Programmatic advertising is expanding like never before. According to eMarketer, more than 88.2% of display ads in the United States will be purchased programmatically by 2024. Programmatic ads quickly become the primary model for exchanging all forms of media.
However, it has a long way to go before solidifying its positions in emerging areas such as CTV, DOOH, and in-game advertising. AI and machine learning advancements will likely strengthen the programmatic environment and open new potential for targeting. The sector deals with privacy, data collection, and fraud challenges. We have compiled a list of programmatic trends for 2024 that are already affecting the ad tech market.
Let’s get started!
1. AI-Powered Optimization 🤖
AI is no longer just a buzzword; it’s the backbone of programmatic advertising. From predictive analytics to real-time bidding adjustments, AI algorithms optimize ads with razor-sharp precision. According to Forbes, AI-driven ad strategies can improve ROI by up to 30%. No kidding. Machine learning models analyze user data faster than ever, predicting trends, audience behavior, and ad performance before humans can even blink.
2. Privacy-First Advertising 🕵️♂️
With privacy laws tightening worldwide, think of GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California, and programmatic advertising must adapt. Brands now face the challenge of delivering personalized ads without stepping over the privacy line. The solution? First-party data and contextual targeting. Say goodbye to third-party cookies and hello to a safer, consent-driven ad landscape.
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| First-Party Data 🗂️ | Collects data directly from users, ensuring compliance and better accuracy. |
| Contextual Targeting 🌐 | Ads are shown based on the content of a webpage, not user data. |
3. CTV and OTT Domination 📺
Connected TV (CTV) and Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms are taking over. With viewers flocking to streaming services, advertisers are following the audience. According to Statista, CTV ad spending is projected to surpass $25 billion in 2024. Programmatic buys on platforms like Hulu, Roku, and Amazon Prime Video deliver targeted ads straight to your living room.
4. Programmatic Audio 🎧
Audio ads are booming. Think Spotify, Apple Music, and podcasts. With millions of daily listeners, programmatic audio is the next big frontier. Why? Because it’s intimate and personal, listeners are actively engaged. Brands are now leveraging dynamic ad insertion to tailor audio ads based on listener data, making it sound like the ad was made just for you.
5. Supply Path Optimization (SPO) 🔍
Programmatic buying isn’t just about finding the audience; it’s also about optimizing the route. Enter Supply Path Optimization (SPO). This trend focuses on streamlining the buying process by cutting out unnecessary intermediaries. It’s like taking the express lane—faster, cheaper, and more efficient.
| Aspect | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Fewer Middlemen 🚦 | Reduces costs and ensures ad dollars go directly to media owners. |
| Better Transparency 🔍 | Offers more control over where ads appear and how budgets are spent. |
6. Retail Media Networks 🛒
Big retailers are turning into media powerhouses. Walmart, Amazon, and Target are just a few brands that have launched their advertising networks. These platforms allow brands to reach shoppers directly at the point of purchase, making ads hyper-relevant. It’s like being handed a megaphone right next to the checkout line.
7. Video Ads are Shorter and Shoppable 🎥
Micro-content is king. Attention spans are shrinking, and so are ads. 6-second bumper ads and shoppable videos are becoming the go-to. These ads don’t just inform; they sell. With interactive elements, viewers can now click to buy directly from the video. Quick, engaging, and conversion-friendly.
8. Advanced Measurement and Attribution 📊
Knowing which half of your advertising budget is wasted has always been tricky. But with advanced attribution models, that’s changing. Advertisers can now measure beyond the click—think viewability, engagement, and incremental lift. Expect 2024 to bring even more granular insights, helping brands understand the true impact of every ad dollar.
The programmatic ads sector took a hit after Google declared that third-party cookies would be phased out by 2024. When Firefox revealed its plan to restrict third-party cookies last autumn, publishers and advertisers were instantly impacted. Buyers’ bid rates decreased by up to 40% in Germany, where this browser has a substantial market share, while publisher revenue dropped dramatically.
We recently detailed how cookie deletion will affect marketers and publishers.
In any scenario, the industry must develop a viable user identification alternative to maintain revenue from digital ads.
