Olanrewaju Balogun's blog

Author: Balogun Olanrewaju

  • Why I Think Everyone Should Be Interested in Generative AI

    Why I Think Everyone Should Be Interested in Generative AI

    Generative AI isn’t just for tech enthusiasts anymore. It’s rapidly becoming a part of our everyday lives, influencing everything from the art we see to the products we use. In this blog post and in few short paragraphs, I will break down why generative AI is so important and why everyone, regardless of their technical background, should be paying attention.

    What is Generative AI?

    In simple terms, generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content. This content can be anything from text and images to music and even videos. Think of it like a super-creative assistant that can generate ideas and bring them to life. In the words of an AI Whisperer, Henrik Kniberg, generative AI or gen AI is like “having Albert Einstein in your basement”. And you can go to it for idea generation and refinement, to help with your school essay, your speech at a public event, your proposal for a project etc. The list is endless.

    How Does Generative AI Work?

    Generative AI is basically or rudimentarily computer programs or models trained with large amounts of data. With this large amount of data, they are now very capable of identifying patterns and relationships within this data and using this knowledge to generate new, original content. It is like a toddler learning speech by observing his parents and others around. In the initial stages, the child doesn’t really understand what is being said but can associate words with meanings. They can say, “da-da” and can associate it with a specific parent. Next, the child knows what “yummy” represents. Before long, the child can conjecture and they grow from there.

    Gen AI are trained to understand and see patterns through enormous amounts of data. And because they are computers with an incredible amount of computational speed, they learn very fast. And this is why everyone should be interested in it. By being interested in Gen AI and making use of it in your everyday life responsibly, you become enhanced as a person to work faster and more intelligently.

    Why Should You Care?

    You might wonder why you should care about generative AI if you’re not a tech expert. Here are a few reasons:

    1. It’s Changing the World: Generative AI is already being used in a wide range of industries, from healthcare to entertainment. It’s helping to facilitate research into new medicines, design better products, write music, and the list is becoming endless.
    2. It’s Making Our Lives Easier: Generative AI can automate tasks that used to be time-consuming and tedious. AI Agents can automate repetitive tasks. For example, it can generate summaries of long documents, translate languages, write emails, schedule LinkedIn posts, etc.
    3. It’s Opening Up New Possibilities: Generative AI is enabling us to do things that were previously impossible. For example, it can create realistic images of people and places that don’t exist, it can create a product video ad, create movies in half the time and with a fraction of the cost, and it can even generate new ideas for products and services.

    The limit to what AI can do is YOU. By that I mean, the limit is really in your imagination of the use cases you can apply it to. And research kept pushing through those use cases and limits. How can you prompt the AI to achieve your goals? It is even opening up new roles or career paths, such as Prompt Engineering.

    Examples of Generative AI in Action

    1. Art and Design: Generative AI is being used to create stunning works of art and design. Artists and designers are using it to generate new ideas and explore new creative possibilities.
    2. Healthcare: Generative AI is being used to develop new drugs and treatments. Researchers are using it to analyze large datasets of medical information and identify potential new therapies.
    3. Customer Service: Generative AI is being used to create chatbots that can provide customer service 24/7. These chatbots can answer questions, resolve issues, and even provide personalized recommendations.
    4. Agentic capabilities: AI Agents can now be instructed to act in your behave. Use cases have included booking a flight, paying for monthly recurring cost, scheduling a meeting or even attending such meetings etc

    The Future of Generative AI

    The future of generative AI is incredibly exciting. As the technology continues to develop, we can expect to see even more amazing applications. Generative AI has the potential to revolutionise the way we live and work, and it’s something that everyone should be paying attention to.

    Conclusion

    Generative AI is a powerful technology that is changing the world. It’s making our lives easier, opening up new possibilities, and even helping us to be more creative. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or not, it’s important to understand the potential of generative AI and how it’s going to impact our lives. So, stay curious, stay informed and get ready for the exciting future of generative AI!

  • What Is Programmatic Advertising? A Beginner’s Guide to the Ecosystem

    What Is Programmatic Advertising? A Beginner’s Guide to the Ecosystem

    In today’s digital landscape, programmatic advertising has transformed how ads are bought and sold. What once required human negotiation between advertisers and publishers now happens automatically, within milliseconds, across vast digital networks. This rapid adoption of programmatic advertising has also made it an intricate system to grasp. In this guide, I endeavoured to break down the fundamentals of programmatic advertising, explain key components and offer practical examples making it easy to follow, whether you’re a beginner or a professional looking for a refresher.

    What Is Programmatic Advertising?

    At its core, programmatic advertising refers to the automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory using algorithms and data. Unlike traditional advertising, which requires manual negotiations between buyers (advertisers) and sellers (publishers), programmatic advertising uses real-time technology to deliver targeted ads across websites, apps, video platforms and even connected TV (CTV).

