It is very common for people to ask me, "So, what is programmatic media?" Although it is becoming less frequent, this issue still occasionally arises in meetings and business gatherings I attend. I usually start by saying that, more than just an evolution of online advertising, programmatic media represents a paradigm shift in how brands reach their consumers.
In the early days of the internet, media buying was done directly with portals, which limited the reach and efficiency of campaigns. As the internet and advertising inventory grew exponentially, it became unfeasible to manage so many possibilities manually. That's when programmatic media emerged as a solution: automating processes, connecting inventories, and offering real-time purchasing, ensuring that the advertiser spoke to the right people at the right time. In technical language, it is an automated method of purchasing digital advertising spaces through platforms known as DSPs (Demand Side Platforms), where media professionals have access to 98% of global digital inventories, including websites, applications, portals, and even new media such as Connected TV (CTV) and digital audio.
With the use of advanced algorithms, technologies such as machine learning and deep learning enable the management of large volumes of data, making it possible to understand and predict consumer behavior in different contexts. This not only enriches the user experience but also personalizes interactions in a unique way, strengthening the bond between the brand and the audience. All these functions used in a broad and strategic way lead us to a field of technology that became popular in the last year, becoming the center of many businesses and innovations. You probably remembered Artificial Intelligence. She herself, the AI, which has been integrated into programmatic media for over a decade, has elevated digital media strategies to a new level of efficiency, personalization, and accuracy.
Artificial Intelligence further enhances decision-making and optimizes real-time advertising space auctions, ensuring greater accuracy and more significant results. With the support of AI, brands can impact the consumer at the right moment, with the right message, and in the most appropriate context, maximizing conversion potential while freeing marketing professionals to focus on more strategic and creative activities.
To understand how programmatic media and its artificial intelligence add value to marketing campaigns, below I list some of the main advantages that the method offers:
Undisputed targeting capability
Today, understanding consumer behavior is more important than simply knowing who they are. Women of the same age group, for example, can have completely different consumption behaviors. Programmatic media with its embedded AI not only allows identifying these differences but also adjusting campaigns based on the audience's purchase timing, reducing waste of budget and maximizing results.
Security and guaranteed delivery of ads to real people
Brazil is the second country with the highest rate of internet fraud. Modern DSPs integrate tools that identify fraudulent clicks and suspicious environments, ensuring that ads are only shown to real people and in appropriate contexts. Here at Publya, we take this so seriously that we went a step further, developing dashboards that allow our clients and agencies to monitor campaign progress in real time, promoting transparency and result tracking.
Integrating strategies to generate brand consistency
The evolution of programmatic media goes beyond digital, integrating traditionally offline media into an automated purchasing model. Today, it is possible to advertise on Connected TV (CTV), digital audio on platforms like Spotify and Deezer, online radios, and even on open TV, with formats sold by CPM. In Out of Home (OOH), technology allows for selecting specific screens at strategic times without the need to negotiate with multiple players. This versatility makes programmatic media a 360° solution, combining the best of online and offline.
This is about using the best of technology to connect people, optimize resources, and ensure efficiency for agencies and advertisers, simplifying all campaign management. It's about understanding the brands' needs and delivering solutions that simplify the process, reliably and with mastery of the entire operation and diversity of possibilities. This is programmatic media and AI.