94% of Executives Scrutinize How Digital Media Spend Is Performing

NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020/PRNewswire/–MediaMath, acclaimed independent advertising technology company for brands and agencies, today released the findings of a custom Forrester Opportunity Snapshot study called “Confident Media Spending Requires A More Transparent And Addressable Supply Chain”, commissioned by MediaMath, highlighting the issues facing programmatic buying and the programmatic media ecosystem. The study shows that only 33 percent of marketers say they can demonstrate and report the financial return on their programmatic media spend completely and accurately.

The commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting included insights from 221 U.S. decision-makers across four key verticals who influence or direct their companies’ digital media buying strategy. The research found that as the advertising ecosystem becomes more complex, brands are facing scrutiny over media spend, are unable to confidently quantify the effectiveness of that investment, and are challenged by media supply chain concerns while operating on programmatic platforms.

In today’s constantly evolving media landscape, consumers are exposed to more content than ever and increasingly demand more relevant, creative and unobtrusive ads. However, ad tech vendors have not done enough to address marketers’ needs for a more accountable, addressable and aligned supply chain. To build this kind of environment involves co-creating with partners throughout the ecosystem. The study’s results illuminate what marketers need to navigate the transformations within the programmatic ecosystem and consumer behaviors to confidently exercise their media spends.

“MediaMath’s core mission is to create an accountable, addressable and aligned digital supply chain through the SOURCE ecosystem that eradicates the fraud, discrepancies and lack of transparency in the programmatic ad tech,” said Joe Zawadzki, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of MediaMath. “This research highlights the challenges faced across the entire industry and proves the solutions and relationships of advertising’s past will no longer empower its stakeholders to confidently execute their digital media strategies.”

Marketers Are Pinched Between Executive Scrutiny and a Murky Media ROI

  • 94 percent of marketers face executive scrutiny over how digital media spend is performing yet only 33 percent of marketers say they can demonstrate and report the financial return on their programmatic media spend completely and accurately

Regulations and Incompatible ID Tools Are Viewed as Challenges to Addressability

  • 55 percent of marketers think consumer privacy restricts programmatic buying addressability, or the ability to reach the right people
  • 45 percent of marketer’s struggle to maintain scale in third-party-cookie-restricted environments

Marketers Need Transparency and Addressability to Increase Effectiveness of Ad Spend

  • 48 percent of marketers say having less visibility into costs and fees is contributing to less transparency in the digital media supply chain
  • 55 percent of marketers attribute the lack of transparency in programmatic buying to data silos within buying or selling systems

“The ad tech industry is at an inflection point, and this research sheds light on the real challenges faced by marketers today,” said Eleni Nicholas, CCO of MediaMath. “We continue to evolve to address the shifting needs of our clients, and to deliver on our mission of uniting the ecosystem. For example, as consumer behavior has shifted in recent months, we have committed to providing our clients with a competitive edge in the CTV space with transparency, addressability, accountability and, most of all, brand performance.

To see full findings from the study, please visit here.

MediaMath Vision

Disrupting the ad tech industry status quo, SOURCE by MediaMath promised to protect brands while increasing budget efficiencies. Over the past 10 months after launching SOURCE we have laid the groundwork for a united ecosystem and we believe this Forrester Opportunity Snapshot is another validation of advertisers’ demands for ad tech to deliver better accountability, transparency and addressability with aligned interests.

As the industry demands more accurate data despite identity challenges due to consumer behaviors and shifting third-party cookie policies, marketers must reevaluate their identity strategies. MediaMath takes a flexible approach to identity, unifying data across many devices and browsers to improve reach, targeting, frequency management and attribution. Our partnership with LiveRamp further provides marketers with an industry redefining experience for targeting and measurement to power premium consumer engagements with integration of LiveRamp’s IdentityLink (IDL) into MediaMath’s bidding infrastructure through SOURCE.

About MediaMath:

MediaMath helps the world’s top brands deliver personalized digital advertising across all connected touchpoints. Over 9,500 marketers in 42 countries use our enterprise software every day to launch, analyze, and optimize their digital advertising campaigns across display, native, mobile, video, audio, digital out of home, and advanced TV formats. Founded in 2007 as a pioneer in “programmatic” advertising, MediaMath is recognized as a Leader in the Gartner 2019 Magic Quadrant for Ad Tech and has won Best Account Support by a Technology Company for two years in a row in the AdExchanger Awards.

MediaMath initiated an industry-wide effort to create a 100% accountable, addressable and aligned supply chain through SOURCE ecosystem. SOURCE by MediaMath is an alliance of agencies, brands, tech companies, and content owners designed to provide long-term sustainable solutions for a clean digital media supply chain with brand-safe, viewable inventory and low fraud. In its first six months, the SOURCE initiative secured partners such as Magnite, LiveRamp, Merkle, TVSquared, IRIS.TV, White Ops and Inscape, and has empowered MediaMath to launch the ecosystem’s full capabilities as the industry adjusts to new challenges and policies. MediaMath has offices in 15 cities worldwide and is headquartered in New York City. To learn more about how MediaMath helps innovative marketers delight their customers and drive real business outcomes, follow us at @mediamath or visit www.mediamath.com

Contact: Masha Krylova, mkrylova@mediamath.com