CPXi
1
“Programmatic and Automation - The Publisher’s Perspective,” IAB, 2013,
http://www.iab.net/media/file/IAB_Digital_Simplified_Programmatic_Sept_2013.pdf
2
“US Programmatic Ad Spend Tops $10 Billion This Year, to Double by 2016,” eMarketer, 2014,
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/US-Programmatic-Ad-Spend-Tops-10-Billion-This-Year-Double-by-2016/1011312
3
ibid
4
“The Rise of Creative in a Programmatic World,” Celtra and Digiday, 2015, p. 12.
http://digiday.com/celtra-soti-download/
5
ibid, p. 13
6
“Revising the Display Creative Process: Democrotizing Design and Connecting Teams,” PaperG
Blog, 2014, http://www.paperg.com/blog/revising-the-display-creative-process-democratizing-design-and-
connecting-teams/
7
Google Support, https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/1722134?hl=en
8
“The Importance of Being Seen: Viewability Insights for Digital Marketers and Publishers”, Google,
November 2014, http://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/5-factors-of-viewability_infographics.pdf
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PRESENTED BY:
AdReady provides best-in-class programmatic technology and managed media services to brands,
agencies and marketers. Our clients are able to drive efficient and effective digital ad campaigns across
display, mobile, video and social platforms. AdReady is a division of digital media holding company,
CPXi. For more information, visit www.adready.com.
CPXi is a digital media holding company, providing technology, services and processes that make digital
more efficient and effective. Distinct divisions evolve in parallel with emerging digital media capabilities
to meet the myriad of challenges faced by marketers and content providers. CPXi is a privately held
company. For more information, visit www.cpxi.com.