• Solving RTB's Pricing Crisis
    Programmatic platforms and bidding systems were designed to democratize the display-ad space. These solutions meant that advertisers would no longer need to spend on "black box" or "blind" buying solutions that failed to provide brand quality and return on investment. By bidding in an auction, buyers could apply their own value to audience targets and gain a clearer understanding of how much acquisitions and conversions really cost. That has not proven to be the case, however, because two inventory suppliers still control most of the exchange trading: Google and Facebook. Despite all efforts at transparency, buyers still lack visibility into …
  • Programmatic: Using Data and Analytics To Drive Media Decisions
    Initially synonymous with RTB, DSPs, and direct-response marketing, the definition of programmatic advertising is evolving. Omnicom Media Group's programmatic agency Accuen recently rebranded to refresh its identity and more sharply define its role in the programmatic business.
  • Facebook Jumps On Retargeting Bandwagon
    News from Facebook just keeps on coming. Yet, for a company focused on connecting brands with consumers, you would think that Facebook could develop a name that was a bit more engaging than "website and mobile app custom audiences." While this is certainly new, it's more of an expansion of the "custom audiences" platform that Facebook has had for a few years now. Since there are a variety of articles that can explain how to use the custom audience feature, I'd like to explore why Facebook has decided to expand its audience targeting offering.
  • Insights Are For Brands, Data Is For Direct Response: The IMP Is Born
    To the marketer inundated with disparate, disjointed data, I suggest a new tool: the insights management platform (IMP), which has four major functions:
  • How RTB Enables Lifestage Marketing
    We buy different things at different stages of our lives. That's obvious enough. But what's not always obvious is exactly when a consumer is transitioning between these stages. For marketers, knowing when these transitions take place is crucial because these are the times when consumer habits form. The products they use during these transitions will likely be the products they use for years to come. Luckily, real-time bidding (RTB) offers the perfect tool for detecting these transitions as they're happening and serving up display impressions instantly. That tool is known as Search Retargeting, and it's turning RTB into a much …
  • Are You Prepared For Real-Time Creative?
    We've all seen the giant billboards that say "Your Ad Here."They represent the call of the media owner, broadcasting available space for advertisers to market their goods. In the old days, marketers would see that blank canvas and envision the ideal creative idea that would bring the space to life. Today, the world has changed. Advertising is no longer a case of "your" ad, as an advertiser, but "your" ad as in you, the consumer.
  • NewsCred Delivers Real-Time Branding with Real-Time Content
    If content marketing is the biggest trend of the year, NewsCred is one of the biggest trendsetters. "Parts of our business actually mimic an ad exchange, except we are a content exchange," says Shafqat Islam, CEO and co-founder. NewsCred tracks the economics of content as it moves through the platform. "Will we actually be a real-time exchange for content?" asks Islam. "I don't know, but it's certainly something we are keeping an eye on."
  • How Useful Is All This Ad Tech?
    It feels as if everyday there's a story in the trades with quotes from high-level agency staff questioning the viability of advertising technology. But for every column-inch spent debating, there's a dollar going to a company like Adap.tv after an acquisition from a major publisher. Investors are happy to funnel money into ad tech, but investors and advertisers have very different needs. It raises the question of what exactly all of this technology is supposed to do, and how effective it is for advertisers. For all the attention and media coverage, it would seem programmatic platforms are the most important …
  • BuzzFeed's Anburajan: Amazing Content With Real-Time Data is Game-Changer
    I've always been an outspoken advocate for scalable native as the best possible vehicle for real-time branding. No secret there. Native that capitalizes on audience data, as well as the tone and context of surrounding content, practically assures branding success. BuzzFeed has become a leader in the native advertising space by both hosting innovative content-based units and by launching its own native advertising network.
  • Taking The Global Pulse At DMEXCO
    DMEXCO, the annual digital marketing trade show in Cologne, Germany, was the perfect place to get out of the day-to-day and look at the big picture. I left having noticed three major changes since last year that I look forward to seeing develop in the next year:
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