Programmatic Advertising: A Guide to Setting Client Expectations

The key to keeping clients happy is helping them understand what to expect from an advertising campaign. Programmatic advertising platforms can be exasperating for clients, especially if their agency fails to educate them on campaign complexities, realistic performance timelines, and the iterative optimization process. 

Managing client expectations when launching programmatic ads is crucial for fostering a transparent and successful partnership. 

Before launching a programmatic campaign with a new client, agencies must establish clear communication about budgets, audience targeting, messaging, ongoing client involvement, and potential risks. By proactively addressing these topics, agencies can align client expectations and foster a collaborative relationship with their clients. 

How to Set Client Expectations for Programmatic Campaigns

Well-defined goals, whether they’re focused on brand awareness, lead generation, or transactions, provide a roadmap that outlines their programmatic media strategy. Clear goals and expectations help set key performance indicators (KPIs) and measure campaign effectiveness. 

By aligning KPIs with your client’s business objectives (brand awareness, prospecting, or retention), you can guide strategic decisions on targeting, budget allocation, and creative development. Additionally, clear expectations foster collaboration between advertisers and agencies, ensuring all stakeholders are aligned. 

Educate Clients

Begin by providing a clear and concise overview of programmatic advertising, explaining how it leverages technology and data to automate the buying and optimization of digital ads. Use straightforward language to demystify the process and define key programmatic terms such as RTB (Real-Time Bidding), DSP (Demand-Side Platform), and DMP (Data Management Platform). 

It may be helpful to relate these concepts to traditional advertising, such as highlighting how programmatic advertising builds on traditional principles but offers more precision, efficiency, and data-driven insights. Showcase how advertisers can target specific audiences based on demographics, behaviors, and interests that align with campaign objectives. Real-Time Optimization means that these systems continuously adjust bids, ad placements, and targeting parameters to maximize performance.

Pre-Campaign Checklist

Before launching your programmatic display ads, CTV, or DOOH campaigns, it’s crucial to set clear expectations with clients and ensure the following elements are in place for a smooth execution:

1. Optimized Website: A fast, user-friendly site that converts visitors is crucial for achieving campaign goals.
2. Tracking & Analytics: Implement tracking to monitor behavior and ad performance, providing insights for data-driven decisions.
3. Landing Page Optimization: Landing pages should align with ad messaging and be designed for conversions with clear calls to action.
4. SEO Foundation: Strong SEO ensures visibility, especially for branded searches, which supports the effectiveness of display ads and enhances brand impact.

Address Concerns

When questions arise, create a collaborative environment that welcomes open communication. Clients should feel comfortable asking questions and offering feedback during the process. The advertising agency’s ability to anticipate and address their concerns builds trust and understanding.

• Discuss the role of data and privacy in programmatic advertising platforms, explaining that data-driven targeting enhances relevancy without compromising user privacy.
• Explain how programmatic platforms create reports on campaign performance to demonstrate transparency and help clients understand how to access and interpret the data.
• Manage expectations for communication, including the primary channels, scheduled meeting times, and a plan for regular updates on campaign performance.  
• Describe a realistic timeline for achieving campaign goals. Communicate that programmatic platforms often require time for optimization, and results may take some time to appear. 

Collaboratively Set Realistic KPIs

Without collaboratively setting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) with clients, there is a risk of misalignment between the agency’s efforts and the client’s expectations, leading to unclear objectives, potential dissatisfaction, and suboptimal campaign outcomes. 

Here are some best practices for managing client expectations:

• Review any historical data from previous campaigns or industry benchmarks that can provide insights into realistic expectations and help set achievable goals based on past performance.
• Tie the campaign goals with broader business goals, such as a product launch, revenue growth, or increased profit margin. 
• Establish SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals that are clear, quantifiable, and attainable within the campaign’s timeframe. 
• Align KPIs with different stages of the sales funnel. If the goal is to increase brand awareness, focus on metrics like impressions and reach. 
• Set benchmarks and baselines for each identified KPI to measure progress and evaluate campaign performance against initial expectations.
• Communicate limitations and risks, including ad fraud, viewability, and the time required for campaign optimization. 
• Document the agreed-upon campaign expectations, goals, and KPIs in a formal agreement or campaign brief. 

Setting Realistic Timelines for Programmatic Success

Here is a general timeline for programmatic campaign results. Sales may spike sooner for some, but a conservative approach is wise for first-time programmatic display ads.

Month 1: Display advertising is impression-based, requiring an average of 7–10 impressions to drive a conversion. The focus during this month is on building the audience pool and serving impressions.

Conversions typically increase around weeks 4–6 as impression saturation is reached in the geofenced area.

Months 2 and 3: The focus shifts to continuing iterations, A/B testing creatives, and testing different audience segments/inventory to maximize conversion performance.

Managing Client Expectations for Lasting Success

Knowing how to manage client expectations helps reduce churn. If a client expects a 3X ROAS right from the start, especially without prior ad experience, addressing this during the sales process is crucial. Setting realistic expectations, emphasizing the time required to optimize campaigns, gather data, and fine-tune targeting, is essential for achieving sustainable, long-term results.

Author: Jake Litke

Jake is the CEO and Founder of MediaJel. A highly regarded leader within the mobile and advertising industry, he was previously the Founder and CEO of Media Cannon, a mobile advertising company. Under Jake’s stewardship, the company achieved a successful exit in 2010. With over 15 years of experience building dozens of successful mobile products and ad-tech platforms serving millions of users, Jake has a proven executive management track record. 

Around MediaJel, he’s often considered a walking encyclopedia and a champion trivia extraordinaire.