Humans vs. Technology: Why Can't We Have Both?

We've heard of companies that, in the name of efficiency and lowering costs, begin using machinery and other equipment to create their product. After using technology, the company realizes that it no longer needs its human workers, and jobs are cut, resulting in unemployment for workers.

Some are pointing to a similar situation that could occur as programmatic media buying sweeps advertising agencies and marketers. By automating the online display ad buying process, doesn't this mean that media buyers will no longer be needed? Is this new tech craze going to kill jobs?

It's important to consider this issue, and on the surface, this problem makes sense. While the trend of programmatic is yet to be known, many are predicting a huge influx of programmatic technologies being used to buy online ads and even TV. We don't know yet where the industry will go and whether jobs will, in reality, be lost, yet some are against programmatic for this very reason. Even industry executives are split on whether they believe jobs will suffer—An AOL survey showed that 57% of executives do not think jobs will be affected.

    
Why can't we all just get along? Source

For me, it's a scary thought—after graduation, the profession I seek to obtain is media planning and buying, so the threat of a new technology that could do my job and thus take it from me is frustrating.

But I don't think the threat is big enough to become a reality. While automation would make things much easier in the online ad world, it certainly isn't perfect, and the need for humans still exists. Here are a few more reasons why I think we can have our technology and keep our jobs, too.

1. Optimization is Key to Avoiding Dreadful Mistakes

A human media buyer knows that running a brand's ads on certain websites or alongside television programs that don't match the brand's persona or ideals is not a good idea (think porn sites or South Park for a family-friendly brand). A computer program may not understand this, even if seemingly foolproof restrictions are put in place. And this has, in fact, actually happened! Some ads have ended up on Jihad YouTube videos and other inappropriate sites. A human controlling the programmatic buy can notice and prevent these types of issues. But humans optimizing campaigns isn't just for avoiding disasters—optimizing campaigns to ensure costs stay low, that the budget is being allocated to specific goals (rather than simply putting all of the budget toward a cheap option), and to ensure placements are congruent with brand image and audience objectives is necessary every day in programmatic management.

2. It's Obvious, but...Computers Just Aren't People

...and they can't do things a human with a brain and a personality can. A computer can't have a conversation with the client to know what the true brand objectives are in order to implement them effectively. A person can. A computer cannot give a presentation to the client summarizing the learnings from a programmatic campaign and make suggestions for the future. A human can. See where this is going?

3. Humans are Flexible

Humans will bend and change with the new technologies that face them. In a few years, a media buyer's role might definitely change (in fact, they are starting to change now), but this doesn't mean all is lost. Caspar Schlickum with iMedia Connection points out that programmatic is providing new opportunities for the humans which relate more to data and technology. Do a Google search for "programmatic jobs," and you'll find numerous companies looking to hire people to work with programmatic technologies. To me, this doesn't seem to show that programmatic is taking any jobs, but rather creating more specialized ones. This means that there may be a gap now in the skills needed to be a media buyer and run a programmatic campaign—the previously mentioned AOL study also showed that more than one-third of the surveyed executives think there is a skills gap that needs to be filled. Media buyers may need to invest some time into learning about this new technology, but that's no reason to run screaming from it.

Neil Pace from McCulloch and Company says it perfectly, "There is no button to push or switch to flip that will just create a media campaign and do all the work for you. Additionally, there will never be a future where all humans will be replaced by robots performing programmatic buys." I see no solid evidence showing that people will be replaced by machines.

Have you had an experience with jobs being created or taken because of programmatic? Share it in the comments!

Could Programmatic TV Buying Fundamentally Change the Traditional TV Buying Model?

The way television ads are traditionally bought and sold has the potential to completely change.

Programmatic buying methods took the online ad buying space by storm, and now there is an attempt to apply programmatic technologies to buy TV spots.

Traditionally, buying television ads used data about TV shows to pick appropriate programs for targeted audiences. However, under a programmatic method, now TV ad buying would focus on using data about audiences to pick relevant shows. There is less emphasis on the actual TV show being bought and more focus on the specific target watching; advertisers don't care whether their ad is shown on The Simpsons or Chopped, as long as their target audience is viewing.

