<section class="section--first section--last"><div class="section-divider layoutSingleColumn"><hr class="section-divider"></div><div class="section-content"><div class="section-inner layoutSingleColumn"><p class="graf graf--p" name="f5ztv">If you work in advertising or know anything about media buying, you will probably have heard of <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.7edge.com/services/digital-media/programmatic-media" href="/programmatic-advertising-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">programmatic media</a> buying. It&rsquo;s a term that gets thrown around a lot without many people actually having an in-depth understanding of what it&rsquo;s all about. It&rsquo;s time that you learned about the meaning and the practices behind the buzzword. Read on now if you want to do exactly that.</p><p class="graf graf--p" name="f5ztv"><br></p><h2 class="graf graf--h2" name="ot6ol7">What is Programmatic Media Buying in Basic Terms?</h2><p class="graf graf--p is-selected" name="od0u"><br></p><p class="graf graf--p is-selected" name="od0u">To put it simply, programmatic media buying is when technology is used to automate and optimise online ad buying. The process can be long and complicated, not to mention repetitive, when you try to do it without the use of technology. But many companies are not choosing to use programmatic media buying to their advantage. A simple example of this is AdWords. It uses algorithms, not humans, to get results for the businesses that use it.</p><p class="graf graf--p is-selected" name="od0u"><br></p><h2 class="graf graf--h2" name="v8cxk">Targeting Specific Individuals</h2><p class="graf graf--p" name="ydvip"><br></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="ydvip">Having already mentioned AdWords, it&rsquo;s vital to discuss targeting. These days, businesses want to target specific groups and people and demographics with their adverts. They don&rsquo;t just want to throw them out there in front of lots of people because many of them won&rsquo;t have any interest in what&rsquo;s being offered. Targeting customers is so much easier when programmatic media buying is used. Highly targeted adverts can be put in front of the individuals most likely to be interested in buying what your company has to offer.</p><p class="graf graf--p" name="ydvip"><br></p><h2 class="graf graf--h2" name="5nzje">Programmatic Direct</h2><p class="graf graf--p" name="uypc"><br></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="uypc">There are two main types of programmatic media buying; the first of them is programmatic direct. This form of ad buying does not use auctions. Instead, as the name suggest, it&rsquo;s a direct ad buying process. This is when an inventory is guaranteed or reserved, so the buyer of the ad space and the publisher fix all of the terms in advance. This refers to both the price of CPM as well as the scale of the inventory. There are no real-time auction purchases involved at any stage.</p><h3 class="graf graf--p" name="vxiom">Programmatic RTB</h3><p class="graf graf--p" name="mcrfk">Programmatic RTB is the more common and more widely-used method of media buying out there at the moment. RTB stands for real-time bidding. A demand-side platform is used to bid for advertising that can be used by the company wanting to place adverts online. The publisher is attracted to this kind of arrangement because it allows them to sell remnant inventory. But this is now changing as premium inventory is being sold on these platforms too. It&rsquo;s all automated and is done very quickly.</p><h3 class="graf graf--p" name="po48a">Why All this Matters &amp; What it Means for the Future</h3><p class="graf graf--p" name="wml7">Programmatic media buying matters because it&rsquo;s more transparent and open than other forms of media buying solutions. It levels the playing field while helping advertisers reach their target audience in no time at all. Perhaps most importantly, programmatic media buying is very cost effective for advertisers, meaning they can save money at the same time as improving their advertising setup. It&rsquo;s something that is currently on the rise, and many people believe that programmatic media buying is the future of all online advertising.</p><p class="graf graf--p graf--last" name="ee9ql"><br></p></div></div></section>