For Jorge Percovich, general regional director of Havas Media LatAm, the largest tactical challenge to date in Latin America is video and third-party data. While today there is considerably more video available than there was three years ago, thanks in part to private deals, the numbers really decline the moment you start to segment audiences. “Of all the tactics used in programmatic, third-party data remains the most challenging. Most data providers from the US have limited data from the region. Recently new providers focused on Latin America have emerged” Percovich said. In this scenario, many advertisers do not have data-focused strategies because their first-party data is limited. A key component that is starting to take root is data-management platforms (DMPs). Many well-known DMP companies are out of the price range for clients in Latin America due to lower media budgets. But local solutions and those imported from places like Spain are taking root. In the face of these challenges, Victor Lopez, programmatic media director at Affiperf – a programmatic pure-player, owned by Havas-, indicates that a lot of progress has been made in a short period of time. Publishers are offering more inventory programmatically, private deals are increasing, advertisers are implementing DMPs, more data and video inventory are being requested and more programmatic talent is being hired. “The potential for video in a Latin American ad market focused on brand awareness is huge” Percovich pointed out.