Perhaps dogs will also be included as target markets under programmatic TV buying... 

(That was a joke.)

Source: Mark Stevens

In fact, some say that ratings for television programs may not even be needed in the programmatic model, as advertisers would be focusing less on the show a consumer is watching and more on who that viewer actually is.

Programmatic TV buying envisions a system in which one has a defined audience, the ability to deliver an ad, and the automation system to deliver that ad millions of times in multiple channels. It also can target users more specifically, as programmatic buying does online. Instead of buying an audience of Women 18-34, advertisers can target a subset of that demographic—perhaps Women 18-34 who are avid bicyclists.

Or buyers using programmatic TV methods could target Men 18-24 who like Apple products and Hawaiian Punch....?

Source: Yuwen Memon

I find it intriguing that television, traditionally a reach medium seeking as many relevant eyeballs as possible, would move toward a more strategic approach to finely target consumers. TV would still reach many people, yes, but, using programmatic, it would be more picky about which eyeballs are watching. I think this would be a positive thing for consumers; as I've said previously on this blog, I believe advertising that is relevant to specific consumers is a win-win for potential customers and advertisers. Common sense says that there's a higher probability a person would watch an ad for something in which they might genuinely be interested rather than a mass-marketed commercial.

Yet, there is some backlash to programmatic TV buying, and some say that there are too many drawbacks to the programmatic TV model to ever be effective. I agree that some are concerning.

One drawback that has been mentioned is that auction-like environments might devalue some highly desired ad time (such as events like the Superbowl). As with online programmatic buying, the definition of what programmatic TV buying actually is causes confusion. And proving to broadcasters that this new system is worthwhile is also a challenge. 

Networks own their ad inventory and want to sell it at a premium price or force advertisers to buy it to get more access to sister networks, etc. This type of system isn't an option in the programmatic model.

Neither is the upfront and scatter method. Traditionally used in buying TV, ads are sold at a discounted rate during the upfront (Springtime, before the show airs) to ensure the show doesn't fail. After that, ads are bought using the scatter method (bought closer to the air date of the show and not necessarily aimed at a specific demographic target). Ads are mainly meant to offset the high production costs of shows, and highly efficient programmatic buying doesn't really fit that type of business model.

While a programmatic TV buying model isn't a complete reality yet, it is being experimented with by companies trying to create programmatic TV platforms to networks like NBC.

Is it possible that, if developed, programmatic TV buying could flip traditional TV buying on its head? Or is this hype all just another programmatic fad?

I also used this article and this article as background for the writing of this blog post.

What Really Happens While a Webpage is Loading

Though I provided a basic outline of programmatic buying in a previous blog post, I recently stumbled across a few interesting infographics compiled by Altitude Digital explaining more about programmatic marketing process and providing some key insights. The graphs are useful in helping to fully understand the programmatic buying concept. This is the second and final post in a two-part series looking at these informative images. See the first part here.

This 2013 infographic from Turn shows the life cycle of an online ad. I love this image because it helps consumers understand the technology behind ads they see online every day.

                     

• For example, let's say I (Olivia) click on a URL to look at a cooking blog website (We will call it Cooking Blog—capital letters always make things more official). 

(*Note: the "publishers" mentioned in the infographic are anyone who create and post content (from little blog creators to sites like Facebook) that collect online revenue.)

• Cooking Blog checks its own local ad server to see if there is an online ad bought by an advertiser that they can serve. If they do not have one, they go to an AdExchange, or a real-time auction space where publishers and advertisers can interact and buy and sell online ad availability.

• The AdExchange sends my user profile to several demand-side platforms (remember, my profile is anonymous! See this post for more information about my thoughts regarding the Internet, anonymity, and advertising). A demand-side platform is simply software that helps purchase ad space in an automated way across multiple publisher sites. DSPs are the "matchmaker" between ad space and specific user profiles. They also serve and track the ads.

• The DSPs add some additional data on to my profile to better determine if the characteristics of my user profile meets those specified in certain ad campaigns. The DSP also looks at the size of the ad or accepted types of ad formats to be sure the ad that will be served even fits that requirement. Obviously, an ad with video capabilities would not work well in a space that doesn't accept video ads.

