New paper on The Risk of Programmatic Advertising

”The Risk of Programmatic Advertising: Effects of Website Quality on Advertising Effectiveness” 

by Shehu, Edlira, Nadia Abou Nabout & Michel Clement (2020), The Risk of Programmatic Advertising: Effects of Website Quality on Advertising Effectiveness, International Journal of Research in Marketing, forthcoming.

Programmatic advertising is popular due to its high degree of automation, flexibility, and cost benefits over traditional ad buys. However, the initial enthusiasm over programmatic advertising has faded because it gives advertisers limited control over the websites on which their ads appear, resulting in brand safety issues. Aware of the risk that ads may potentially display on websites of poor quality (nonpremium websites), managers’ strategies to reduce risk are based on “gut feeling”.

This study provides empirical insights on website quality effects for premium and non-premium brands in branding and performance campaigns. The results show that effects, indeed, vary depending on campaign and brand type, but challenge current managerial practice along at least two dimensions. Overall, these findings enrich our understanding of the consequences of programmatic advertising and highlight the crucial role of website quality dependent on campaign goal and brand type. Finally, we provide campaign managers with empirical evidence regarding nonpremium website effects.

Read the full paper here.