The hidden patterns of Programmatic buying

How to get a head start by blurring the lines between

calendar months

Client meeting

Sounds good!Let’s try programmatic!

‘Programmatic buying’‘Algorithmic learning’‘Optimisation’‘Efficiency gain’

Client meeting

Programmatic

Problematic

So today…

I would like to show you the effect that this way of thinking results in when it is aggregated across the

industry and what/how you can get a head start if only you are able to blur the line between

calendar months, for at least some of the

campaigns you work on, and start and end them any day other than the

first and the last of the month.

Disclaimer: In this presentation, Brandscreen’s first party

data was aggregated across all clients.

Some patterns make sense…

Some patterns make sense…

Some patterns don’t seem to make sense. At least not at first…

Some patterns don’t seem to make sense. At least not at first…

Looking at another month; growth pattern repeats

Looking at another end of month; growth pattern repeats

What does a quarter look like?

What does CYH1 ‘14 look like?

What does CYH1 ‘14 look like?

What did we just see?

SpendCampaignsImpressions

= demand increases towards the- end of the month- end of the quarter- end of half year

Why is this happening?

Start date: 1st

End date: 30th

Meanwhile, what happens to campaigns?

To recap…

• Campaigns, in the era of programmatic buying, are still booked on a calendar month basis

• Many campaigns start late & crammed into less time to deliver

• The combination of these creates a pattern that is purely the result of human intervention

• There is higher competition for the same pool of inventory towards the end of the month (30-50%+ increase)

Why care?

• Higher competition results in higher prices

• It also means less availability on sites you may prefer to be on

• And finally, this way of booking also limits algorithmic learning

To sum it up…

Yes, many times there is need for calendar based planning, and for campaigns to run accordingly. But if not, you could…

• Up-weight campaigns in the beginning of the month• Try to avoid the busiest periods is possible• Challenge your clients on the end date• Consider running campaigns longer to utilise the

‘cheap periods’