• The demand-side platform uses its mathematical algorithm and looks at specific qualifications to evaluate the "value" of my user profile (whether or not it's worth it to bid on my impression). It relates this to the different advertisers (say, Cooking Product One, Cooking Product Two, and Cooking Product Three) bidding on my profile. This also includes the cost of my impression (how much my viewing of the ad is worth in actual dollars).

• This DSP information is submitted to the AdExchange.

• The AdExchange runs the auction using a second-price method, which means whoever wins the auction pays one penny more than the original bid of the second-highest bidder. For example, Cooking Product One may think my impression is worth $4.50, while Cooking Product Two thinks I am worth $4.00, and Cooking Product Three may bid $3.00. If Cooking Product One would win the bid, instead of paying their original price of $4.50, they would only pay $4.01 for my impression (Cooking Product Two's price + one additional penny).

There's no doubt that online auctions
are more efficient and less awkward than this experience.
Source: BurnAway

• The winning bid is sent to the publisher (Cooking Blog).

• The Cooking Blog server tells the web browser to show the ad and the advertiser's server sends the winning ad to the browser.

• The ad gets shown on the page I clicked on on Cooking Blog's website!

Now that you know some of the basics, try your luck on this quiz about the real-time bidding and programmatic buying process created by Altitude Digital. If you scored high, comment below and brag about it! Or let me know the things you learned from the quiz or are curious to know more about!

Why Programmatic Meets Marketers' Needs: Infographic Review

Though I provided a basic outline of programmatic buying in a previous blog post, I recently stumbled across a few interesting infographics compiled by Altitude Digital explaining more about the programmatic marketing process and providing some key insights. The graphs are useful in helping to fully understand the programmatic buying concept. This is part one in a two-part series looking at these informative images.

This 2013 infographic from DataXu gives some insight into issues marketers are having that might be leading to the acceptance of programmatic. I've provided some summarizing commentary on the right.

It is no surprise that consumers are actively using technology to help them shop. Consumers are using digital technology even when shopping in-store and are using technology to interact with brands online.








Marketers are setting aside dollars for real-time bidding. Remember, real-time bidding is not the same as programmatic buying. Real-time bidding is selling online ad impressions through an "auction" that happens in the amount of time it takes a webpage to load. Programmatic can use real-time bidding, but not all RTB is programmatic. Get it? Got it? Good.



However, setting aside dollars toward this technology means nothing without data to help drive it. "Data" may be a buzzword in advertising, yet it's extremely important, and this graph shows that many marketers are struggling to know how to properly use it.







Many organizations have tons of data, yet much of it is not analyzed or formed into effective plans. Additionally, they struggle to show proof of plans that are effective.






















Using consumer insights to build plans, and taking ownership as a company of this intelligence, is essential—not only for the company, but for customers. Relevance is always important.

Programmatic is perhaps being accepted as a way of buying online ads because its allows automation and ease for marketers in the right areas where they need it. Programmatic can utilize consumer data efficiently, finding the correct, relevant viewers for an ad and not potentially wasting ad dollars. It can show ROIs and metrics, and makes the user experience for consumers more comfortable and pertinent. In an article in Forbes, Ben Arnold, Associate Director of Digital Strategy at Kellogg, summarized programmatic in such a way, saying that, "the most interesting aspect of this (programmatic) ecosystem is a DSP (demand-side-platform)'s ability to ingest a client’s digital media plan—brand, budget, success metrics, etc.—while layering on other data sources and decisioning algorithms to find the impressions that deliver the right consumer when they are most receptive to the message." In other words, some of the things marketers are struggling with, including metrics showing ROIs, budgets, and consumer data, are all executed through a more efficient process in programmatic.

Are there any other reasons why marketers are picking up on programmatic so quickly? Share your thoughts below!

Is Your Online Privacy Threatened by Programmatic Ads?

I grew up without Internet. In fact, we didn't even own a computer when I was young. (Keep in mind, I am a Millennial.)

Trying to do homework without Internet was quite the task. If a homework assignment required research on a certain animal or period in history, we would use our huge encyclopedia set in the basement. Unless it was a word starting with the letter "N" or "St-Su". We were missing those volumes.

