Building tech and managing ad ops is often expensive, time consuming and difficult to find adequate talent for. Programmatic functions like owning demand-side platform (DSP) contracts, which about half of respondents preferred to keep in-house, don’t take nearly as much investment as the tasks that advertisers want to outsource. The IAB/Advertiser Perceptions report stated that the high rates of outsourcing with tech and ad ops reflect “the need for brands to control for excessive capital expenditures and talent recruitment when establishing in-house capabilities.”
It also specifically examined programmatic functions. Among the entirety of digital advertising, programmatic is often outsourced more than other tasks. In a January 2018 survey of 120 CMOs worldwide by marketing consultancy NewBase, 43% of respondents said they outsource their programmatic efforts. No other marketing function had a higher outsource rate.