Mika Zemell, Director of BD & Marketing
10.10.2023
4 Valuable Tips for Smarter Auction Management
Auction management is at the heart of programmatic advertising. During an auction inventory is bought and sold in real time, creating a highly competitive and dynamic environment.Â
To reach your target audience with precision and impact you’ll need to choose a service provider that offers you the most efficient smart auction management. This was, amongst other interesting topics, one of the key takeaways of this year’s Digiday Publishing Summit in Key Biscayne, Florida.Â
In this blog, I’ll unveil four tips that can empower publishers to navigate the complexities of real-time bidding, optimize ad spend, and ultimately drive better results.Â
Smarter Auction management for smarter publishers
Managing auctions in programmatic advertising effectively is crucial for optimizing campaign performance and ensuring that publishers get the best value for their advertising budget. Let’s check out some strategies to achieve better results in auction management before we dive into our takeaways from Digiday Publishing Summit:
Data-driven targeting: Utilize robust audience data to refine your targeting and understand your audience segments by using data to identify the most relevant ones for your campaign.
Real-time bidding strategies: Implement powerful real-time bidding algorithms that have the ability to adapt to changing market trends and conditions, as well as user behavior in real-time.Â
Bid strategy optimization: Use automated bidding strategies that adjust bids based on performance goals, such as maximizing conversions or ROAS (Return on Ad Spend).
Dynamic creative optimization: Implement dynamic creative optimization to tailor ad content to individual users, improving relevance and engagement.
Ad auction monitoring: Continuously monitor ad auctions in real time and make adjustments as necessary based on auction dynamics and your campaign goals.
Ad fraud prevention: Employ anti-fraud tools and strategies to minimize ad fraud and protect your advertising budget from wastage.
Testing and experimentation: Continuously A/B testing in terms of ad creatives, targeting parameters, and bidding strategies help to identify what works best for your goals.
These strategies are key for smarter auction management. Publishers need to make sure that they integrate with a robust and smart auction management platform to make the most out of their ad campaigns. This is the basis for further optimization. But let’s dive into some tips for smarter auction management.
1. Standards, where are you?
The lack of standards in sustainability within programmatic advertising is a glaring issue that has persisted for far too long. Although Scope3 has started to define standards for the industry, the advertising industry has been slow to catch up.Â
Programmatic advertising on the other side is delivering target content to audiences, which is getting more efficient by the day. The upside is that these practices often neglect to consider the environmental impact of its operations.Â
During the Digiday Publishing Summit we’ve learnt that publishers and SSPs are not on the same page when it comes to sustainability. It’s crucial that we address this oversight and demand greater transparency and accountability within the advertising ecosystem.Â
Without universally recognized sustainability standards, programmatic advertising may continue to contribute to the growing environmental challenges we face, making it imperative for the industry to adapt and prioritize eco-conscious practices.
2. Transparency matters
Demand Supply Platforms (DSP) and Supply Side Platforms (SSP) are the Yin and Yang of programmatic advertising. DSPs enable advertisers to purchase ad impressions and reach their target audience, while SSPs empower publishers to sell their ad space and optimize their revenue.Â
By demanding transparency in your programmatic advertising supply chain, publishers gain a crucial vantage point into how their campaigns are executed. Comprehensive reporting allows you to closely monitor performance, assess the effectiveness of your strategies, and ensure that every ad dollar is well spent.Â
Publishers should demand transparency in their programmatic advertising supply chain. This helps you to closely monitor performance through comprehensive reporting. Transparent practices empower publishers to make informed decisions, optimize ad spend, and foster healthier competition among partners.
So, don’t just settle for convenience – demand transparency to maximize the impact of your programmatic advertising efforts.
3. You are in better shape than your traffic?
Publishers are actively making changes to ensure that the increasing demand for ad inventory is satisfied, while DSPs aim to tap into the selling side of the equation, becoming more involved in the supply chain. So, the traditional lines between DSPs and SSPs could become blurrier as the industry evolves.Â
As these shifts start to reshape the advertising landscape, the distinction between buyers and sellers becomes less defined, and traffic shaping strategies adapt to accommodate these changes, leading to a more agile and interconnected ecosystem that benefits both publishers, and advertisers.
4. Go Q4, go!
Q3 wasn’t that strong as many of us would have hoped with many industry players encountering challenges and uncertainties. However, there’s a strong undercurrent of optimism as we transition into Q4.
The hope is that the final quarter of the year will be a strong one as advertisers, publishers, and technology providers adapt to the evolving marketplace; they are poised to capitalize on new opportunities and address the shortcomings of the previous quarter.
The industry anticipates a more robust and dynamic Q4, where strategic innovation, data-driven insights, and an unwavering commitment to delivering targeted and engaging ad campaigns will help reignite the momentum in programmatic advertising, and drive better results for businesses.