And if it was an assignment where the two paragraphs from the encyclopedia just wouldn't cut it, we trekked off to the library to spend an hour online doing our homework. It was frustrating.

Finally, in late elementary school, we used our tax refund to buy a computer, and eventually got dial-up. It was revolutionary.

As I grew up, I became aware of things like AIM, online forums, and social media. My world expanded!

 But my parents were terrified of these sites. All they knew were the horror stories of children being abducted because of interactions with creepers online or the pop-ups that would give your computer a virus.

We finally got "real" Internet five years ago, when I was a junior in high school. But after all that time, and the things I'd learned from my parents, I was still cautious, perhaps even scared, about being online. I still am cautious. I triple check things before I post. I try to find a balance between sharing enough so a future employer can contact me and holding back enough so a stalker can't attack me.

So of all people, I should be the one who shies away from the ads, including programmatic ones, that seem to infiltrate our lives and know what websites or products we were just looking at online.

But I don't.

I wholeheartedly believe in personal freedoms. I believe in privacy, of one's home and one's interactions online. I am often one who craves simplicity and being away from technology so I can escape the commercialism.

And yet, I love advertising. I hate being sold to, and I hate being told what I should want, need, and value in my life. But I love interactions with brands, being shown deals and coupons relevant to what I am seeking, or being entertained or informed by an advertisement. I believe ads are a necessity in our world, and I applaud the companies that are financially successful and/or produce effective advertising.

So how do I balance this, and what does this have to do with programmatic advertising?

Recently, people have become aware of their privacy (or lack thereof) online. This is good! Everyone should be educated about how to be safe and smart online. Programmatic ads utilize cookies and data of users, and with this renewed desire for security, there have been mentions and rumblings about whether or not programmatic buying will cross any privacy lines (especially in the UK with their data privacy legislation—see more here). Some have even posited that this is ethically wrong! However, privacy issues and data collection are not exclusive to programmatic buying, and sometimes the blurring of this line can be a positive thing for advertisers and consumers.

While there is still much for me to discover about the programmatic buying method, the reasons why I am so attracted to programmatic buying is because
1. It is efficient (unlike our encyclopedia set!)
and 2. It meets the needs of consumers and advertisers.

Advertisers Gain Meaningful Impressions and Consumers Gain Meaningful Information
Advertisers are able to cater their ads to people who may actually care about their product if data about these consumers is utilized. Money is not wasted on impressions or leads that will go nowhere. Consumers benefit because they are served with ads they actually care about. I recently got married, and was on what felt like an endless hunt for the perfect vests for my groom and the groomsmen. After multiple fruitless Google searches (in which I was obviously being "watched"), I was served with multiple small ads on Facebook for black, male vests. I saw the ads, clicked on them, and while I did not purchase the specific one in the ad, I did end up buying our vests from Macy's (and they looked awesome!). Win-win!

Consumers are Never Actually Identified
An advertiser or algorithm may see the different sites I visit in a day, but they never actually see me. Any identifying information is stripped from its data in advertising technology (though apparently identification does happen in rare cases in which consumer opt-in has been obtained). There are several organizations used for self-regulation by digital advertising agencies to avoid unethical collection of data, and there are always programs and technologies that allow consumers to opt-out of digital tracking.

The Internet and Its Content Remains Free 
Advertisers are paying for sites to remain open, for publishers and writers to have salaries, and for consumers to access content for free. If I am able to access what I want online and only be bothered by a few sidebar ads, I consider that a relatively low cost in exchange for the the content provided.

We should definitely be smart consumers and contributors online and be aware of the risks and issues involved with privacy and data collection. However, I personally am excited to see the benefits brought to the table by smarter, more targeted, relevant, and efficient online advertising. Even as an overly cautious Internet user. But what do you think? Are you concerned about privacy issues with online advertising?

If you're interested in learning more about this issue and the multiple viewpoints presented, provided below are links to further reading:
Is Programmatic Buying Problematic Buying?
Targeted Online Advertisements: A Threat To Personal Identity And Security?How Will "Do Not Track" Affect the Programmatic Landscape?