The Three Flavors of Programmatic TV

Which one is right for your media company? When it comes to adopting a programmatic TV solution, one size may not fit all goals for both buyers and sellers. Programmatic has evolved from meaning simply data-driven real time buying' to become an umbrella concept that covers several different transaction styles.

WideOrbit supports three primary flavors of programmatic TV advertising Open Marketplace, Private Marketplace, and Programmatic Direct. Each flavor is right for different situations for both buyers and sellers. Station groups that want to grow their programmatic business should understand the benefits of each and how they map to the needs of their current and potential advertisers.

Open Marketplaces Best for: Opportunistic buyers, advertisers coming to TV from digital

Not so great for: Guaranteed buys

Imagine a bazaar where buyers stroll through the aisles, browsing inventory from numerous sellers. They can evaluate which items might fit their goals and propose a price when they find something they like. Sellers can accept or reject any offer based on their business situation and their own assessment of the value of their wares.

This is a good analogy for a programmatic TV open marketplace. In the open marketplace, buyers can review and make offers on ad inventory from many TV stations. That's perfect for buyers that want to buy campaigns airing across multiple stations, geographies, and dayparts in a single transaction.

For station groups, participating in an open marketplace exposes their inventory to digital buyers who may not have previously considered local TV. There is little downside to join in because they still reserve the right to turn down or ignore any offer that doesn't meet their expectations.

The downside for buyers who make an offer is that there's no guarantee that their ad will run. So while open marketplaces are good for scatter or opportunistic campaigns, they may not meet the needs of buyers who want their spots to run at a specific place and time.

Private Marketplaces Best for: Transacting with your best customers, reserving certain ad spots for their use

Not so great for: Winning business from new advertisers

Private marketplaces (PMPs) are like an exclusive flash sale or a members-only shop. Only invited customers are allowed to come in. That's great for maintaining relationships and offering the benefits of programmatic to your most favored customers, but won't help you meet anybody new.

In a private marketplace, the seller can place limits on what spots are available in the shop. Sellers sometimes opt limit the inventory in their PMP to only their most premium ad spots, but that's entirely at their discretion. It's their store!

Programmatic Direct Best for: Transacting with high-volume customers, selling programmatically with previously negotiated business terms

Not so great for: Winning business from new advertisers, working with customers that prefer to do business in traditional ways

Programmatic direct is a mutually-agreed connection that moves the old-fashioned manual back-and-forth between brands, agencies, and media companies to a programmatic platform.

Programmatic direct can speed up the process of transacting with your high-volume customers because the platform can be configured to automatically respect existing business rules and standards. Offers that meet standing business terms between buyer and seller are automatically approved, effectively creating a guaranteed transaction for compliant offers.

A retail analogy is less appropriate for programmatic direct. Imagine instead an old-world industrial inspection line. Transactions that meet contractual expectations move along the line to completion, while offers that don't fit are rejected and automatically thrown off the line. The efficiency and appeal is that humans don't have to evaluate each offer as it passes down the line.

The programmatic direct model best suits transactions between station groups and high-volume buyers that have business terms already in place. Both sides can also tap into programmatic TV's ability to use data to assess inventory value.

Finding the Option that Works Best Programmatic TV open marketplaces, private marketplaces, and programmatic direct reflect different ways of doing business with your clients. Your station group can elect to use one style or all three. It's completely up to you and your sense of how programmatic TV can best benefit you and your clients.

WideOrbit offers all three flavors' to station groups, and we're happy to work with you to identify the right ones for your business. Contact us today and let us know how we can help.

LINK:	https://www.wideorbit.com/programmatic-tv-definitions/...
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