Archive for November, 2009
Monday, November 30th, 2009
“The Sell-Sider” is a column written by the sell-side of the digital media community.
Tom Shields is CEO of Yieldex, a publisher yield optimization company.
The new real-time bidding (RTB) exchanges seem to skew the buying power further in favor of buyers. They can see each impression in real-time, data-enhance it with their own data, and then bid on it. The problem is that most publishers don’t know where the pockets of value exist in their remnant inventory, so they can’t intelligently allocate that inventory in a way that makes them the most revenue.
Publishers need 3 things to maximize the value of their inventory on an exchange:
1. Inventory value. Publishers need to get back from their exchanges the value of their inventory, on an impression-by-impression basis. Just getting high-level average CPMs by section or zone isn’t good enough, this masks the high-value impressions that may exist within those sections.
2. Third-party data. Your buyers are using data to understand the value of your inventory, you need to have the data to fight back. You should be setting floors on your inventory based these data segments, so buyers can’t just cherry-pick your inventory at an overall low value, and you can’t do this without the data.
3. An analytic system to maximize yield. You will need a system that can capture an analyze all this data – terabytes of it – and spit out a set of floor prices by inventory segment. In an ideal world, this system operates in real-time, re-setting floors based on the most recent data. I call this real-time selling – the antidote to real-time bidding.
Not all of these items are easily attainable. The first item is not generally available from exchanges, so publishers need to demand it. The second is becoming more available, from vendors such as Audience Science, BlueKai, and eXelate. The third will be provided by Yieldex, among others. Forward thinking publishers, who put this stack together, should be able to dramatically increase revenue from their unsold inventory.
Follow Tom Shields (@tshields), Yieldex (@yieldex) and AdExchanger.com (@adexchanger.com) on Twitter.
Posted in The Sell Sider | No Comments »
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Dan Beltramo is CEO of Vizu, an online advertising effectiveness research company.
How did Vizu begin? And where did the name come from?
Vizu began with the vision that market research could be made more widely available and useful by using the internet to make it much faster, easier, and less expensive to conduct. While pursuing that broader vision, we encountered numerous online publishers who were having difficulty selling brand advertising on their sites.
Given my background in CPG marketing, it became clear to me that one of the primary reasons brand advertisers were not advertising online in volumes commensurate with online media consumption is that there was not a reliable, relevant everyday measurement system in place for brand advertisers. Given the dire need expressed by online publishers and the corroborating feedback that we received from media buying agencies and brand advertisers who were equally frustrated by the tyranny of the click-through-rate, we chose to focus exclusively on delivering a reliable online brand advertising metrics system based on measuring the brand lift associated with ad campaigns instead of the CTRs.
The name Vizu was a riff on the word visibility which is what we provide to brand marketers and their partners.
What is the sweet spot for Vizu in terms of client type? Is it difficult selling to traditional brands due to an unfamiliarity or lack of comfort with online marketing tactics?
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Tags: ad effectiveness, ad exchange, ad network, brand advertising, Online Advertising, vizu
Posted in Research | No Comments »
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Publishers And The Agency DSP
Web publishers fear agency demand-side platforms – that’s what the headline says anyway in a Mediaweek article by Mike Shields. Not all publishers were willing to go “on the record” for Shields regarding their concerns, but their hesitancy is based in part on past experience with ad networks. A juicy nugget within the article: according to Shields, a group of large publishers met with Rubicon Project last week to discuss evening up the score with “a selling platform through which sites could set rules on pricing, transparency and data.” Read more.
More IPO Talk
As originally reported by TechCrunch Europe, Linkedin is the latest private company to consider an initial public offering in the digital media space. The Deal’s Mary Kathleen Flynn looks at the rounds of funding that Linkedin has raised to date ($103 million total) and a hurdle that LinkedIn may be on the verge of climbing – “there hasn’t been an IPO in the U.S. from the post-2004 Web 2.0 social media generation yet.” Read more.
