The 'Future of Programmatic 2024' report, published by WARC, delves into the key trends and topics that are expected to shape programmatic advertising over the next 12 months. The report is based on an exclusive survey of 100 programmatic experts, conducted in partnership with B2B market research specialists NewtonX.

The report highlights several challenges facing the industry, including brand safety, unpreparedness for a cookie-diminished world, lack of action on transparency, and lack of priority on reducing emissions generated by programmatic advertising.

Brand safety is a top concern for more than half (60%) of the advertisers and agencies surveyed. The industry's unpreparedness for a world with fewer cookies is also a significant issue. Furthermore, the industry is failing to take action on transparency, and reducing emissions generated by programmatic advertising is not a priority for nearly two-thirds (59%) of companies.

Three-quarters of respondents (76%) are spending 40% or less of their budgets on open web advertising (i.e., publishers that aren’t walled gardens like Facebook/Meta, Google, and Amazon).

Paul Stringer, Managing Editor Research and Insights at WARC, said, “Our Future of Programmatic report arrives in the wake of the announcement from Google that third-party cookies will no longer be fully phased out from the advertising ecosystem. While it represents a reversal of sorts, this should not encourage complacency. The industry still needs to evolve to meet the demands of a privacy-first ecosystem. Declining addressability, brand safety and ad fraud, continue to concern marketers, and addressing these concerns becomes even more important as increasing volumes of spend are transacted programmatically each year.”

Hannah Rook, Head of Intelligence and Insights at MediaBrands Magna Group, stressed the need for a more proactive approach, stating, “Advertisers and agencies need to take a more proactive and comprehensive approach to brand safety, expanding their placement criteria to make better decisions and ensure their ads appear in appropriate and relevant environments.”

Wayne Blodwell, Co-Founder and CEO of Impact Media, emphasised the need for advertisers to continue preparing for a privacy-first world, despite Google's decision to keep cookies. He said, “Google’s decision to keep cookies has not changed the direction of travel for the industry. Advertisers should continue leaning into smart, cookie-free techniques like attention and econometrics to prepare for a privacy-first world.”