The decades-long evolution of programmatic advertising is being turned on its head by the rise of Connected TV (CTV), as the channel redefines the meaning of automation.
Soo Jin Oh, chief strategy officer of Comcast’s ad tech unit FreeWheel, says this in this video interview with Beet.TV.
“It’s definitely been a journey because programmatic has been around for over a decade,” says Oh. “It’s really taken off because it’s possible to reach audiences across millions of websites and mobile apps in a very automated way.”
Finite Inventory redefines programmatic
But when it comes to CTV, Oh says, “It really uproots the definition of how you automate and how you unlock that value. There aren’t millions of premium sources when it comes to CTV, it’s much more limited.”
As a result, “many players in the programmatic ecosystem really need to redefine their approach to programmatic,” Oh believes. “That one-to-one connection and direct connection to the source was the beginning of the journey.”
While programmatic advertising has historically been associated with real-time bidding on open exchanges, Oh says the evolution of CTV has led to contracts being signed directly between ad buyers and sellers. “A lot of programmatic guaranteed contracts with buyers and sellers, and now we’re really moving more toward things like marketplace buying, connecting multiple audiences, and doing that at scale,” she says.
Growth in live and shoppable ads
Oh expects an increase in programmatic availability of live content such as news and sports.
“Even things like major sporting events or the upcoming presidential election campaign are increasingly being enabled through programs,” she says. “So that’s exciting.”
Oh also expects growth in programmatic delivery of shoppable ads.
“We’re still in the early stages of shopping,” she says. “We’ve tried QR codes. We’re testing things like dual device, be it a remote control or a mobile phone.”
Millisecond complexity
Oh says FreeWheel is working on delivering live events like the Olympics programmatically, but she is aware of the complexities.
“We’re talking about millions of people logging in and viewing within milliseconds,” she says. “We need to deliver the right ads.”
“That’s why at FreeWheel we’re working on things like how we can get the creative content pre-approved and pre-vetted so that no moment is missed. And we’re making sure that the whole thing can also be done programmatically so that advertisers can buy this type of inventory at scale.”
