Real-Time Bidding and the RTB Ecosystem
Real-time bidding (RTB) is the fastest-growing form of display advertising delivery and will significantly impact publisher CPMs and the amount of ad inventory we see from advertisers. The technology has been described as revolutionary and, in a nutshell, it gives advertisers the ability to target messages to the right user, in the right place, at the right time. The goal of RTB is to achieve the highest possible value of a single ad impression by dynamically delivering reach to targeted users on an impression-by-impression basis. This is a competitive bidding environment in which advertisers attempt to reach individuals based on specific demographics and psychographics, assigning a value to each impression used to reach specific users in real time. This is a brave new world for the publisher, where networks and exchanges will look to take ownership of our users and our data, segmenting our audience in an attempt to deliver the most highly targeted eyeballs for advertisers. We need to take ownership of our users and our data, earning premium CPMs through targeted ad delivery and the use of RTB technology. To that end, let’s take a closer look at real-time bidding and the ecosystem in which it operates. There are burgeoning industries and players within them that you may have never heard of, so we’ll take a deep dive on this subject and spend time looking at RTB enablers, agency buying desks, DSPs and sell-side platforms, ad networks and exchanges and the data providers that make this all possible. Sell-side platforms have become real-time bidding technology providers. You can see this in the offerings of two of the major online advertising yield optimizers, Pubmatic and AdMeld. Working with them comes in a couple of flavors. One, layer their product onto your existing ad serving platform and have them deliver RTB ads—over your site or network of sites—that they have sourced; or two, and better yet, take the product to advertisers yourself, using the sell side platform’s technology to target demographically using dynamic bidding.
Read More: minonline.com
Ad Networks & Demand-Side Platforms
The interactive ad industry is widespread with buzzwords, catchphrases and acronyms. Which new, abbreviated, “next gen” solution will unleash its “game changing” power on the digital marketing landscape? Will Demand Side Platforms (DSP) rule this brave new world? At Epic Media Group, we don’t believe so. With information moving so quickly, it is no surprise that there are so many opinions and a great deal of confusion. Hot topics like data, transparency, real-time bidding (RTB), trading desks, and search re-targeting further complicate the industry landscape for most industry onlookers rather than simplify it – fueling circular conversations that last for months. Demand Side Platforms are making noise, sure, but just like a trendy new band, the sound may be different to your ear. Simply put, a new genre does not make all previous genres irrelevant. In fact, if you deconstruct the name Demand Side Platform it becomes far less complex than it seems. As our CMO, Mike Sprouse, recently pointed out on this blog, advertisers want online advertising to be simpler and we think that will begin happening in the near future. Simplification begins with our industry’s acronyms. The term “platform” – a word we use a lot at Epic Media Group – means a plan of action, scheme or design. Platform is also defined as a raised, level surface – like a train platform or a stage. Technically speaking, it is a hardware architecture and framework that allows software to run. Strong platforms should be designed to support all of a company’s business channels, allow for cross-channel functionality, and leverage massive amounts of data and data analytics to deliver advertiser campaigns across all channels. The “P” in DSP references the capability to place bids, in real time, for impressions available on inventory exchanges with a user interface that provides some degree of reporting. A strong technology platform must encompass a lot of things and is an integral part of any ad intermediary’s business.
Read More: EpicMediaGroup.com
Dead Metrics Walking
I was recently asked about the relative ROI of different advertising channels – from TV, print, and radio, to direct mail, e-mail, and banners, to search ads, social media marketing, and location-based and mobile marketing. In comparing these diverse channels, it became clear that they really couldn’t be compared easily because the types of metrics were all different and measuring different things. Let’s take a closer look at these metrics, grouped into three buckets: 1) push advertising – approximations of reach and frequency, 2) direct response, and 3) pull marketing – user-initiated ads.
Read More: ClickZ
Rocket Fuel Finds Low-Cost CPA Formula Through BlueKai Ad Data
Rocket Fuel has developed a formula to lower cost per action (CPA) and engagement metrics by an average of 43.75% compared with other targeting methods. It built custom campaigns combining BlueKai data based on specific audience models using key metrics to serve up ads in real-time with its own suite of targeting algorithms, analytics, expert analysis and real-time impression-level bidding. The campaign, designed for an unnamed consumer packaged goods company, focused on indentifying in-market audiences that could scale as needed. Rocket Fuel simplified the problem through rapid testing and automation of multiple kinds of data to target the correct audience. Tapping into this model to combine technology with data brought success to automakers, retailers, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and those in the travel industry. “It’s not just about one sector or one kind of metric,” says Richard Frankel, president of Rocket Fuel. “Direct-response marketers have one type of metrics, and brand and packaged good marketers have another.”
