Amidst programmatic change, WARC partners with NewtonX to guide the ad industry

Only 36 cents of each programmatic dollar actually reaches consumers. WARC collaborates with NewtonX to tap into expert insights and guide the ad industry through change.

With billions lost in programmatic, marketers grapple with media inefficiencies and brand safety challenges—WARC shows the way forward.

Programmatic advertising is in flux. Despite an $88 billion annual investment, only 36 cents of every dollar reaches its intended audience, according to the ANA. Up to 25% of spending is squandered on subpar or fraudulent impressions, undermining media investment and brand integrity by associating ads with harmful or low-quality content. With digital advertising facing pivotal changes, such as Google’s revised stance on third-party cookies, the future of programmatic remains uncertain.

Enter WARC, an authority on marketing effectiveness. Known for its evidence-based guidance, WARC aimed to help marketers navigate these changes in programmatic by offering actionable insights. WARC partnered with leading B2B market research firm NewtonX, whose AI-powered platform could connect them with verified programmatic experts and decision-makers.

Survey of 100 programmatic experts reveals key insights into brand safety, signal loss, and media spend strategies

WARC and NewtonX surveyed 100 programmatic experts, split between agencies (49%) and brands (51%). Most respondents, 72% of whom hold Director-level or C-level roles, work for companies with annual revenues over $500 million and are based in North America (36%), Europe (34%), and Asia (20%).

The survey explored their main concerns and priorities, including signal loss, cookie deprecation, transparency challenges, sustainability efforts, and investment strategies for the next year.

Key insights:

• Brand safety concerns: Over 50% cite brand safety as a major issue due to poor-quality inventory and the risk of ads appearing next to unsafe content.
• Preparing for the cookie decline: While 76% are adopting first-party data strategies, many still feel unprepared for the phase-out of third-party cookies.
• Transparency challenges: Although 64% trust their programmatic partners, 67% believe they lack enough information about inventory quality.
• Sustainability overlooked: Despite awareness, 59% of companies do not prioritize sustainability, and only 31% have frameworks to measure carbon emissions.

Addressing these concerns becomes even more important as increasing volumes of spend are transacted programmatically each year.” 

Paul Stringer

Managing Editor, Research & Insights, WARC

WARC, in partnership with NewtonX, launches The Future of Programmatic 2024 and sparks industry-wide conversation

In August 2024, WARC published The Future of Programmatic 2024, an in-depth report for subscribers released during a pivotal time for the programmatic industry.

“Our Future of Programmatic report arrives in the wake of Google’s announcement that third-party cookies will no longer be fully phased out from the advertising ecosystem,” said Paul Stringer, Managing Editor, Research & Insights, WARC. “While this represents a reversal of sorts, it should not encourage complacency. The industry still needs to evolve to meet the demands of a privacy-first ecosystem.”

In addition to the report, WARC published related articles and invited Sascha Eder, co-founder & CEO of NewtonX, to discuss the findings on the WARC podcast.

The insights and findings quickly gained traction in the marketing industry, with publications like MarketingWeek and Campaign highlighting key issues from the report, especially brand safety, as critical concerns for all marketers.