The 2017 Programmatic Summit: A Preview

READING TIME: 5 MINUTES

There’s no argument that programmatic is divisive. From the great divide between the programmatic pros that talk the talk and those still looking to get their heads around the basics, to the opposing sides of the great digital debate, this is a topic that requires much discussion.

The 2017 Programmatic Summit couldn’t be more timely, particularly in the wake of Procter & Gamble marketing boss Marc Pritchard’s speech at the IAB annual leadership meeting in the US last month which has put programmatic firmly at the top of the agenda.

Given the current conversation around transparency, the IAB REFRESH Session – Increasing Trust In The Digital Value Chain, is not to be missed. Viewability, ad fraud, measurement and agency contracts will all be on the table as the IAB hosts an ecosystem panel bringing together marketers, agencies, publishers and vendors. During the session, key takeaways from the IAB whitepaper on viewability will be shared including Australia’s first benchmarking data. Find out what matters most in each part of the programmatic ecosystem and how we need to evolve in 2017.

International keynotes

The Summit will kick off with a keynote presentation from Julie Keshmiry, Global Media Director, Intel Corporation. Keshmiry will share Intel’s quest to take programmatic in-house, a journey that has not been without its obstacles. She will outline how and why Intel made the decision to take the function in-house, how the business vetted ad tech vendors and built a sophisticated technology stack. Get the inside scoop on Intel’s vision for programmatic moving forward as well as the answers to your burning questions with the keynote being followed by a fireside chat hosted by TubeMogul’s Sam Smith.  

The second international keynote to watch out for is Beth Reilly, Head of Global Media and Consumer Engagement at Motorola. Reilly recently shared her thoughts on why marketers need to know about programmatic on the Ashton Media blog. With more than five years of programmatic experience under her belt, she’s a leading marketer in the space and in her presentation, Reilly will share the experience of using programmatic to launch the Motorola Moto Z into the US market. Find out what can be accomplished by dedicating 50% of your launch budget to programmatic and the lessons Motorola learned that are turbo-charging current and future programmatic efforts.

Case studies

Adam Story, ‎General Manager, Flybuys, Loyalty and CRM at Coles and Michael Twomey, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of People-Based Marketing company Signal, will present a case study that looks at how advertising is evolving beyond cost savings from process efficiencies to a focus on finding the most relevant customers and reaching them at exactly the right moment. Story and Twomey will share a series of campaigns Coles Flybuys and Signal have executed with the goal of delivering improved experiences – and increasing customer loyalty – using customer data across physical and digital channels, leveraging it to target known audiences making for a better shopping experience for customers.

Brad Bennett, Head of Technology at The Hallway and Jonathon Strauss, Manager, Future Students at UNSW, will lift the lid on how UNSW operates internally with its agency to deliver world-class campaigns that combine targeted programmatic with high level creative.

Media agency Initiative will also present a case study in collaboration with client Athlete’s Foot that demonstrates how the retail brand is utilising programmatic TV.

Channel specific sessions

It’s being plugged as the next big thing but where are we at with programmatic audio in the Australian market? Steve Brown, Head of Digital Sales and Operations at Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), Daniel Karlsson, Senior Director of Market Development at Triton Digital, Andrea Ingham, National Sales Director at Spotify and David Godfrey, Trading Director at The Trade Desk, explain why this is the area to watch. Programmatic audio is already in play with Appnexus and The Trade Desk buying inventories from Spotify, Soundcloud, SCA and Nova as well as moves by industry body Commercial Radio Australia to create an industry-wide solution. Find out what is next for the space and how big it can grow.

From audio to video, Christopher Blok, Country Manager of SpotX Australia, Venessa Hunt, Head of Mobile at GroupM and Max Freemynd, Programmatic and Direct Sales Manager at Gameloft ANZ, join forces to discuss and dissect the barriers, opportunities and challenges for publishers and buyers in mobile video. The panel will uncover mobile video’s potential and the hurdles in the way of finding a win-win outcome for advertisers and publishers.

The bigger picture

In addition to drilling down into case studies and specific channels, the Programmatic Summit will also look at the bigger picture.

Dylan McBride, Director at AppNexus, will discuss the evolution of programmatic advertising citing the good, the bad and the ugly practices. Find out what we can learn from mature digital marketplaces and the formula for a healthier advertising market that benefits buyers, sellers, consumers and the internet.

Integral Ad Science’s Stephane de Blic will also talk quality, a challenge programmatic has faced since its inception. Initially a means for dumping unsold inventory, today, many publishers make all inventory available programmatically. Still, the question of quality prevails. Problems such as viewability, brand safety and ad-fraud are playing a role but a focus on price is also having an impact with advertisers wanting more for less. Join de Blic as he explains what quality looks like and why we need to maintain a focus on it when seeking effective digital outcomes.

Finally, the Summit will conclude with a presentation from Nicole Sheffield, Managing Director of News DNA and Chair of the IAB. Sheffield will take stock as she surveys the state of the digital nation championing simplicity and inspiration.

Now that we’ve given you a taste of what the Summit has to offer, check out the full program here.

Reserve your place at the 2017 Programmatic Summit now.