Advertising leaders have predicted that programmatic buying will play a significant role in their media strategy this year. 

“2021 will be the year when programmatic is no longer simply a line item on the media plan, but rather a central part of the planning process and any successful campaign,” said Philippa Snare, SVP of EMEA at The Trade Desk to eConsultancy.

And programmatic OTT is expected to be a favorite premium format. Which brands are already testing and refining their buying practices?

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1. Warby Parker

Digitally native, direct-to-consumer (DTC) eyeglasses company, Warby Parker, aims to make purchasing high-quality glasses as easy as possible. Since its online founding, Warby Parker has expanded and opened up 120 physical stores. On March 13th, Warby Parker closed down all of its stores; however, online activity soared. 

With virtual tools that existed pre-pandemic, people could try on glasses virtually and do a prescription check. Glasses are an essential item for many people, and though not cheap, Warby Parker’s glasses are more affordable than other traditional brick and mortar competitors. 

This led to a strong year for the company, enabling them to communicate their purpose, services, and availability via several media formats, including OTT programmatic. 

2. Subaru

Subaru, an automotive company designed for nature-loving drivers, was an active programmatic OTT buyer last year. In April 2020, it centered its advertising campaign around donating $5 million to Feeding America. 

This morning, the company announced that it will provide another 100 million meals to the non-profit. 

“Once again, Subaru is working with Feeding America to help the millions of families struggling with hunger across the U.S.,” said Thomas J. Doll, President and CEO, Subaru of America, Inc. “As we continue to weather these unprecedented times together, we hope our contribution to Feeding America ensures the most vulnerable members of our communities are fed and cared for.”

As part of its Love Promise Feeding America 2021 campaign, the company will place :30 and :15 second advertising spots on broadcast and digital platforms, including Hulu, YouTube, and Peacock. 

3. Casper

Another digitally native brand, Casper, was forced to close physical locations until they had more information on how to keep customers and employees safe. 

During the pandemic, Casper struggled with supply-chain challenges and inventory shortages, which put a taint on their financial performance. However, the company said that these challenges didn’t stop increased interest in their product.

“Casper’s third quarter was highly productive but unfortunately we believe the results don’t fully reflect the health and potential of our business,” explained CEO Philip Krim. “We saw record interest for our products evidenced by record website traffic, continued to drive gross margin expansion and progress towards profitability, and had another sequential quarter of growth.”

By the fourth quarter, they had made significant progress on overcoming supply-chain issues. This suggests that Casper is another brand expected to continue its programmatic OTT investment.

4. Chevrolet

In response to the pandemic, GM launched a program that helped alleviate the economic pains of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac car owners. These companies offered 0 percent interest, 84-month loans and deferred payments to customers to customers with outstanding credit.

This program is being compared to the 2001 Keep America Rolling campaign that was launched after 9/11.

As an additional part of its COVID response, Chevrolet also started virtual and at-home test drives, service pick-up and delivery, at-home appraisals, and more. This was communicated through its programmatic OTT ad purchases. 

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