Picture this: it’s some years into the future, and you’ve just collected your children from school. Your eldest has an outdoor adventure school trip in the next few weeks.
On your busy schedule is a line item to remind yourself to buy them some hiking boots. You relax, turn on the TV, and see the perfect hiking boot on your screen, with a discount and a buy button.
One-click, and that job is off your task list.
This may seem futuristic, but that’s where advertising is headed in the coming years. But what’s around the corner? Read on to discover some of the best programmatic advertising platforms and trends for 2024.
Programmatic Advertising Platforms
Programmatic advertising is a competitive space. So it’s no surprise to see big players in this market, plus some emerging stars. These are the platforms you should know about in 2024.
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager is one of the giants of the digital advertising industry.
The programmatic ad sales happen via its DoubleClick Ad functionality. Publishers can easily sell display ads using the platform’s bidding system, even if they lack technical knowledge.
For that publisher, it helps to optimize their ad placement and revenue. And for an advertiser, it helps them achieve the best ad space for their bid.
As we move into 2024 and beyond, expect more from Google in terms of integrating its emerging AI and advertising capabilities.
AI and machine learning can examine ad performance at a more sophisticated level to improve targeting and optimization. It means ads via Google should be more powerful than ever, with the best chance of making a high ROI.
The Trade Desk
The trade desk is one programmatic advertising platform to watch in 2024. It offers some of the most advanced technology in the market and is also user-friendly.
Tools include a powerful bidding functionality, which is also highly adaptable. It means you can have high control over your advertising and use precise audience targeting.
Like Google, this platform is adopting AI technology to help optimize ads, which will help your ad spend stretch further.
The Trade Desk will further expand into offerings like CTV (connected TV) advertising, allowing businesses to try a more omnichannel approach.
That helps companies who want to strengthen their brand recognition in 2024, as well as those seeking to reach a broader and more diverse audience.
Amazon Ads
The Amazon platform is a powerful entity for anyone in the ecommerce space. It is unique among platforms because it has unrivaled intelligence about people’s purchasing habits.
As an advertiser, that gives you a chance to target people at granular levels. Like other platforms, Amazon is spending money on enhancing its AI capability.
Soon, that means you’ll have ads that are easier to optimize via machine learning.
Amazon is also exploring advertising via voice search and Alexa.
This technology opens new doors for advertisers and the opportunity in the future to get your brand noticed by people running voice commands when looking for new products.
Pubmatic
Pubmatic allows advertisers to tap into ad space on premium, respected websites. These are the high-profile websites with vast traffic numbers.
That’s ideal for those advertisers looking for a considerable reach for their ads.
And since the platform has stringent publishing requirements, it also offers advertisers the highest levels of reassurance that their ad platform is fraud-free.
It’s a transparent approach vital in the ever-competitive field of programmatic advertising.
Pubmatic also has a growing mobile ad platform. That’s a plus point in 2024 and beyond as people move away from desktops to mobile for shopping.
Adobe
The Adobe Advertising Cloud is another platform from one of the biggest giants in tech. Like most of Adobe’s offerings, this advertising platform is one of the more comprehensive solutions.
You can use it to advertise across mediums, including TV and social media, as well as traditional online ad spaces.
The advantage of using Adobe is the strong ties to the creative side of advertising.
You can produce your creatives in the same Adobe suite of tools before publishing them. That could allow you to run more rapid iterations to split-test different ads.
Adobe also comes with advanced analytics, helping you drill down into the details of your ad performance.
It gives you plenty of control over your advertising and targeting, allowing you to focus on how to increase conversion rates.
Like similar platforms, it uses AI technology to help you optimize your ad spending and targeting without manual intervention.
MediaMath
MediaMath is a flexible programmatic ad platform with an interface that’s easy to use. It’s also highly customizable, which can be a valuable asset when you want a unique campaign that stands out from the competition.
This platform also has many integration options, so you can use it to build your own suite of advertising tools. Its omnichannel capabilities are already advanced and are likely to evolve further.
It means you can create a campaign that crosses all potential ad channels, broadening your reach more than ever.
Trends to Watch
We’ve already touched on some of the technology and tools the big publishers are currently exploring.
In 2024, emerging programmatic advertising trends will continue to bring exciting ad ideas to life. Here are some to watch.
Video
Video may not be a new phenomenon in the ad world. Still, it’s fast becoming the top preference for advertisers, and it’s a medium loved by online audiences.
Video is more engaging than a text or graphic ad, which is why it’s bringing fantastic results for all types of businesses.
In 2024, video advertising will become more automated. It will be easier to buy video ad space and for platforms to optimize those ads on your behalf.
These platforms can detect user behavior, like engagement levels, when watching video ads.
For example, they can get information on the demographics most likely to watch and interact with the entire video ad. And that provides vital intelligence about optimizing that ad and improving your returns on your ad spend.
It will also be easier for advertisers to share their videos across different platforms and mediums, like social media and CTV.
AI and Machine Learning
AI is driving some of the most rapid changes in the advertising industry right now. As this technology advances in 2024, these changes will likely become even more pronounced.
First, there is the role of AI in the creative side of advertising, including AI-produced video, images, and ad copy. But more importantly, the technology can power targeting and personalization in ad platforms.
For example, it can predict future trends in your ad performance based on a level of data analysis that would be impossible for humans to calculate.
So it could spot opportunities you might have missed or give you a timescale for when your ad will have run its’ course.
It can also analyze consumer behavior to alter your ad targeting, finding ways to get your ad in front of those most likely to buy from you.
For example, it could send slightly different iterations of your ads to different demographics based on their likely responsiveness to that creative.
But all this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you may see in the future. But one thing is certain: programmatic advertising is at the forefront of harnessing AI in marketing.
CTV
Connected TV refers to internet-connected TVs. It’s a relatively new format for businesses that have traditionally advertised online.
But it’s becoming more relevant and thriving in an era where people consume TV content via streaming services. It can be a great way of making your brand stand out.
For example, suppose your target customer has regularly spotted your ads on website banners.
Still, they haven’t taken much notice up until now. However, now imagine you produce some video ads that that same person sees on their television. It could have a considerable impact.
It offers repetition of your message, but it also strengthens your brand. Your audience will see you as a significant business in your field.
Trends in this arena will likely produce exciting developments in 2024 and beyond, such as shoppable or interactive ads via your TV.
Privacy
In the last few years, the spotlight in advertising has turned to privacy. Regulations in the US and the EU have tightened data capture and tracking rules, meaning advertisers must be more transparent.
In 2024, that will mean running ad campaigns that don’t depend on personal data. Instead, advertisers must create campaigns to make the most of anonymous information from ad platforms.
Making the Most of the Best Programmatic Advertising Platforms
When you examine some of the advantages of the best programmatic advertising platforms, you can see a pattern emerging.
Each platform embraces some of the top trends in advertising, including CTV, omnichannel, and AI technology. Your opportunities to boost revenue via ads will grow as you try these new and exciting innovations.
Trigger Digital is here to help you make the most of these opportunities.
Our expertise and experience in programmatic advertising will help you maximize your agency’s campaigns. Learn more about these opportunities by getting in touch with our team.
