Before learning about display and programmatic advertising in class, I’ll be honest—I thought display advertising was random. I thought it was an annoying ad that popped up that some company decided to throw in the mix on a random website because it had space. After exploring what programmatic display actually is, I learned that it’s much more structured and much more intelligent than that. Display ads are those visual ads we see across the internet everywhere; however, programmatic advertising is the process by which automated advertising places those ads in the best and most efficient virtual places.

I discovered that the key behind programmatic display isn’t so complicated but you have to truly understand how it works. For example, advertisers tell Google the audience they want to reach, how much they want to spend, and what they want to achieve. Then machine learning determines where the ads should live best. This surprised me because I didn’t expect it to be a machine sorting through thousands of websites determining the best fit; I expected it to be a person creating a list. But Google sorts through thousands of websites in no time, matching ads with people based on interest, web patterns and prior activity. For example, I always thought it was mere coincidence that I would Google something and then start seeing advertisements for it. But now I know that it’s not coincidence. It’s thanks to Google relaying messages based on the millions of users.

What I found most beneficial about going through the Google Display Network is that it is vast. For example, Google has a listing of thousands of websites/applications/placements. Essentially, your ad can go on a myriad of news sites, blog sites, YouTube videos and even mobile applications. This sort of scale would have previously required entire advertising teams—but can now be done through automation/programmatic means. This was fascinating to learn from a perspective that small businesses can now access a scale this large. Anyone with a budget can run display ads. This is no longer relegated to major brands.

Second, targeting is where display advertising comes to fruition. In class we learned about different types of audiences—affinity audiences, in market audiences, remarketing lists, and custom segments. Affinity audiences are created based on audiences looking for long term interests while in market audiences appeal to those actively looking to buy something at that moment. Custom segments allow advertisers to form their audience group based on keywords or URLs that people seek. This further explains why my ads across the internet are so relevant to what I looked up five minutes ago. It’s no coincidence—it’s driven by data aggregated over time.

In addition, display ads come in multiple formats. Static banners are simple while other types mold themselves based on how big or small the space is. One type I found most interesting was the responsive display ad which combines different headlines, images and descriptions to determine what works best. If I ever create my own display ads, I’d opt for the responsive type because it takes the guesswork out of it thanks to Google who tests and optimizes display automatically without human effort.

But display ads aren’t without their cons. One negative we discussed in class is banner blindness—people are so accustomed to seeing ads that they scroll past them not even realizing what they’re doing. Therefore, ad creative is incredibly important to making a good display ad to make the images clear, the text short and the message strong. If the ad looks messy or confusing, then no one will even look at it for a second. In my personal experience, if I see an ad that catches my eye, it’s simple and clean; if it’s too convoluted, it’s sunk.

Finally, something I found interesting was how privacy is affecting programmatic advertising over time—with third party cookies essentially being phased out and more people generally aware about how they’re tracked, Google is making an effort to change how targeting works. There’s still a lot of development occurring but the bottom line is that programmatic display isn’t going away—it’s transforming. It still plays an important part with brand awareness, retargeting and getting in front of audiences who aren’t actively looking who otherwise may be interested.

Overall, learning about display and programmatic advertising showed me how important this piece is when developing a larger digital marketing concept. Search ads seek intent but display ads foster awareness and keep the brand alive. After learning it all, I no longer think display advertising is a random image thrown onto a random page—but rather the strategy behind what it’s doing based on data and technology. Once you learn how it works, it’s easy to see why programmatic display is something so many companies rely on to expand their audiences.