Digital Media & Trading

What are digital media?

In contrast to analog media, digital media are communication media that work on the basis of IT and communication technology. The Internet itself can thus be considered a digital medium. Devices that enable information from the Internet to be accessed and displayed also fall into this category. Digital media also encompass technical equipment for

• digitalizing,
• calculating,
• recording,
• storing,
• processing,
• distributing, and
• displaying

digital media content.

Digital media trading (DMT)

A digital media trader’s task is to purchase advertising spaces in digital media of all kinds on behalf of advertisers by transferring the corresponding briefing to a purchasing tool that usually places campaigns programmatically. While the campaigns are running, the digital media trader is responsible for optimizing the campaigns and advising the client based on an in-depth understanding of the programmatic ecosystem.

Digital media trading & buying: a strategic approach to purchasing media

Digital media trading and buying essentially comprises three aspects:

• Selecting the appropriate medium
• Negotiating and purchasing advertising time and space
• Implementing the advertisement

However, even just selecting the medium can be a challenge for companies, since the available formats range from traditional newspaper or banner advertising to podcast commercials and online ads. Good media planning is required in order to identify which of the many options are best suited to the ad in question. Only then can brands implement targeted digital media trading and buying and achieve success.

If you want to draw up an effective media plan, the two main aspects to always keep in mind are the target group and the campaign’s goals. The more you have an accurate idea of

• who your brand’s users are and
• which channels existing and potential customers are active on,

the better you’ll be able to buy media space in such a targeted way that your current ads are displayed at the right time and on the right channels. If the campaign’s goals are clearly defined as well, there will be nothing standing in the way of successfully pursuing and executing your strategy.

Automated media buying – is the future all-digital?

The widespread use of smartphones and other mobile devices as well as the expansion of the advertising market to include online platforms have led to the increasing automation of fundamental processes in digital media trading and buying, with the emphasis on programmatic advertising, i.e. buying advertising spaces through automatic bidding.

The advantages of this are:

• Companies can easily publish ads themselves without the support of a digital media agency or similar as an intermediary.
• Digital advertising generally has a very high reach.
• Programmatic advertising makes it possible to optimize the price of advertising spaces in real time.
• Social media platforms in particular offer valuable insights into user behavior that help all advertisers make decisions on bids and their prices.

So, there are a whole host of good reasons for advertisers to automate their digital media trading and buying processes. No wonder then that programmatic media buying is gaining ground.

Programmatic advertising requires transparency

Programmatic advertising enables brands to publish ads automatically and in real time. However, the programmatic ecosystem is also extremely complex. For that reason, many in the industry are demanding one thing above all as part of the ongoing transformation of traditional media and workflows: greater transparency.

If your brand is planning to pursue programmatic media buying, supply path optimization (SPO) can help make the programmatic supply chain more transparent. To achieve this, the following steps are advised:

• First conduct an internal assessment of your programmatic processes. That will give you a good overview and provide useful information, e.g. the number of existing supply-side partners (SSP).
• You should then examine the SSPs more closely. If, for example, they offer tools that you can use to effectively manage your advertising campaigns, partnering with them is worth it. If that isn’t the case, you might be better switching to other SSPs.
• The third step involves narrowing down the SSPs to those who you could envisage working with over the long term. Ultimately, the stronger the business relationship turns out to be, the more you will have an overview of and thus control over who is handling your ads.

Increase your reach through clever digital media trading & buying

Targeted digital media trading and buying is an important prerequisite for the advertising success of companies. If you know your target group and which digital media are optimally suited for your ads, your campaigns will be sure to generate measurable success.