Read More: MediaPost
Cars May Not Be Flying Off Lots, But Auto Ad Volume Is Higher Than Ever
The recent hard times in the automotive industry have not dented the industry’s display ad volume, according to a new report from campaign management firm MediaMind (until recently known as Eyeblaster). On the contrary, even as automakers were experiencing declining sales, there has been a significant increase in automotive ad impressions served by MediaMind, and specifically in the average impressions served per advertiser. Data on online display advertising impressions served by MediaMind from 2007 to 2009 suggest that the global slowdown in automotive sales has actually done well for automotive Display Advertising. In 2008, the number of total impressions increased and there has been no decline in the average impressions per advertiser. Furthermore, from February 2009, impressions increased significantly, potentially reflecting tighter competition for every customer and plans by governments in Europe and North America to launch new car rebate programs to stimulate the economy. Last year — one of the worst years in recent memory for automakers — online display impressions per advertiser served by MediaMind shot up even further. This shows that when ad budgets are becoming tight, advertisers are trading offline budgets for more targeted and efficient online campaigns, the report suggests. “For automakers, online display advertising represents a cost-effective way to interact with prospective customers.”
Read More: MediaPost
Matt Freeman: Marketers Need More Specialization, Fewer Agency Relationships
When Matt Freeman jumped from startup shop Betwave to Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Mediabrands back in January to head up its newly launched division called Ventures, which was responsible for overseeing 16 separate agencies, he landed right in the middle of the action. The day after he joined the company it was announced that Nick Brien, former CEO of Mediabrands at the time, and the man who hired Mr. Freeman, was stepping down to run Interpublic’s McCann Worldgroup. Mr. Freeman, along with Matt Seiler, global CEO of Universal McCann; Richard Beaven, global CEO of Initiative; and Tara Comonte, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Mediabrands, were then named to the office of the chairman, the new management structure that would run Mediabrands. But such situations aren’t really anything new for Mr. Freeman or all that daunting. In fact, it’s probably nothing compared to the time his family moved to Italy and his mother informed him that he and his brother would be starting classes at an Italian public school that year. “We don’t speak Italian,” he remembers telling his mother. “Good luck,” she told him.
Read More: AdAge
Automating Success With Creative Optimization
Many sci-fi films portray a world where computers take control over mankind. It’s a scary concept and yet, in the near future, we may find even within our own industry, a world where computers make creative decisions for us. But there’s no need to fear or panic. Unlike “Terminator” or “2001: A Space Odyssey,” these computers won’t turn against us. Instead, they will help us to facilitate smarter and more effective advertising. The future is closer than you think and soon enough, creative optimization algorithms will change the way that advertisers interact with their target audience. It will enable advertisers to customize creatives and engage users on a personal level. So what exactly is creative optimization? It’s a learning algorithm that receives constant feedback based on the user’s interaction with the ad. The algorithm changes the creative depending on the users’ feedback and can display the versions of creatives that are more likely to receive clicks, conversions, interactions or dwell. By constantly comparing the results from each version of the ad, creative optimization automatically serves the most effective ads. Creatives can also be optimized to maximize performance for each target segment, taking the work out for advertisers who don’t have to waste time playing the guessing game. Advertisers can upload all of their creative ideas and let the algorithm serve the versions that users will respond to the most.
Read More: Adotas
The End Of Location Based Applications?
I just invested in a company that takes video of an area and can tell you exactly how many people are in the capture area at any given time. It’s great for traffic patterns, security, and much more. We are posting cameras in certain environments where anonymity is required, and we don’t and won’t capture faces or anything that could identify an individual. We will simply provide incredibly accurate traffic information and patterns. A great application with great opportunity. The next extension is to install it in places where we can add facial recognition software. So rather than someone checking in to a specific application, we would already know you are there. Of course there would have to be “opt out” mechanisms. Of course there would be a battle over whether or not a store or venue should be “opt in” vs automated recognition, but that’s not a software issue. The reality is that its solves “the path of least resistance” issue with check-ins for location-based software. Individuals never do any of the work. The store/host recognizes you are there and rewards you for allowing your identity and information to be captured and linked. If Amazon can “welcome us back” and offer us personalized specials, why shouldnt brick and mortar establishments? Even more interesting is the fact that Facebook provides a database of 500mm people and their names from around world. While not all profile pictures are going to be valid in facial recognition software, most will. Few people exclude their basic name and picture information from public search, so FB could be the first to provide a database of names and faces to the commercial world of facial recognition. Location Check in is so 2010.
Read More: BlogMaverick.com