Anteing Up For Ads
The Wall Street Journal’s Emily Steel writes about the IAB and advertising industry’s efforts to dispel consumer concerns about online advertising and behavioral advertising, specifically. Steel says that a new ad campaign will educate consumers as well as offer a “heads up” through a badge which would tell consumers that their activities are being tracked by a cookie in their browser. Read more.
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Tags: ad agency, ad exchange, demand-side platform, display advertising, DSP, DSPs, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Google Grabbing TiVo Data
According to Todd Spangler of Multichannel News, Google is looking to “combine second-by-second set-top data from TiVo with data from Dish Network, which will let the Web giant track the viewing habits associated with more than 5 million TV sets — and sell ads with more precision.” Cross-channel audience targeting takes another step as Google upgrades its TV buying platform. Read more.
Adconion Is Buying
Online ad network, Adconion, has bought what remains of Joost, the consumer video service, according to PaidContent.org’s Rafat Ali. Adconion and Joost share the same investors (Index Ventures) as Ali reports that Adconion’s buying spree is continues after their enormous VC round in February to expand in the U.S. Read it.
RMX International Re-Org
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Tags: ad agency, ad exchange, adsafe media, burt, creative agency, rich, rubicon project
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
A spokesperson from Yahoo! provided the following about the impact on Yahoo!’s Teracent partnership given Google’s acquisition of Teracent. Teracent provides multi-variate technology for Yahoo!’s Smart Ads for PC and Mobile:
“Yahoo! works with multiple partners as part of its Smart Ads program, including Teracent, PointRoll, and Tumri, to help marketers develop and deploy dynamic creative campaigns. Yahoo!’s unique combination of reach, frequency, and data continue to make us the best source of media to power dynamic ad campaigns. We anticipate continuing to work with Teracent.”
Tags: google, smart ads, teracent, yahoo
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Lexi Reese has been named the new Director of Sales for the DoubleClick Ad Exchange in the US filling the void left by Michael Rubenstein, who joined AppNexus as President in September.
Reese told AdExchanger.com that her range of experience with the Google AdWords product and her most recent role of Director of the Google Content Network has helped prepare her for the new position. At GCN, she worked with advertisers on facilitating display campaigns – the DoubleClick Ad Exchange would appear to be a natural evolution for her.
In the interview, Reese said that she has already been in the role for a month now and is able to report that the steady of integration of Certified Ad Networks continues. Google Group Product Manager for the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, Scott Spencer, was also on the call and though he demurred when asked about whether or not Google will join the demand-side platform (DSP) hit parade, he reiterated the momentum of the ad exchange and integration of the demand-side ad networks. Reese added that yesterday’s acquisition of Teracent by Google will be an exciting new tool for advertisers.
Google is the first of the three exchanges to fill key roles vacated by employees who have been lured back to the world of startups. AdECN’s Jeff Green and Yahoo!/Right Media’s Antony Taylor, who left a month later than Rubenstein, were in similar but different roles at their companies. As the “brain drain” picks up speed with larger corporations, it will be important to stabilize their strategies by filling roles quickly. Innovation will not wait!
By John Ebbert
Tags: ad exchange, doubleclick, google
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Murdoch-Microsoft Machinations
In an effort to undermine Google’s search dominance, Microsoft is reportedly in discussions with News Corp to be the only search engine allowed to index News Corp content. That’s over the top – let’s take it a step further. What if Microsoft was able to buy off the indexing of Wikipedia, for example, a core part of Google’s search results? Crippling for Big G? Where would they find the authority central to their search algos? The Financial Times’ Matthew Garrahan and Richard Waters report that News Corp isn’t the only publisher that has been approached either. Is this new revenue a savior to the flagging newspaper industry? Stop the presses!
