Currently, most digital media is purchased by programmatic software that makes decisions for us. The only parameters one needs to define are the bid amounts, impressions, and geographic boundaries. The software does the rest.
Now many in advertising are talking about using similar software to buy television media.
Let’s start with the “why” question. The traditional process involves negotiations, insertion orders and a lot of time. It’s expensive and often you are paying top rates for prime spots. Now imagine being able to define an audience and have your ad delivered only when that audience is viewing, regardless of the show they are watching.
In essence, you’re buying TV impressions vs. ratings. It wouldn’t matter when my audience is viewing television or even what they are watching. It’s a fundamental change in the way TV media is sold.
Many in my industry are discussing the pros and cons of this evolution of media buying (see Will Programmatic Take Over TV, Too?) but I see this as simply a matter of time. The allure of being able to use the targeting benefits and parameters in a broadcast media is just too alluring.
