Programmatic Pros: Leah Feigel, Amnet Group

Over the summer I had the amazing opportunity to venture to New York City and intern at Carat, a media agency part of the Dentsu Aegis Network. During my time there, I was exposed to many of the other branches of the Dentsu Aegis Network. One such branch is Amnet, the trading desk for Dentsu Aegis. I briefly shadowed an employee at Amnet, which piqued my curiosity and helped me begin my programmatic journey through this blog.

This blog is not only to help me learn about programmatic tech—it's to assist others in learning and understanding the new advertising technology available, whether it be a student interested in media buying, a consumer wondering why they see so many ads based on things they've searched, or professionals looking more into what the programmatic buzz is all about.

Since I got my start learning with Leah Feigel, an account manager at Amnet, I decided to reconnect with her, pick her brain, help others learn from her, too.

Olivia: Tell me about your role at Amnet.

Leah: I am an Account Manager with Amnet. I currently work on a variety of brands including: The Home Depot, Hilton, Gucci, and Adidas. As a manager, I am responsible for both overseeing the technical aspect of working with different systems to purchase media as well as maintain positive client relationships. Day to day, I am often optimizing campaigns for performance as well as fielding client questions about current or future opportunities.



Olivia: What types of skills do you need to do your job effectively, and how did you gain them (training course, college education, etc.)?

Leah: Well, I got my start by getting a BS in Advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. At the time, I didn’t foresee myself working in media buying at all. From a degree standpoint, I’d say anything that equips you with complex problem solving skills helps prepare you for this job. The knowledge that you gain from experience is really valuable for anyone in this industry. Technology changes so quickly that there really isn’t any other way to keep up other than to be completely immersed in it. To get your foot in the door, I’d definitely follow relevant digital industry publications like AdExchanger, Digiday, etc. Aside from that, internships are always key to getting the right connections and experience to get you started.



Olivia: What is one topic, definition, etc. you think people are missing that makes it hard for them to understand programmatic?

Leah: People often over complicate the subject. Programmatic just means automated. It simply means that you can buy media without having to have 20 conversations and signed contracts. Real time bidding (RTB) is just a form of programmatic buying (this is where people start to get lost): much like the stock market, the highest bid wins the inventory. Then throw in data… now it’s really complicated. Data is pretty infinite. Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, was recently quoted saying "From the dawn of civilization to 2003, five exabytes of data were created. The same amount was created in the last two days." That’s pretty crazy to think about. Marketers go nuts trying to figure out what to do with all of their data and how to fit it all in to this programmatic scene. When speaking with clients, it’s easy to geek out on every detail all in one conversation. I try my best to break each topic out and then take to the whiteboard for visuals.



Olivia: As a person in the industry, what are your thoughts on the worries people have that computers will "replace" humans in programmatic buying?

Leah: This has been a hot topic for some parts of the industry, especially sales. However, there will never be a time where the industry will rely on technology 100%. The tech we use is absolutely brilliant, but there is always the need for a human element. A computer can make billions of algorithmic based decisions, but it still lacks judgment. The technology element has allowed for some efficiencies which can mean that fewer employees are needed to manage media relationships, but I feel that the industry is finding ways to account for this from an organizational standpoint.



Olivia: What do you think the future looks like for programmatic, including some of the key technological issues such as programmatic TV and mobile?

Leah: TV is definitely on the horizon. As more and more users adopt connected TV sources like Apple TV, Roku, TV streaming apps etc., we are opening doors to gather even more data to make educated video buys. Outdoor advertising is another channel that is quickly seeing opportunities in the programmatic space. We can access digital outdoor displays and now change messaging faster than ever. Essentially, anywhere a digital or connected element exists, there will likely be opportunity. Mobile is already pretty well developed and is currently expanding into the cross device conversation. Ideally, we’ll be able to know a user’s work computer, home computer, tablet, connected game system, and mobile phone so we can reach them with the right messaging on the correct device at the right time.



Olivia: What advice do you have for marketers interested in adopting programmatic technologies?

Leah: Remember that programmatic is just a tool in your media mix. You want it to work together with your other buys and initiatives, not be completely siloed. If you are spending millions of dollars for a presence on TV, there is probably a good reason for that. Find ways for programmatic to supplement and boost your other media investments. Secondly, what are your goals? Are you looking to measure sales or are you looking to drive awareness? They’re not the same thing.



Olivia: What advice do you have for students who may be considering a career in media buying/programmatic buying?

Leah: Definitely keep up to speed with what is happening in the industry via the web. Secondly, I’d keep an ear to the ground for any opportunity to gain experience. Textbooks can’t teach you this stuff fast enough. It definitely doesn’t hurt to have experience in coding if that is something that interests you as well.



Olivia: Finally, what do you feel is an overlooked topic regarding programmatic capabilities, features, or issues?

Leah: In my experience, measurement has been a tough conversation to have. Attribution is a highly debated topic that hasn’t really settled yet. There are a ton of players in the space delivering the same message for any given advertiser, so who is owed credit? Each brand or product can be so different as well that trying to assume an industry wide standard seems impossible. For example, if I’m buying a vacation I might be exposed to a whole host of messaging from one advertiser (search, retargeting, branding). It’s likely that I may research potential choices for my vacation anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Because someone served the very last ad to a user before they purchased online, does that mean that every advertising effort that came before isn’t owed any credit? In this case specifically, last touch attribution doesn’t seem fair. Hopefully some smart marketers will be able to find better solutions for this in the future.