Warning: New AOL (Aol.) Logo
The Tim Armstrong-inspired makeover continues at AOL as “Aol.” has arrived as the company’s new logo. Stuart Elliott of The New York Times covers the funky new spelling in the logo “Aol.” (with the dot, Aol. effectively joins the creative punctuation club created by Yahoo!) and says, “Although the AOL logo itself will be constant, the backgrounds will change continuously in an effort to suggest the breadth of AOL’s content.” Feel the breadth here.
More CPM Growth!
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Tags: ad exchange, ad network, data warehousing, display advertising, marketing, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
By Kent Wakeford, co-Founder and EVP of AdSafe Media.
“Transparency.” It’s a word often heard in the discussion about Ad Exchanges.
Advertisers want more of it. “Can’t I just get a site list?” they ask. But while buyers are asking for “transparency,” those operating (and contributing inventory to exchange platforms) know that the very existence of the Ad Exchange business model depends on the choice to have opacity since many publishers want to avoid channel conflict issues with their in-house sales teams or being seen as “dumping distressed inventory.”
So what’s to be done to solve the logjam created by the clash of marketers’ demands for greater transparency and the inherent requirements for a certain degree of opacity on the part of the Exchanges? It’s obviously a problem which must be solved if the Exchange model is to enjoy further growth. Despite high levels of consumer engagement with the medium, only 5% of all brand dollars are today spent online. And according to a recent eConsultancy study, 65% of marketers say that the biggest gating factor preventing increased digital spending relates to the threat of their ads appearing adjacent to “unsuitable” content.
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Tags: ad exchange, ad exchanges, Ad Networks, media buying
Posted in Exchange Ideas | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
From the Official Google blog and the Teracent website’s home page, the news is finally confirmed: Google has purchased multi-variate display ad company, Teracent, after weeks of rumors.
In the Google blog post, Neal Mohan, VP of Product Management and Joerg Heilig, Engineering Director commented said, “We’re looking forward to welcoming the Teracent team to Google and to making this technology available to our display advertising clients.”
In regards to roll-out plans within Google products and services – specifically the DoubleClick Ad Exchange – a Google spokesperson told AdExchanger.com:
“In terms of rolling out Teracent’s technology, we don’t have any specifics about integration with the Ad Exchange – too early to speculate. We expect to make it available to advertisers and agencies who use our DoubleClick ad serving products, as well as AdWords advertisers who run display campaigns across the Google Content Network.”
On All Things D, Peter Kafka reports that Teracent “was doing something under $2 million a year in revenue” and was told by Teracent’s CEO Vikas Jha in September, that the company is profitable. It will be interesting to see how long Teracent’s mobile display ad partnership with Yahoo! Smart Ads lasts.
Google’s blog also has an example of how the Teracent technology works here and specifically mentions the nice “fit” that Teracent technology provides for the new DoubleClick Ad Exchange and Google’s new campaign insights tool.
Tags: display advertising, doubleclick, google, multivariate ads, teracent
Posted in Creative | No Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Seth Goldstein is the co-founder and CEO of SocialMedia, a social advertising platform.
AdExchanger.com: AdKnowledge acquired SocialMedia.com’s ad network last week as noted here by TechCrunch. Where does this leave SocialMedia.com?
We are excited about the transition of our ad network to Adknowledge. This move will allow SocialMedia.com to focus solely on its core business of developing the first social advertising platform. We’ve been a pioneer in social advertising since 2007, by building a Facebook ad platform that allowed app developers to manage, market, and monetize their inventory. Now moving forward, the company is going to bring this level of holistic publisher service beyond Facebook app developers, allowing web publishers to socially enable their inventory across the web
Can you break down SocialMedia.com’s business model? Where does display advertising fit in?
We are 100% focused on developing the first social advertising platform that allows publishers and advertisers to turn any online display advertisement into a social ad, anywhere on the web. We are confident this platform will power the next generation of social ads across the web.
How are you defining a “social ad?”
