IAB's Stephen Chester reveals what he expects from Digital Trading Award 2015 entrants

I think for companies new to the space, the initial setup and requirement of different staff skill sets are key challenges. For those practitioners already in the space, transparency and ad verification (brand safety, viewability and fraud) are the main challenges.

To what extent has transparency improved in the value chain over the past year?

Overall there seems to be a shift towards greater transparency and verified ad quality. Brand Safety and Viewability guidelines backed by the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards have certainly helped to encourage this shift, and provide clarity and guidance to the market place. However further improvements to transparency need to be made to ensure a trustworthy transparent supply chain.

What’s the next big thing in programmatic trading?

Programmatic TV is on the horizon. Already gaining traction in the US, it will take time to be adopted in the UK, but expect to see initial inroads to be made in the UK from 2015/16

With DR budgets becoming tapped out, to what extent can the progress in (linear) TV programmatic trading help shift brand budget into programmatic?

This could certainly help to increase brand spend in programmatic, however I don’t think we’ll see this shift until perhaps 2016 and beyond. In the meantime what will certainly drive an increase in programmatic brand spend will be the increase of programmatic direct, giving buyers the confidence of achieving guaranteed volumes but using the efficiency and benefits of programmatic.

To what extend should publishers pool their programmatic platforms to achieve greater scale for premium private marketplaces?

What opportunities could be created? Difficult to answer as this will undoubtedly be different on a case by case basis. However this is an avenue that should certainly be explored by some small to medium sized publishers. Some agency trading desks are already reaching capacity in terms of publisher partners they can work with, so such alliances may well be more attractive and viable to agency trading desks and brands, versus going it alone.

How much progress has programmatic trading made in shedding its image of ‘remnant, cheap’ inventory? How much further must it go?

This is a misnomer that we need to address. There is no doubt that DR spend transitioned more quickly than Brand into Programmatic, helping perhaps to perpetuate this myth. However a good deal of premium inventory is already traded programmatically and the rise and use of private marketplaces ,where Publishers have more control, will only go to increase this supply further.

What are the remaining barriers to marketers adopting programmatic trading?

Education (of the benefits), investment and organisational change. Moving to programmatic successfully requires a substantial change and approach for both buyers and sellers that may appear daunting from the outside. This includes significant investment in platforms/IT infrastructure, new skill sets and team structures.

However it shouldn’t be forgotten that key marketing principles still remain the same and programmatic at its most fundamental, is the use of automated systems and processes to buy and sell inventory. This automation however brings efficiencies to the table that have so desperately been required, and allows the focus to be placed firmly on the performance and objectives of campaign rather than the operational setup.

What will you be looking for from entries during the judging stages?

Ideally entries which demonstrate real innovation that has driven significant tangible benefit for their clients. Something surprising and a break from the norm that really stands out.

How did you get into digital trading/advertising industry?

It certainly wasn’t a direct route! I studied physics at university and my first job was working for a small R&D company. Although I enjoyed it, I wanted a career where I was not going to be confined to a lab for the rest of my working life, and that was people orientated. At that point new media was really taking-off and I applied for and landed a role at Associated New Media (DMGT) back in 1999. Since then I haven’t looked back.

The DTAs, are in association with AppNexus and sponsored by Adform, Integral Ad Science, LiveRail, Millennial Media, Quantcast, Sphere Digital Recruitment, StrikeAd, Tremor Video and TubeMogul.

Entries close on 13 February. For details on how to enter visit the dedicated website.