'How do you even spell Programmatic?'

“How do you even spell Programmatic?”

This was me on my first day of recruitment, having just been told about the world of Advertising Technology. At the time I wasn’t sure I would ever get my head around it, understanding the difference between an SSP and a DSP seemed tough enough.

It’s been 18 months since then, and in that time I’ve become something of a ‘Market Nerd’ or as much as you can be from behind a phone.

I’ve definitely learned a lot about the industry and I wanted to share 5 key things that have stood out to me over the past year and a half from a Recruitment standpoint.

1. Passionate - I thinks it’s fair to say that nobody dreams of being a Programmatic trader as a kid, and a lot of people who I speak to agree that they ‘fell into the market’, that being said it seems to stick with a lot of people, the realisation of what is capable with the Tech and how it has/can change Advertising excites people and that passion is palpable on the phone 
2. Educational - This ties in to Passion, people love what they do and a keen to talk about it and explain, I am always amazed by the capability of people to simplify the market to the point where a simple recruiter like me can understand what is going on
3. Innovative - There’s always something new, if somebody tells you that they know everything about the industry then they’re lying. I can’t tell you the amount of times where I thought that I was confident talking to a Client/Candidate about a topic only to find out that everything I once knew has changed.
4. Competitive - This goes without saying, like all growing industries there is a huge amount of competition for market share, with companies constantly trying to maximise their reach and consolidate their position against the big guys (Looking at you google), over the course of my time in the industry I have seen 3 large mergers take place that have had this effect on the market
5. COVID Proof? - Like all Industries, Ad Tech was hit hard at the beginning of the COVID crisis, however I am seeing that in comparison with other areas, the bounce-back in programmatic appears to be stronger. In the times of financial uncertainty programmatic is seen as ‘more bang for your buck’ and brands are turning to this method in order to maximise their marketing spend.

There you have it, recruiting into programmatic over the past 18 months has opened my eyes to a lot and I’m definitely looking forward to continuing within the market.

I am currently building networks in Chicago and Austin, so if you are looking for your next programmatic expert to join your team, or if you are searching for your next role in the market, feel free to reach out.