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Tags: ad agency, ad exchange, adknowledge, media buying, Social Media
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Lead Gen IPO
QuinStreet will be taking the Street by storm as they announced plans for a $250 initial public offering according to alarm:clock. The company is already profitable having logged $17 million in profits through the first half of the year on gross revenues of $260 million. Read more.
Marketing Manifesto
IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg goes deep with another manifesto on his blog called “Is Marketing a Strategic Resource or a Procured Commodity?” And the answer? Rothenberg writes, “Agencies and media alike must focus on the development of strategic resources that can drive growth – their customers’, and their own.” Read it.
Video Ads In Social
Eyeblaster has come out with a new study which says that though video ads perform well next to editorial content, they’re not looking so good within a social or gaming environment. According to the release, “The study also confirms that video advertising boosts engagement–doubling Dwell Time and increasing Dwell Rate by 20%. As a result, video yields double the ROI of non-video Rich Media.” Read the release. Or, download the report.
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Tags: ad agency, ad exchange, advertising, ipo, marketing, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Friday, November 20th, 2009
This is a response to AdExchanger.com’s recent survey, “Industry Reaction: The Impact Of Right Media And The Importance Of Multiple, Large Exchanges.”
Publicis’ VivaKi Nerve Center – Kurt Unkel, SVP
Being the slacker who didn’t turn in his homework on time on this one has afforded me the opportunity to read the many excellent perspectives presented by a truly impressive cross-section of industry leaders before submitting my own thoughts. I have to agree with many of the overarching themes that come thru in the majority of the posts: Right Media was the first exchange at scale and created the industry that allows media buyers and publishers to more efficiently and effectively transact for the right impression, at the right time, for the right price. Considering we are all earning a decent living and/or enjoying a ridiculous valuation from this ecosystem RMX basically started, that’s a pretty big deal. And as it relates to having more than one exchange – I agree on the surface that competition is good, and innovation will happen at a much faster pace when there’s at least 2 players in the market. Competition also helps to ensure balance exists as markets mature, so considering where we are now as an industry, having more than one exchange makes great sense.
But I’d like to question some conventional wisdom and amplify a theme that a few touched on slightly, and this flies in the face of “competition brings innovation” concept. That is if one truly considers all the factors, we should really have just one exchange in the future. Having multiple exchanges is very inefficient for all involved. Pricing inefficiencies exist, operational costs are higher, and managing decisions & targeting data becomes many times more complex and riddled with limitations or workarounds. We seem to immediately assume that it’s more expensive to not have competition than it is to deal with these issues.
That may be true, but are we sure? Someone call the Freakonomics guys…
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Tags: ad agency, ad exchange, ad network, publicis, right media exchange, rmx, vivaki, vivaki nerve center
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Friday, November 20th, 2009
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Privacy Prodding In DC
The Hill’s Kim Hart checked in on hearings taking place in D.C. around consumer privacy online and covers Acxiom executive Jennifer Barrett’s testimony regarding, “1,500 possible data points about individual consumers” that Acxiom tracks. Barrett said that “Acxiom receives that information from public records, surveys consumers fill out voluntarily.” Read more.
Kenneth Corbin of InternetNews.com covers the hearings saying, “Members of the two subcommittees are considering draft language of the bill, which could be introduced in the next several weeks.” Read the coverage.
In preparation for yesterday’s hearing in front of Rep. Rich Boucher’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, The Wall Street Journal’s Emily Steel set the stage for the privacy and consumer data hearings and echoed The Hill’s story saying that lawmakers concerns aren’t just about online data, but offline as well. Read more.
ComScore Releases October
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Tags: ad exchanges, media, media buying, online ad exchanges
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Given the announcement earlier this week from Yahoo!, the plot thickens as the display ad ecosystem evolves into demand-side platforms.
In this survey of a broad, cross-section of the digital ad industry, AdExchanger.com looks back and looks ahead with the help of the industry.
The questions…
- What has been the impact of Right Media Exchange?
