• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, November 11, 2014

“Trust” has been critical in the programmatic ad space, and a lack thereof has often been cited as one of the key catalysts behind the “in-house trend” -- that is, marketers drifting from agency trading desks in favor of a programmatic team in-house.

But trust between players in the chain (brands, agencies, publishers and everyone else in between) is only one piece of the pie, and Strata, a media buying and selling software firm, has tackled the issue from another perspective: “Do you trust programmatic buying to properly execute ad orders?” 

The company asked 81 agencies this question, and 20% of them said they trust programmatic to properly execute ad orders, while 12% said they do not trust programmatic. Another 34% remain undecided and the other 34% of respondents don’t use programmatic.

Trust is on the rise, according to Strata. The number of agencies that trust programmatic technologies more than doubled (up 153%) quarter-over-quarter, while the number of those that distrust the tech decreased 16% quarter-over-quarter.

“We see a clear trend in agencies showing more confidence in programmatic, as agencies have developed a better understanding of the benefits that programmatic offers,” stated Joy Baer, president of Strata. “Our agencies are reporting that the automation, along with improved targeting and buying efficiencies, are some of the many advantages they see.”

“However,” Baer continued, “programmatic buying and selling won’t be completely embraced until quality and trust issues are resolved.”

Almost half (41%) of agency respondents that are using programmatic said they question the quality of inventory available, while 36% reported transparency concerns.

"Handshake" image via Shutterstock.