Key Action Steps for Marketers from Latest ANA Programmatic Study

By Marni Gordon, SVP of committees and conferences, ANA

Last week, the ANA, ACA (Association of Canadian Advertisers), AD/FIN Solutions, and Ebiquity PLC released a study which provides practical solutions to help advertisers take greater control of their programmatic investments. The study provides an “Advertiser Playbook” with an eleven-step plan to enhanced programmatic accountability.

Key action steps marketers should take include:

•     Clarify the advertiser-agency-third party relationships and ensure disclosures of all conflicts of interest. Given the level of debate in the marketplace around the fiduciary responsibilities of agency and buying partners, we recommend complete clarity on this topic with respect to programmatic media.
•     Make an informed programmatic disclosure and accountability decision. Whether to engage and purchase programmatic media on a disclosed or non-disclosed basis is a critical decision for every advertiser.
•     Implement the “transparent” programmatic planning and buying model that’s right for your organization. Advertisers do have choices on how to engage in programmatic media buying to get the level of accountability and transparency they need. These choices include (a) in-house programmatic buying, (b) disclosed agreement with agency with advertiser control of the tech stack, (c) disclosed agreement with agency with agency control of the tech stack, (d) and non-disclosed.
•     Enhance MSA/media buying agreement(s) to meet accountability needs and expectations. These include disclosure of data ownership and control, audit rights, data security requirements, and disclosure of third party fees.
•     Put disclosure to work and instill verification, financial reporting, and audit protocols by taking control of programmatic transaction data at the core of every impression purchased on the advertiser’s behalf.
•     Stay vigilant — “trust but verify.” Given the changing landscape of digital media and the potential for new service providers, DSPs, tech providers, and data providers to be added (or dropped) from your media stack, marketers should conduct a data and disclosure review on a recurring basis.