    Simply put:

    Programmatic Advertising = Automated Ad Buying + Data-Driven Decisions


    Imagine you run an online shoe store and want to display your ads to people interested in sports shoes. With programmatic advertising, instead of manually selecting websites to place your ad, the system automatically finds the best audience across various platforms—whether on a sports blog or within an app about running.

    How Programmatic Advertising Works: The Ecosystem

    Understanding the programmatic ecosystem requires familiarity with the roles of several major players and technologies. Let’s break it down step-by-step.

    1. Advertisers

    These are businesses or brands that want to promote their products or services through digital ads. Advertisers set campaign goals, budgets, and target audiences. A clothing brand may want to target fashion-conscious consumers aged 18-35.

    2. Publishers

    Publishers are website owners, app developers or content creators who offer ad space (inventory). They want to sell their inventory to earn revenue. News websites like The PUNCH, Vanguard, Pulseng, Legit etc sell banner ad spaces on the pages of their websites to advertisers.

    3. Ad Exchange

    An ad exchange is like a marketplace where ad impressions are bought and sold in real-time auctions. Advertisers bid on ad inventory and the highest bidder wins. This is called Real-Time Bidding (RTB) – the process where the buying and selling of ads happens in milliseconds, right as a webpage loads.

    4. Demand-Side Platform (DSP)

    A DSP allows advertisers to buy ad space programmatically. Advertisers upload their creative (ad banners, gif, HTML or JavaScript tag), set targeting options (like audience interests) and specify budgets in the DSP. An advertiser might use a DSP like Google DV360 (one of the top players in the market) to target users who searched for “winter jackets” within the past 30 days.

    5. Supply-Side Platform (SSP)

    An SSP helps publishers manage and sell their ad inventory programmatically. This technology ensures that ad spaces are filled with the highest-paying ads from various sources. A news website might use Google Ad Manager (an SSP) to manage banner ads and maximize ad revenue. Other SSPs include Pubmatic, OpenX, Facebook Audience Network etc.

    6. Data Management Platform (DMP)

    A DMP collects and organizes audience data to help advertisers make better targeting decisions. Most SSPs like Google Ad Manager collect useful data. So, publishers without the technical know-how may rely on this data on those collected by their analytics tools. Example of Data: User behaviour (like clicks and searches), demographics, and browsing history.

    Practical Use: An advertiser targeting luxury car buyers may rely on data from a DMP to identify high-net-worth individuals browsing automotive websites.

    7. Creative Management Platform (CMP)

    A CMP is used to create and manage ad creatives efficiently. It allows advertisers to design dynamic ads that adjust based on the viewer’s location, time of day, or browsing behaviour.

    Having walked you through the players or technologies within the programmatic ecosystem, it is now time to discuss the model that operates.

    Programmatic Advertising Models

    There are different ways that programmatic advertising operates. Understanding these models is important to determine how to participate meaningfully or just to understand where you stand.

    1. Open Auction: This is also known as real-time bidding (RTB). An open auction allows multiple advertisers to bid on the same ad impression in real-time. By default, SSPs or publishers who use them to operate the open option model. However, you can enable or set up other operational models.

    • Use Case: Useful for campaigns focused on reach and impressions.
      Example: A travel agency might use an open auction to promote flight discounts, bidding on ad space across a range of websites which is why you will see such an ad on a news webpage about Nollywood.

    2. Private Marketplace (PMP): In a PMP, the publisher offers its inventory to select advertisers through an invite-only auction. Ideal for advertisers looking to maintain control over the quality of placements. Example: A luxury fashion brand may prefer advertising only on high-end magazines. Hence, a publisher can invite such advertisers to campaign on its inventory through a PMP.

    3. Programmatic Guaranteed: This model involves direct agreements between advertisers and publishers for guaranteed ad placements. However, the transactions are still automated through programmatic platforms. Suitable for brand campaigns where the advertiser wants guaranteed visibility. Example: A brand with a new product release may secure a guaranteed deal with a publisher for a specified period.

    Benefits of Programmatic Advertising

    1. Efficiency: Programmatic eliminates manual negotiations and reduces the time required to launch campaigns. Advertisers can set up campaigns within minutes and reach millions of users through a single platform.
    2. Advanced Targeting: Target users based on demographics, interests, location, device type and even online behaviour. An ad campaign for yoga mats can target users who frequently visit fitness-related websites.
    3. Real-Time Optimization: Campaign performance can be monitored and optimized in real-time. Advertisers can pause underperforming ads and boost top performers. A marketer may increase bids for ads showing better conversion rates during weekends.
    4. Cost-Effective: Advertisers only pay for impressions that reach their target audience. Example: A shoe retailer may only bid higher on users with a known interest in footwear, reducing wasted ad spend.
    5. Transparency and Control: Advertisers have visibility into where their ads are being displayed and can exclude undesirable websites. The same for publisher conscious about protecting their brands from ads that conflict with their brand or stature.

