Real Time Advertising: Switzerland is catching up

The trend towards automating ad sales is currently also taking hold in Swiss media companies. Management is rethinking and increasingly focusing on efficiency gains and optimizing inventory income through programmatic advertising. Experts estimate that the share of RTA advertising spending in Switzerland today is around 10 percent. By comparison, spending in Germany is currently around 20 percent. And the markets are developing rapidly. For marketers and publishers, this means they can now actively shape the market. Swiss market leader Tamedia is setting a good example: the media company has found its programmatic strategy and implemented it in the company at all levels, from management to the sales department and ad operations. Step by step, Tamedia is expanding its premium programmatic strategy, using programmatic agency budgets and the benefits of holistic inventory optimization. In doing so, Tamedia exclusively offers inventory of Swiss premium pages for sale programmatically - with full transparency. Its successful RTA strategy is a combination of direct sales and automated sales - IAB standard formats to large formats, mobile and video are available. The programmatic channel is thus on par with traditional buying options and offers the advantage of the most accurate targeting. In this way, the company exploits the full potential of its inventory. RTA offers the advantage of putting own campaigns in maximum competition with demand from RTA. At the same time, promised volumes can still be delivered. The publisher can thus secure the highest revenues while offering the highest value to advertisers.

Our forecast for Switzerland: in 2018, more than 50 percent of advertising budgets will flow into programmatic advertising. To support this, however, a number of things still need to happen. More Swiss publishers and marketers, not just the big ones, need to open up to the topic, recognize the revenue potential and consciously find their individual strategy. In addition, the demand side must make good on its intentions and increasingly allocate budgets to programmatic, because the willingness of agencies is essential for the success of RTA. Demand and supply sides must recognize each other's needs, respond to them, and thus grow together as a market. And while technology can automate some tasks and steps, it's important to remember that human input will always be critical. Auction techniques, rule definitions and yield management will continue to require analysts and highly skilled optimizers. Tailor-made, exclusive advertising space offers and integration deals need specialists for sales and processing. Platforms need to be understood, implemented and used according to a commercial strategy and operational efficiency. SSP providers support companies with their consulting services in this transition from traditional ad trading to real-time advertising. Efficient effective marketing through RTA then rewards all parties involved in the end: the advertisers, the publishers and marketers as well as the consumers.

Torben Heimann is Managing Director of Improve Digital, Europe's leading independent provider of real-time advertising technology for publishers. Improve Digital has developed an innovative platform that enables media owners to automate and optimize the monetization of inventory and audiences for all screen formats and across all public and private distribution channels. The company works with more than 250 publishers and media owners worldwide, including Tamedia. Improve Digital expanded its collaboration with the Swiss media company in May, signing an open-ended contract.