Omnichannel marketing
People now own far more consumer electronics devices than in any preceding decade: a smartwatch, a smartphone, a tablet, and so on. Advertisers may target all of these devices by using an omnichannel strategy. Programmatic ad tech enables them to simplify ads while customizing them for different devices.
An omnichannel approach enables advertisers to better track andpredict client behavior nd generate maximum conversations by serving the ad in the appropriate media and at the proper moment.
Understanding of online privacy
Privacy security has emerged as one of the most notable programmatic ad trends in recent years. As third-party data usage is phased out, many social media platforms must reconsider how they utilize and acquire client information. A boom in privacy regulations, such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California’s Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, makes it far more challenging to utilize tracking cookies to target and tailor ads based on consumers’ online behavior.
“CMOs require effective data rights management systems to ensure they do not lose their most important asset – data,” according to GDPR.
This new regulatory framework upends established ways of tracking user behavior while allowing advertisers to get user data with their permission. The data size may shrink, but the policy will improve the data quality in the long run.
Targeting in context
Contextual targeting has waned in recent years, with the help of cookies in favor of behavioral targeting. This strategy was widely used to collect user information without explicit agreement.
Nonetheless, GDPR and current browser battles have resulted in the rebirth of contextual advertising, which does not employ cookies and does not directly target users. Furthermore, recent breakthroughs in AI have improved the automatic content analysis of online sites. Before putting the ad, AI can now better understand the page’s content and intent.
We anticipate that the revival of contextual targeting will be one of the essential advertising trends in 2024 and will be much more significant in 2023 due to the cancelation of third-party cookies. After all, it’s one of the few acceptable substitutes for cookies.
Voice-activated advertisements
Voice-activated virtual assistants are making inroads into the advertising industry. Amazon sold over 200 million Alexa-enabled gadgets last year, while Yandex claimed $55 million in income from its voice assistant, Alisa. Voice-activated purchases of household goods, clothing, and video games generate the bulk of traffic.
Gartner expects that by 2024, 30% of web searches will be conducted using voice-activated devices rather than screens. Programmatic ads will play a significant role in integrating voice-activated ads into the broader advertising ecosystem. This will aid in optimizing ad spots in at-home smart devices with in-store ads, audio, and visual ads, as well as mapping the consumer path.
Machine learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the expansion of the programmatic advertising ecosystem. Machine learning can make sense of big data sets and detect complex patterns in user behavior. AI and ML can connect user data to look at metrics and recommend the best ad placement and structure. AI can assist in better identifying customer patterns, enhancing ad efficiency, and lowering acquisition costs.
According to a Deloitte survey of over 1,100 early adopters of AI, 82% saw an excellent ROI from AI projects. AI that can predict customer behavior with extraordinary accuracy is also gaining traction in programmatic advertising. When corporations employed Watson, IBM’s famed AI technology, to acquire ad spaces, the cost per click was cut by 71%.
The openness and accountability of resellers are becoming increasingly problematic in the ad tech industry. Damage from domain spoofing and other security vulnerabilities resulted in $19 billion in losses for marketers in 2018. According to Statista, a business data site, ad fraud losses will reach $81 billion by 2024 and $100 billion by 2023.
The industry is experimenting with several frameworks to address this flaw in the ecosystem. IBA advises publishers to use ads.txt, a file containing confirmed publisher inventory vendors. This enables marketers to detect unauthorized resellers and avoid fraud during the early phases of programmatic ad purchasing.
Ads.txt is currently only available for desktop traffic, but the IAB lab also works on the mobile version. They are also working on scaling issues with the ads.txt protocol to make it more flexible for resellers. Aside from ads.txt, the IAB lab introduced sellers. JSON is a method that allows buyers to find direct vendors or middlemen in the sale of digital advertising spaces.
5G Boosts Programmatic Ads
The arrival of the 5G Internet will significantly boost programmatic advertising. With 100 times the bandwidth of 4G, it is ready to make processing power-intensive programmatic advertising a popular form. Advertisers will be able to access more channels at a faster rate, and display advertising will load faster and more conveniently for users.