- In the future, how important is having at least two, liquid, large scale, ad exchanges in the display ad ecosystem? And why.
This is the first of four posts – 41 “Reactions” total! See below.
Ad-Juster – Mike Lewis, CEO
The Right Media Exchange has created an alternative to the traditional ad networks’ “buy, mark-up, resell” model of distributed digital advertising. The creation of a transactional model, one in which a technology platform is supported by transaction fees and remains a neutral 3rd party mediator between media buyers and sellers, has allowed many smaller sized publishers to gain more direct control of the operations and improve their margins. RMX has provided a baseline roadmap to accomplish this, however many significant hurdles, such as brand protection and direct sales effort competition, will continue to dampen the rate of broad adoption.
[Regarding the importance of having at least two, large ad exchanges], unfortunately, the natural acquiring organization of any real-time exchange platform will be an active participant in the digital advertising space. This was demonstrated when Yahoo bought RightMedia. The immediate loss of neutrality, since Yahoo both owns the exchange and generates revenue buying and selling the commodity traded on that exchange, gave rise to healthy scepticism and concern. The presence of two or more self-supported, liquid exchanges will hopefully force, through competitive pressures, more transparency and cost efficiencies. Today the two biggest players will be Google and Yahoo, it would be nice to see a viable 3rd contender free from such partisan ownership gain parity in the market as well.
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Tags: ad exchanges, Ad Networks, advertising, Agencies, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
And now.. The Demand-Side Platform reaction.
The questions…
- What has been the impact of Right Media Exchange?
- In the future, how important is having at least two, liquid, large scale, ad exchanges in the display ad ecosystem? And why.
AdBuyer.com – Tim Ogilvie, CEO
The Right Media Exchange started the revolution. They pioneered the notion that both buyers and sellers would benefit from increased liquidity and transparency in the market and built the infrastructure to prove it.
I think we’d be better off with a single exchange. A neutral marketplace is a natural monopoly. Buyers and sellers both benefit from increased scale, and you’re able to remove many of the significant frictional costs that are taxing returns for participants in the marketplace. We’re just starting to realize the potential of exchanges, and I think a single liquid exchange would get us there faster.
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Tags: ad exchanges, Ad Networks, advertising, Agencies, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
And now.. Ad Networks and Exchanges reaction.
The questions…
- What has been the impact of Right Media Exchange?
- In the future, how important is having at least two, liquid, large scale, ad exchanges in the display ad ecosystem? And why.
24/7 Real Media – Nicolle Pangis, VP of Publisher Solutions Product Management
The Right Media Exchange was the first digital advertising exchange technology platform based on a bidding model structure. While the quality controls within this type of system must evolve in order to gain scale across advertisers and agencies, exchanges have provided a new marketplace for smaller publishers, networks, and advertisers.
[Regarding the importance of having at least two, large ad exchanges], the importance of choice is not limited to the ad exchange space within the display advertising ecosystem. That said, in order for at least a couple of ad exchanges to truly gain scale with marquis publishers and clients, their model must evolve with regards to targeting capabilities and quality assurance. The exchanges that recognize this, and evolve their technologies accordingly, will win in the long term. It is also highly likely that the ‘winners’ of the exchange market in 2 years time will have a vastly different business model and technology infrastructure than they have today.
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Tags: ad exchanges, Ad Networks, advertising, Agencies, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
And now.. Agency reaction.
The questions…
- What has been the impact of Right Media Exchange?
- In the future, how important is having at least two, liquid, large scale, ad exchanges in the display ad ecosystem? And why.
Havas’ Adnetik – Nathan Woodman, Managing Director of Havas’ Digital Trading Network.
[Regarding the impact,] Right Media provides an environment where buyer defined micro-segments can be purchased at scale.The impact is that a buyer can eliminate waste by only purchasing the ad characteristics that they find appealing at a price that works for them.
