Programmatic is automated but not everything automated is programmatic: Gulab Patil, Lemma
Gulab Patil Founder and CEO of Lemma technologies, pioneers in Programmatic DOOH in India, sheds light on the true definition of Programmatic Technology in the digital out of home space.
There is no denying that programmatic technology is still new in the digital ad industry, but one that’s growing rampantly across the globe. Programmatic Technology has brought in so much ease, transparency & automation in several of the digital media processes, that offline media like Audio, TV and even Out of home is now being transacted programmatically.
Gulab Patil the brains behind Lemma, a programmatic DOOH ad tech platform, in a chat with exchange4media decodes the much-talked-about term in the OOH space – Programmatic DOOH – with the arrival of 2020.
Patil tells us that it is easy for people to get confused between the term Programmatic DOOH and automated CMS. Clarifying further, he states, “Programmatic is automated but not everything automated is Programmatic. With the hype around the buzzword, it’s easy for anyone to confuse Programmatic DOOH with automated CMS and other basic tools that bring in the look and feel of programmatic, but lack the true essence the medium offers.”
In addition to automation in content delivery and reporting, Patil explains, programmatic technology hones digital screens with capabilities that connect them to standardised digital platforms like Google DV360, MediaMath, Verizon Media DSP and others enabling media owners to be a part of the mainstream digital ecosystem. In a nutshell, programmatic is data-driven advertising with real-time ad tracking through third party demand platforms.
Lemma was born out of the need to maximize the revenue of digital outdoor publishers and to enable advertisers to run effective and targeted outdoor ad campaigns. The larger purpose was to revolutionize the OOH advertisement industry by providing innovative digital solutions.
“Lemma is the only technology provider in APAC that converts smart digital signages to programmatic ready digital ad display units. We’ve partnered with several screen owners the likes of Vyoma, 24*7, TIMDAA and several others and have over 25K programmatic ready screen across India, ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand market,” he shares.
Going forward, Patil also says that digital agencies can embrace DOOH as a new medium. “Programmatic experts from within agencies now have the ease of selecting DOOH as a display environment to show digital ads and can set up, execute, optimize and track campaigns on their AdTech platform. Xaxis is one such agency who has embraced pDOOH to provide integrated solutions to the brands using Lemma’s proprietary pDOOH platform & Google DV360,” he says.
He explains further about the data-driven advantage of Programmatic DOOH: “With pDOOH one can make use of data in real-time and deliver ads that become highly relevant to the observing audience. External data feeds such as weather, scores, stock market, traffic lights and others can be used as triggers to activate campaigns in real-time with dynamic creatives to create better connect with audiences. Brands like Asian paints and even Sony pictures have utilized this real-time sync by Lemma to deliver impact with innovation. “
Although pDOOH shares its basic premise with digital it is important to acknowledge that it continues to be a mass medium i.e. a single impression on DOOH screens translates to multiple exposures. With programmatic DOOH however, it is now possible to target as many relevant eyeballs as possible. Programmatic DOOH allows for audience buying with a vast repository of audience insights gathered through technology like beacons, computer vision, lat-long information and third-party data that helps advertisers to make informed decisions when selecting screens to place ads.
Clarifying a misconception, Patil stated that Programmatic DOOH isn’t limited to Digital Billboards alone: “A common misconception when it comes to digital out of home is the size of the canvas. All internet-enabled or smart screens (outdoor/indoor) can be converted to programmatic ready units with a media player software that connects these to a larger digital media spectrum. Screens at restaurants, pubs, corporate parks, railways, metros, malls, airports can all be included in the programmatic DOOH gamut, delivering impact and mass reach for brands that advertise on them.”
“While at the start, pDOOH may look intimidating. With the right technology partner like Lemma, who lead this space it becomes easier to adopt a medium that’s fast-growing and soon to change the way DOOH is perceived,” he concluded.
Source: exchange4media Staff
