Programmatic Ad Specialist - What to Look For

February 22, 2022

You are probably aware that programmatic solutions is the new black in the digital advertising industry. As programmatic advertising is increasingly gaining momentum around the globe, the number of organizations using these technologies also grows each year. Consequently, the demand for high-qualified and experienced programmatic specialists from companies across industries is also on the rise in recent years. In fact, many organizations, both providers and users of programmatic solutions, these days struggle with the process of hiring good programmatic specialists. 

 

 

What are the responsibilities of a Programmatic Specialist? 

 

Let’s begin by describing most typical duties and responsibilities of a programmatic specialist. They, of course, will depend heavily on the specific company he or she is working for. And what’s perhaps more important, on the kind of organization that’s looking for a programmatic specialist. Meaning, if the employer is a programmatic solutions provider, a publisher or a brand looking to utilize the power of programmatic technologies for better ad campaign performance. 

 

From the general perspective, however, programmatic specialists typically have quite a broad range of tasks and duties. Here are some of those that are mentioned the most commonly. We came up with this specific list by researching and analyzing more than two hundred currently open job positions for programmatic specialists from companies around the world that are publicly available on Indeed, one of the most popular recruiting websites. 

 

This is a list of the top ten generalized requirements that are present in open programmatic specialist jobs across industries. 

 

  • Develop an advertising campaign strategy for either internal (if the employer is an advertiser) or external needs (when the employer is an agency or other kind of programmatic solutions provider). 

 

  • Perform ad campaign analytics, evaluating various programmatic solutions and technologies to identify ones that fit the employer’s needs (or employer’s client’s needs) the best. 

 

  • Provide advanced actionable insights and implement them to improve the campaign results and increase crucial in the programmatic world metrics such as CPMs, RPM and eCPMs. 

 

  • Effectively communicate status of campaigns, technical issues, launch delays, delivery issues, etc. 

 

 

  • Perform quality assurance checks and debug issues with ad campaigns to ensure that all the processes are set up and function properly across all platforms and devices.

 

  • Optimize and communicate campaign traction for internal and/or external teams. 

 

  • Assist with documenting, updating and maintaining trafficking and work-flow procedures. 

 

  • Keep up with new programmatic solutions and technology trends. .

 

  • Ensure campaign timelines are adhered at every step of the process. 

 

 

What qualifications a Programmatic Specialist is required to have? 

 

Based on the same analysis approach, we also analyzed the most commonly required qualifications in descriptions of currently open jobs for programmatic specialists. Here are ten qualification requirements that are mentioned most commonly by employers across geographical locations and industries.

 

  • At least 2 years of ad operations experience such as establishing and managing ad campaigns for advertisers in DSPs and other kinds of platforms; and/or implementing and maintaining ad sales for publishers in supply side programmatic platforms

 

  • Experienced with uploading and troubleshooting creative assets, ad tech stack solutions, integrating ad placements, utilizing programmatic solutions for website ad revenue increase, etc. 

 

  • Experience trafficking ads for desktop, mobile, and video platforms; Google Ad Manager as the most commonly mentioned platform. 

 

  • College or University degree required; BA/BS degree preferred.

 

  • A deep knowledge of the programmatic industry: programmatic ad tech stacks, pros and cons of key platforms, understanding of ad inventory sources, key programmatic advertising metrics (CPM vs RPM vs eCPM), monetization methods, etc. 

 

  • Ability to rationalize and explain decisions with supportive logic and data.

 

  • Passion for programmatic advertising, problem solving and digital media. 

 

  • Ability to navigate ad-server and ad-verification platforms and pull reports.

 

  • Strong numerical and computer expertise; excellent communication and Interpersonal skills.

 

  • Proficiency with Excel, especially with pivot tables. 

 

Why do you need a programmatic specialist as a publisher? 

 

It may not be entirely clear for many decision makers in organizations and businesses across the world why their companies may actually need to hire a programmatic specialist. Here are a brief list of key potential reasons to hire a programmatic ads expert as a publisher: 

 

  • Cost savings. Utilizing programmatic solutions allows both advertisers and publishers to minimize their costs of running ad campaigns/monetizing their website audiences with ad sales. 

 

  • Gaining more control over the ad sales process. Hiring a high-qualified programmatic specialist can also be a great method to increase your level of control over the ad inventory sales, advertisers selection, user targeting, etc.

 

  • Establishing effective data collection. We have just been talking about the importance of effective data collection and how some publishers tend to underestimate or totally overlook this capability of supply side platforms. 

 

  • Gaining the edge over competition. Despite its booming popularity, programmatic advertising remains quite a new and relatively unknown field. This can be a huge advantage, as organizations who manage to find and retain strong programmatic specialists have a chance to capitalize on its technological advantages, gaining a strong competitive business advantage. 

 

Final words

 

Don’t have time and energy to learn about the profession of programmatic specialist? Don’t possess enough resources to establish the process of hiring and retaining highly qualified programmatic experts? Outsource this process along with all the other challenging aspects of your ad operations to professionals with proven expertise in the ad tech field. 

 

This is us! The pubGENIUS team consists of highly experienced specialists who are well-versed in the best practices and trends of the industry. We know how to utilize innovative technologies and ad unit types to optimize websites for individual publishers. We will make sure that your web properties are using the most relevant monetization methods and your ad inventory is set up and operating with maximum capacity at all times. 

 

Get in touch with pubGENIUS Team to get free consultation 🙂