Dive Brief: 

• Time Inc, the nation's largest publisher of magazines like People, Time, and Sports Illustrated, is moving programmatic ads to uncharted territory: Print ads. 
• Target will be the first brand customer to purchase ink-on-paper ads through Time Inc's automated marketplace. The programmatically bought ads will appears in People, Entertainment Weekly, Time, and Sports Illustrated.
• The print-programmatic platform was developed by MediaMath, and is nearly identical to the one Time Inc. uses to sell digital ads. 

Dive Insight: 

It may seem counterintuitive in our digital world, but ink-on-paper spots can still be a big draw from advertisers—although they are often more expensive than digital ads. It only seems natural that the next progression in print ad sales would follow its digital counterparts right into programmatic. It's also no secret that programmatic ad buying eliminates the need for a sales middleman, which is likely to be attractive to print publishers who need to cut corners where ever possible. As the market for buying print ads programmatically emerges, it will be a trend to watch in the coming months.