IAB: Brands in Europe move programmatic purchasing in-house

Dive Brief:

• European marketers that do programmatic advertising are moving trades in-house, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Accenture Interactive that was shared with Marketing Dive. An average of 86% of brands that buy ads programmatically in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. are adopting programmatic in-housing, either completely or partially. 
• The IAB based the report, “Programmatic In-Housing: Adoption Rate, Benefits, Depth, and Types of In-House Buying Functions,” on marketer surveys and leaderships insights, and compared the rise in programmatic in-housing across the five countries. The report examines the impacts of GDPR, globalization, brand destiny and expanding in-housing beyond display.
• The research noted that despite anticipated concerns, GDPR has only had a nominal impact on business for brands in these countries. One brand reported that its biggest challenge is cross-channel disconnect in which the company is operating in marketing silos. Another pointed out challenges with internal resources for optimization, placement and analytics, however media agencies tend to fill this hole.

Dive Insight:

The report from IAB and Accenture suggests that in-housing has become the main format for trading media, as brands look for better control over where their ads run and better control over data now that the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is in effect. In-housing can also offers brand better cost efficiency and transparency, improved control and management of ads, as well as better targeting.

At the same time, the research also suggests that advertisers need to focus on internal organization in order to make the most of in-house programmatic trading. Silos can be an issue and a lack of talents or resources can also pose challenges. Media agency partners can help overcome these hurdles.

The research is the latest indication that in-housing is on the rise for brand marketers. An Interactive Advertising Bureau study released last year showed that 65% of marketers purchasing digital ads programmatically have either moved those functions in-house or have started to with plans to continue internalizing the functions. The in-house trend is just one of the pressures on the programmatic ecosystem this year, where consolidation continues as large tech players increasingly dominate. Earlier month, Sizmek received approval for an expedited sale of its programmatic ad marketplace to Zeta Global for between $33 million and $36 million. 

As brands have stricter requirements and are marketing across borders, internal expertise offer marketers the reigns to the operation. While programmatic offers brand efficiency and automation, it has been difficult to control where these ads appear. As ad formats proliferate, bringing the buying in-house helps improve the selection of where these ads will run. According to a separate IAB report, mobile formats generated more than half of programmatic display ad spending.