• by Skip Brand , November 18, 2014

Even though data management is a huge challenge for most advertisers and publishers, the industry is getting a handle on the must-have set of tools for DMPs and DSPs.  The tough part of the big data is to prescribe solutions for brands and source different pieces of data from the web from paid, owned, and earned media.

There is now a “lucky seven” of data doctors who started working in third-party data and direct response and have now moved to first-party data and branding. They have done a great job as data partners and are helping to move digital advertising and programmatic to more than data storage, dashboards and collecting third-party data.

BlueKai

Like many other data doctors, started on the supply side and successfully moved into helping agencies and brands.  It’s now the leader in organizing first-party data and having the largest amount of third-party data with their marketplace.  Now needed is more audience analytics for brands and solutions beyond direct-response targeting.  BlueKai can handle the volume while helping with fragmentation and organizing the data all into one place.

BlueKai’s newest efforts on sending data out are promising, but not yet realized.  Its  development teams and larger developer environment will be the most helpful to brands and agencies in the future.

eXelate

eXelate is an independent data player that focuses on its complete solutions and consulting assistance as much as its off-the-shelve tools. The company strives to act as a partner to ensure data utility and use and try harder than anyone in the space to make big data into actionable insights while placing its solutions into the exchanges.  

eXelate’s latest efforts are on the buy-side with its eXchange product to help with ROI, audience targeting, and more developments in programmatic branding.

Aggregate Knowledge

AK is now a Neustar company. Neustar, an older telecom company, found that the combination of caller ID and phone numbers with great analytics for audience segmentation could help agencies with direct response, mobile campaign planning, and measurement.  Multiple or cross-channel marketing attribution in real-time is AK’s sweet spot.

Krux

The team at Krux showed how much data leakage was happening on web sites. This FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) allowed Krux to be a go-to partner for  premium publishers. It is a different kind of protection and data-management company by focusing more on the back-end and big data solutions.  Lately, the Krux team is spending less time on the analytical infrastructure and more on the utility and actionable insights.  Its big round of funding has enabled it to become cross-channel and location-based.

X+1

RocketFuel quickly purchased X+1 to not only have a DMP and DSP, but also a tag management platform.  X+1 is credited with helping RocketFuel move from an integrated services advertising IPO company to a potential SaaS based provider for publishers.  X+1 creates licensable solutions that can be run by the brand and the agency, not just by RocketFuel.

Lotame

Lotame has been dedicated to trying to be the best DMP on the market. Its focus has been cross-device with unique second-party data (coop) to allow those with data to syndicate on an exchange. As third-party data fees became more of a commodity, a syndication model was unique and a perfect fit for them.  

It also has a consulting and service business, which helps publishers sell, monetize, target, and purchase better.

Quantcast

In the early days, Quantcast measured publisher websites as an alternative to comScore, which gave Quantcast unparalleled amounts of data and cookie pools. Its demographic and traffic stats are still important today, but its monetization growth has been incredible over the last few years as it moves from measurement to advertising.

Quantcast for advertisers is simple and scalable with large database,  predictive analysis, and the ability to extend and grow audiences.  It will be interesting to see what is next beyond mobile for this monetization engine as it becomes more SaaS based, self-service and built for brand advertising.