Automation is eating ad strategy – it’s time to push back
As media buying becomes increasingly automated, marketers are trading control for convenience – and losing visibility in the process.
Michael Dargan, senior account manager at Murmur, explores the hidden cost of over-automation.
In today’s fast-moving media environment, automation is sold as the answer to everything: faster planning, broader reach, cheaper results.
And on the surface, it looks like automation delivers. Ad platforms like Google and Meta have built powerful machine learning engines that promise simplicity, scale and performance – allegedly low effort and high reward. But as automation accelerates, something important is getting lost: control.
We’ve reached a tipping point where convenience is coming at the expense of clarity.
Really insightful piece that challenges brands, agencies, and media owners to think long and hard about sacrificing effectiveness for the sake of efficiency. In the long term both are essential appropriate balance is the key. Campaign KPIs can be set too narrowly and need to be clearly defined and prioritized in any client brief.