7 Key Factors to consider while vetting Programmatic Partnerships

Programmatic is now the default mode of selling and buying ad impressions online.

According to eMarketer, global digital ad expenditure is anticipated to rise from an expected $571.2 billion this year to more than $785 billion by 2025. ( add a link)

There are a ton of programmatic advertising firms to select from in the market, which can make identifying the right partner more/very challenging. Most clients would like to believe that the majority of services are provided exactly as promised. However, this isn’t always the best way to evaluate a potential partner.

Programmatic advertising is heavily dependent on alliances and outside services (third-party solutions). Vertical integration of the programmatic advertising chain is not possible, given each participant in the ad tech ecosystem has dozens or even hundreds of partnerships.

All of our businesses rely heavily on third parties, thus, it is crucial to thoroughly investigate each one.

Given Programmatic advertising value chain is significantly based on ‘sequential liability’, meaning, if the organization above you in the flow of advertising dollars doesn’t get paid, you don’t get paid.

Most of the time, this has not been a problem. But given the current economic climate, it becomes a much bigger concern. We at Mediwrkz advise our client partners to to look for th the following factors should be taken into account while evaluating any proposed partnership:

Partner Scale

Make sure to look into the number of employees and their revenue. Size & Scale are important for the flexibility to survive in tough times as well as for having the resources to develop new goods and providing customer service.

Partner Profitability

Make sure that your adtech partner is cash flow positive and is not dependent on external financing.

Employee Stability

Given the layoffs that are happening, a good sign would be to note that your partners employees are not leaving en masse or being laid off. Stability is a good sign.

Growth Stability

Likewise, your partner’s growth patterns are also a key indicator of confidence. If they have a long and stable growth pattern, it’s a win-win.

Payment Stability

Good partners pay promptly. Doing your research will let you know which ones are stable and which ones are not.

Transparency in Pricing

Good partners are transparent with their pricing models and are not overtly opaque. Doing an internal exercise to understand pricing would help determine whether the company appears to be feasible and, on the other hand, whether the margin appears to be a little too high.

Avoid anything that ‘Too good to be true’

If so, it most likely is. As simple as that. Although a lot of this seems like common sense, far too many unchecked partnerships result in regret, financial losses, and time lost. At Mediawrkz, we are committed to being the most trusted, transparent partners for our clients. And it starts with looking out for their interests from the get go.