Programmatic ad buying - and somewhat beyond !

An update on programmatic automated ad buying. (Read here)

Programmatic will eventually cover all  media buying including offline. The pace at which it gets there will vary by media type and geography but which way it is going should be quite clear to all by now. 

My two cents on our probable future ,  especially as related to TV media  :

1. Right now the sold inventory of media sellers offsets what's unsold (or at least, sufficiently offsets it to remain viable). But with increasing fragmentation over time, once average pricing drops below a critical floor, those still remaining in business will have to jump in. 

2. Given that more airtime inventory around the world remains unsold than sold , automated buying will be the proverbial supply that finds its own demand. What is missing now are the facilitators. But they'll arrive!

3. Yes, average ad prices will drop over time. Technology is a cost reducer, remember? The ecosystem as it is structured today will drop down the value chain. A few harbingers today: pressure on media advertising revenue, 'cord cutting' among Pay TV subscribers, lower agency margins ….

4. Faceless trading? The human element will never go away from media trading. But – and consistent with point 3 - it will certainly shrink. 

5. What we are talking about, in other words, is disruption on a global industry scale. Think music industry.

6. Creative destruction!  Of ‘the ecosystem as it is structured today’. Each part of it will rebuild around profitable core strengths built on ‘brainware’ muscle. I believe the line will be drawn between content, creative and strategy as leads and distribution, trading and data as support.

7. Players across varied fields within today’s structure will directly compete against one another. The main fight will be for talent and the biggest challenge for the  agency business going forward will lie on that front , particularly for the non-Creative marketing services (media, planning , market research)

As I said, just my two cents, a few points off the top of my head as I read the report. Will it pan out this way? I think so but hey who knows!  There could always be a Black Swan round the corner. And when? Nope, conveniently not falling for that one either ! But yes I do believe it will all look a lot different than it does today - 2023 will make 1963 seem like this morning - and it’ll be exciting!