If transparency can be brought to the marketplace then a competitive market will determine the true value of every single impression. This will ultimately increase performance efficiency for the buyer, sales yield for the seller and better content for the end consumer.
[Regarding the importance of at least two, liquid, large scale, ad exchanges], it is important to have multiple exchanges for the pure purpose of supporting competitive dynamics.
Every chance I get I encourage exchanges to be open and flexible. The vast majority of demand and supply will naturally gravitate to the platforms that embrace an open approach. Without a few large exchanges and a handful of second tier exchanges in existence then the threat of competitive replacement is reduced and therefore the threat of competitive collusion is increased.
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Tags: ad exchanges, Ad Networks, advertising, Agencies, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
[x+1] Announces Media+1
In a release, [x+1] announced it’s new Media+1 platform – “a full-featured media targeting platform” for marketers and agencies as the audience buying platform arms race continues toward a more self-service endgame. The company added in the release: “The Media+1 platform, whose individual modules have been in beta testing with a number of major brand clients for months, is set for general market release on December 15th.” Read the release. Or, more from the {x+1] blog.
Rubicon Project Sees CPM Increase
In the latest in their series of Online Advertising Market Reports, Rubicon Project reported yesterday that they have seen display ad CPMs rise by an average of 8 percent in Q3 vs. Q2. Also, the report identifies the real-time bidding trend with RP’s Raleigh Harbour saying, “The agencies see RTB as an opportunity to compete with ad networks and keep margins – because over the last five years, ad networks have provided more media buying technology and service than agencies have.” Read an excerpt on Rubicon Project’s blog. Or, download the Report here (sign-up required).
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Tags: ad network, fetchback, marketing, retargeting
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
TARGUSinfo and Invite Media announced a partnership today. Here is the release. Below is a Q&A on the announcement with David Helmreich is VP of interactive markets at TARGUSinfo and Nat Turner, COO and Founder at Invite Media.
AdExchanger.com: What is meant in the release in regards to “accessing AdAdvisor data in real-time”? Is AdAdvisor data always being updated in real-time, for example?
DH from TARGUSinfo: Our partners have on-demand access to AdAdvisor data the instant they see a user on their site, network or via the bid manager platform in Invite Media.
We have been working closely with Invite Media since late last year ensuring that we can provide data to them at scale and provide the quality reach their clients demand. Because it is not transient in nature, our partners can use AdAdvisor confidently for up to 30 days before they should obtain updated data.
AdExchanger.com: Looking at TARGUSinfo’s interactive business, what is one (or two) of the more popular segments being used by interactive marketers from the TARGUSinfo datasets?
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Tags: ad exchange, ad network, advertising, marketing, media buying
Posted in Ad Exchange News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Jeff Crowe is Managing Partner of Norwest Venture Partners.
AdExchanger.com: With investments in Brand.net and Turn, obviously Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) appears bullish on the digital media buying space. What drove NVP to invest in each of these companies?
JC: Overall, we have been bullish on the digital advertising space for several years and continue to look for investment opportunities in that arena. Regarding Turn specifically, we saw an opportunity to invest in a great team and powerful technology platform for advertisers. Over time, we believe that significant value accrues to companies in the online advertising space who have deep technology capability, and that is certainly playing out for Turn now, with their leading demand side platform. Regarding Brand.net, we invested in a team with deep domain expertise and ability to execute. Moreover, we believe that brand advertisers today want digital advertising solutions that make it easy for them to buy online media that meets their quality, reach and frequency requirements, and Brand.net’s offerings meet those needs uniquely well. Both Turn and Brand.net have seen sharp growth in 2009, even in the midst of a sluggish year for online advertising.
Has your prior experience as President and COO of DoveBid, Inc., a business auction firm, given you insights into how the auction model may become an important part of advertising?
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Tags: ad exchange, advertising, brand.net, marketing, turn, VC, venture capital, venture capital fund
Posted in venture capital | No Comments »
