Agencies using own technology see better performance than in-house

Almost half of ad agencies said they improved performance by using their own technology, says research by ExchangeWire and Iponweb. Their report said 49% of agencies used their own technology, 34% combined theirs with third-party technology and 17% said they only used third-party providers. The report said 63% of agencies using their own technology reported better data activation, creative optimisation, audience segmentation and campaign data while just 33% of those using someone else’s technology said the same. Of those who did not rely exclusively on their own technology, 71% said set-up costs were a deterrent while 67% cited maintenance costs.

49 per cent of advertising agencies conduct their programmatic media buying with their own technology, achieving better performance than their non-in-house counterparts.

According to research from ExchangeWire and Iponweb, 34 per cent of ad agencies combine their own technology with third-party tech and 17 per cent only rely on third-party offerings.

The survey of 129 professionals working in programmatic media across APAC, EMEA, and North America found that agencies using their own technology exclusively rated their performance more highly in data activation, creative optimisation, audience segmentation, campaign measurement and analytics, and measuring incremental impact of media buys.

The research also found that 63 per cent of agencies exclusively using their own programmatic media buying tech report improvements in their abilities to build relationships with publishers, while only 33 per cent of those not only using their own tech feel the same.

“Agencies that own and therefore control their own technology stack have the competitive edge thanks to better performance across a range of programmatic touch points. Owning technology also gives an agency better visibility of clients’ campaigns, enabling them to drive up ROI,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, general manager of demand solutions IponWeb.

“Owned technology also gives agencies the transparency across the ad tech supply chain that is increasingly being demanded by clients; as a result they are better equipped to tackle issues such as the tech tax, ad fraud, viewability and brand safety. And, as illustrated by the research, it helps agencies build the all-important links to publishers and inventory.”

Despite the benefits of using owned technology for programmatic media buying, there are some shortcomings.

71 per cent of agencies that don’t exclusively use their own technology cite the cost of set up as a problem for them, while 67 per cent see the cost of maintenance as a deterrent. Although, those that exclusively use their own technology see it as being more cost efficient.