    Challenges of Programmatic Advertising

    1. Ad Fraud and Brand Safety: Automated ad buying can expose advertisers to fraudulent clicks or unwanted placements on low-quality sites. This has been a major negative component for programmatic. However, advertisers use brand safety tools and publishers use SSPs that offer fraud detection features.
    2. Complexity: The programmatic ecosystem involves many moving parts, which can be overwhelming for beginners. Work with experienced ad ops professionals to manage campaigns effectively.
    3. Data Privacy Regulations: Regulations like GDPR and CCPA have impacted how advertisers collect and use audience data. Advertisers and publishers must rely on first-party data and ensure compliance with data privacy laws.
    1. Connected TV (CTV) and Programmatic Video
      • With the rise of streaming platforms, more advertisers are shifting budgets toward CTV ads.
    2. AI and Machine Learning
      • AI-driven algorithms are helping advertisers optimize campaigns with minimal human intervention.
    3. Cookieless Advertising Solutions
      • As third-party cookies are phased out, advertisers are turning to contextual targeting and first-party data strategies.

    Practical Example: A Programmatic Campaign in Action

    Let’s walk through an example of a programmatic campaign to solidify our understanding.

    A popular fitness blog that attracts 500,000 monthly visitors wants to monetize its website through programmatic advertising. The goal is to fill ad spaces with high-quality, relevant ads to generate revenue without compromising the user experience. Here’s how it works:

    Step 1: Ad Inventory Setup

    The fitness blog creates several ad placements (inventory) on its website, such as:

    • A 728×90 leaderboard banner at the top of the homepage.
    • A 300×250 sidebar ad on article pages.
    • Video ad placements embedded in workout tutorials.The blog uses Google Ad Manager (an SSP) to connect its inventory to various demand sources (like DSPs, ad exchanges, open auctions and private marketplaces).

    Step 2: Header Bidding Integration (optional)

    • The blog implements header bidding to ensure it receives bids from multiple advertisers simultaneously.

    Now, when a visitor opens an article, the header bidding wrapper and/or SSP sends out bid requests to several DSPs in real time, ensuring the highest bidder wins the impression.

    Step 3: Real-Time Auction in Action

    • A sportswear brand (advertiser) participating in the auction wants to promote its new running shoes.
    • The advertiser’s DSP analyzes the incoming bid request, recognizing the visitor as a 30-year-old fitness enthusiast (based on first-party and third-party data).
    • The sportswear brand bids $5 CPM (Cost Per Mille) for the ad impression.
    • Meanwhile, a protein supplement brand bids $4 CPM for the same impression.

    Result: The sportswear brand wins the auction because of the higher bid and its banner ad is displayed instantly on the article page.

    Step 4: Ad Delivery and Performance Monitoring

    • The fitness blog’s SSP ensures the ad loads quickly and is properly rendered on the page to maintain a smooth user experience.
    • The viewability score of the ad is tracked to monitor how long it stays visible on the user’s screen. This data helps publishers optimize ad placements for future campaigns.

    Step 5: Revenue Reporting and Optimization

    • For every 1,000 impressions, the blog earns $5 from the sportswear brand’s campaign. If the campaign performs well and achieves high engagement, the advertiser may increase bids for future impressions on the site.
    • The publisher uses analytics tools within the SSP to review campaign performance—checking metrics such as click-through rates (CTR) and ad viewability.
    • If certain ad placements underperform, the publisher adjusts the layout or sets floor prices to ensure that only high-quality ads appear.

    Step 6: Ensuring Brand Safety and Ad Quality

    • To maintain its reputation, the fitness blog leverages ad quality tools to block unwanted or low-quality ads, such as intrusive pop-ups or irrelevant ads.
    • It also uses PMP deals (Private Marketplace) with select advertisers to fill premium ad placements with ads from trusted brands.

    Outcome

    By participating in the programmatic ecosystem, the fitness blog:

    • Maximizes revenue by auctioning its inventory to the highest bidders.
    • Maintains user experience by delivering relevant, non-intrusive ads.
    • Gains insights into which ad formats and placements perform best, allowing for ongoing optimization.

    Example Revenue Calculation:

    • 200,000 impressions are sold at an average CPM of $5, earning the publisher $1,000 in revenue.
    • Additional video ad placements generate $10 CPM, contributing to more substantial returns.

    Conclusion

    Programmatic advertising is a game-changer for the digital ad industry, offering unprecedented efficiency, targeting precision and cost-effectiveness. However, it can be complex for beginners due to the number of moving parts in the ecosystem. By understanding the roles of DSPs, SSPs, ad exchanges and other components, advertisers and publishers can unlock the full potential of programmatic campaigns. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced marketer, keeping up with the latest trends—such as AI, connected TV and privacy regulations—will be essential in staying ahead in this fast-evolving space.