Most advertisers in the UK are still uncertain about real-time advertising (RTA), according to an ISBA survey.
Over a third of respondents are unaware of what proportion of their own online campaigns involve RTA while only just over a third admit to having a ‘positive perception’ of RTA and Programmatic Trading.
The survey, run in collaboration with real-time advertising specialists Infectious Media, shows that almost all respondents (96%) intend to learn more about RTA.
The results come as ISBA and Infectious Media are set to launch a “Guide to Real-Time Advertising” on Friday 20 June at an event to help advertisers better understand the area.
David Ellison, ISBA’s Marketing Services Manager, said: “The survey confirms industry’s suspicions that advertisers are still uncertain about real-time advertising. The comments we collated reinforce the view that there is distrust amongst brands about how much of their expenditure is actually spent on media.”
Martin Kelly, CEO and Co-founder of Infectious Media, added: “Clearly, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done from providers to reassure advertisers that programmatic trading can be safe, transparent and effective.”
Only half of respondents have a basic knowledge of RTA while many advertisers are also unsure about the market itself, with 38% admitting they were ‘not very aware’ of the different providers of programmatic ad buying services.
Comments from survey respondents:
Below are selected comments on “If you aren’t yet involved, what do you consider to be the biggest obstacle to your company using Programmatic Trading / Real Time Advertising in the future?”
• “Our biggest obstacle is producing the creative in an agile, data led way without losing the power of the brand.”
• “The only obstacle would be when we need to share first party data.”
• “Data quality and data availability to support necessary targeting and optimization”
• “Negative perception of hidden costs and bot fraud”
• “Tagging. Until we get all of our onsite pages and content tagged up, we can’t track the full customer journey between onsite and offsite and so do retargeting.”
• “Lack of knowledge and reliance upon agencies to dictate the media plan”
• “Mistrust and lack of transparency”
• “Understanding…and securing buy in internally without all the information and clear benefits”
“Advertisers are asking ISBA for more information to be able to make informed decisions rather than being reliant on agencies. An RTA training course will be available for members in the autumn,” said Ellison.
Ellison concluded: “Despite the uncertainty, one thing is very clear though, the vast majority (76%) believe RTA will feature more strongly in future campaigns and the appetite for learning is strong; we hope our guidance will go some way to help advertisers get the most out of what is certain to become an ever more important part of the digital eco-system.”
www.isba.org.uk