A Guide to Programmatic Advertising: The Foundation for Brand Awareness

Programmatic advertising provides advertisers with opportunities to efficiently improve reach across all of an audience’s devices (including connected TVs). Its capabilities establish it as a necessary tool to build awareness for brands and as the foundation for media plans. Through its support of many high-funnel ad units, advertisers can precisely and cost-effectively reach the target audience across numerous touchpoints to begin building brand trust and consideration.

How did programmatic advertising come to be?

Programmatic advertising is still a relatively new ad buying route for advertisers. When the internet was established, its largeness and popularity presented an opportunity for advertisers to purchase available ad space. But because the internet is always on and pages are constantly refreshing ad slots, there was too much available inventory to be filled by only direct buys. The creation of real-time bidding in the early 2000s made it possible for advertisers to efficiently and precisely target these open inventory spots without needing direct buys. Once this technology was available, it prompted the explosion of demand-side platforms (DSPs). DSPs utilize real-time bidding to streamline the programmatic advertising process for advertisers by providing them with tools to target and bid on these inventory spots in an automated manner.

The growth of programmatic

Programmatic advertising is widely used due to its automation capabilities, audience targeting options, and sizable inventory. It’s estimated that in 2025, programmatic ad spending will grow to $642 billion globally, an 8% increase from 2024’s projected programmatic advertising spend. In the United States, there was an estimated 13% increase in investment from 2023 to 2024, with 2024 projected to be at $168.02 billion. Because of its cost efficiency and ever-evolving functionalities, along with more agencies like Collective Measures having internal trade desks for in-house buying, programmatic advertising will likely continue to flourish and remain a key tool to help brands build awareness.

The proof is in performance

Programmatic advertising supports high-level business objectives, such as brand awareness and consideration. It is considered a high-funnel tool because the ad units it leverages are easily scalable and the targeting is precise, making it simple for advertisers to widely spread a message to a fitting audience. Because of this, it should be a part of the foundation of media plans and is complementary to traditional and digital direct buys as well as paid social channels such as LinkedIn, Meta, and Pinterest.

As the foundation, programmatic ad units are necessary for brand awareness. They are used to instill trust, build a connection, and expand the audience. This sets the advertiser up for success by placing the brand top of mind prior to encouraging action/conversion. It can be used to create a positive perception of the brand and present the necessity of a product to consumers, helping push consumers further down the purchase funnel.

Where to begin

For an advertiser yearning to jump into programmatic advertising for the first time, there are multiple ad types to consider.

Banners: Banners are static or animated assets of assorted dimensions that can leverage open inventory across the web and in apps. These are the most common, easy-to-create and execute ad types, as well as the most cost efficient due to the large availability of inventory. By including a strong message, logo, and call to action within the ad unit, banners can inform consumers of the value the brand provides
Native: Native assets include a photo and a headline, and seamlessly blend into their surroundings in an editorial feed on news sites, which helps them drive strong click volume. Native ads are also easy to create, as they are very similar in creative elements to a social post. The brand builds trust by informing the consumer of a topic they are highly knowledgeable on
Online video (OLV): Online videos, typically 15 or 30 seconds in length (and sometimes 6 seconds), can leverage video inventory across websites on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. These are highly informative, allowing viewers to digest lots of information in a short period of time. Depending on the content, videos may be necessary to better explain more complex information
Connected TV (CTV): CTV assets are primarily 15- and 30-second spots and run on streaming services on internet-connected televisions. These are a more cost-effective way than linear TV to reach users on their television screens. They provide more precise targeting than linear, and because of their unskippable inventory, they encourage users to watch the video in full
Social extension: Social extension units take social media posts and turn them into ads that run programmatically. Brands utilize these ad types to extend the reach of their social posts outside of the social channels and into inventory on thousands of other sites and apps. The interactivity encourages users to connect with the brand via social media, but can also lead the user to a site of choice to keep engaging
Audio: 15- and 30-second audio spots can run programmatically, either in podcasts, streaming radio, or streaming music inventory. This is a relatively new addition to programmatic, but this unit reaches the audience at an additional touchpoint with an in-depth message and therefore increases brand reach and awareness
High impact: Through the evolution of programmatic advertising, new high-impact ad types known as “rich media” continue to arise

At Collective Measures, when programmatic is used in conjunction with low-funnel channels, low-funnel channel performance generally improves. This is because the programmatic units reach consumers at the top of the purchase funnel, preparing them for lower-funnel media aimed at conversions and action.

What this means for advertisers

Programmatic advertising is highly regarded and leveraged due to its precise targeting across high-funnel channels. Its low barrier of entry allows advertisers to appear on previously hard-to-reach placements, like prestigious news publications and prominent online forums. It provides opportunities for advertisers to achieve brand awareness or consideration objectives by accurately reaching consumers in cost-effective inventory. For a brand wondering where to begin, consider leveraging any of the aforementioned assets and connect with an expert to learn more!