The unparalleled 5G speed will eliminate lags and allow videos to buffer faster, making streaming a popular media channel. Furthermore, 5G will accelerate the expansion of in-app and in-game advertising and advertisements in wearables and smart home devices.
Advertising in-game
The year 2024 will mark the maturation of in-game advertising, which is still a young and revolutionary field. Retargeting is unusual in gaming apps despite its high ROI. In 2024, the oversaturated mobile gaming sector will likely diversify its monetization sources and give in to programmatic advertising.
The introduction of 5G will undoubtedly increase the effectiveness of in-game advertising. The industry will create new criteria for game viewability, visual engagement, and brand recognition. The pricing structure for programmatic advertising has yet to be determined. The next step is to discover high-return premium in-game portions and adjust creative rules for genres.
Digital Out-Of-Home Ads
Adding a digital component to traditional DOOH advertising will transform it. When combined with the utilization of mobile location data, it has the potential to boost offline conversions. Trading outdoor ad spaces and gauging audience size based on foot traffic are no longer viable options.
Outdoor programmatic ads will enable targeted audience planning and ad buying while providing customers with the most relevant and seamless experience possible.
Wearables
Smartwatches and other wearable devices are quickly becoming popular consumer items. According to estimates, 305.2 million wearable devices were shipped globally in 2019, and this number is expected to rise to about 490 million by 2023.
Wearable devices currently collect data on health, lifestyle, location, and other factors. This data enables advertisers to target the most qualified prospects in the most appropriate area, at the right moment, and with the most relevant message.
As the web matures, the audience is becoming wiser and more demanding. Advertisers are finding it increasingly difficult to reach prospective customers without effective audience management, segmentation, targeted targeting, and highly personalized ads. This is where programmatic advertising may help.
Advertisers can use programmatic ad technologies to measure and alter the effectiveness of their creatives in real time. They can alsose dynamic ad creatives to tailor their advertising and offer highly targeted messages.
Because of the wealth of data and AI-based predictive modeling, programmatic messages may adapt to specific demographics, device kinds, locations, and times.
Advertisements for OTT and CTV
Here, we discuss advertisements for over-the-top (OTT) and connected television (CTV). The development of the OTT and CTV ad market has been among the most talked-about programmatic ad movements in recent years.
According to eMarketer, there are presently 200 million CTV subscribers, with a projected increase to 204.1 million by 2024. Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are gaining popularity and capitalizing on OTT advertising. Furthermore, in November 2019, Disney introduced its streaming service Disney Plus, further bolstering the business and pushing traditional television to the backburner.
According to the PwC analysis, programmatic TV will account for around one-third of worldwide TV ad revenue in 2024.
Programmatic advertising continues to provide significant revenue for SoundCloud, Google, and Pandora.
Spotify is expanding its programmatic advertising capabilities. In 2018, they recorded a 94% increase in income. Podcasts are also developing a name for themselves in the market. Advertising revenue on podcasts in the United States surpassed $1 billion, a 53% increase over 2017 (According to the 2021 Podcast Revenue Report).
We have already discussed how digital audio advertising works and how it can be supplemented with a display ad.
The Open Web vs. the Walled Garden
The public’s fascination with walled gardens, a closed environment where the ecosystem operator regulates all operations, is ending (i.e., major tech corporations). According to an OpenX poll, consumers spend more time on the open web than on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Amazon. Longer sessions and more browsing sessions each day are examples of this. Moreover, a third of people say they used Facebook and YouTube less than a year ago. The main reason is a lack of relevant and entertaining material.
Unlike walled gardens like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Amazon, consumers are likelier to find relevant ads that impact the open web.
Conclusion
Programmatic advertising is evolving fast. From AI-driven decisions to privacy-first approaches, these trends redefine how brands connect with audiences. Want to stay ahead of the curve? Embrace these trends and equip your strategy with the right tools.
Speaking of tools, if you’re looking for top-tier ad management and analytics, try Scaleo. With advanced features like funnel reports, KPI tracking, and unlimited customizations, Scaleo is the perfect partner for your programmatic ad strategy. Dive into the future of advertising today!
Last Updated on February 18, 2025
