Investment in programmatic continues to grow despite skills bottleneck

The survey, carried out by IAB Europe, surveyed 900 people across 29 markets. 

Only 13% of advertisers, 8% of publishers and 7% of media agencies said they were not using programmatic technology. The key impacts of its adoption were given as reduction of media wastage ( 56% of advertisers; 72% of agencies) and greater cost and trading efficiencies ( 47% of advertisers; 48% of agencies; 68% of publishers). Other factors driving its adoption were cited as greater integration with wider ad measurement models and increasing sophistication beyond the click. 

The biggest barrier to widespread adoption was said to be finding the people with the right skills and experience to carry out the work successfully. 

“Programmatic is no longer the future, it is here," said Graham Wylie, chair of IAB Europe’s programmatic trading committee and senior director of market development & channels at AppNexus. "The continued growth and increasing confidence shown in this research is testament to the industry’s recognition of its powerful contribution to business growth.

"Whilst both buy and sell-side have made major strides in adoption, some barriers still remain. By sharing detailed insight across the industry this research aims to inspire businesses to deploy programmatic to its full potential.”