Advertising Week 2014

Today marks the first day of Advertising Week here in NYC. For those who don’t know, Advertising Week is the world’s premier annual gathering of marketing and communications leaders that is held each year in New York City.

According to the official website, Advertising Week draws from the client, media, and broader cultural communities with a laser focus on key business drivers which shape and influence the global industry. Here are some of the key numbers: The Week is 4 days long, has 250+ events, 190+ seminars and workshops, and expected attendance is 90,000.

The focus this year is on digital – as evidenced by the many hundreds of panels and discussions scheduled on various digital topics ranging from mobile marketing to data mining. One topic that is expected to get a lot of discussion is digital advertising, specifically programmatic ad buying. Programmatic ad buying is when automated software systems (rather than calls, faxes, or emails to salespeople) are used to buy and book ads.

According to the official schedule, there are more than 20 panels that will discuss some aspect of programmatic buying. Magna Global, a research and ad-buying unit of Interpublic Group estimates that digital-ad spending around the world done through programmatic channels will increase 52% this year to $21 billion. The majority of the panels will focus on the growth and efficiencies of automated buying, however the conference will also discuss some of the risks, including the rise of phony websites and online fraud. It will be interesting to see how the conversation develops and what larger trends emerge from The Week.

Source: Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/articles/digital-media-to-take-center-stage-at-advertising-week-1411933781