EMEA > Privacy

Erich Wasserman is Co-Founder and General Manager EMEA & APAC for MediaMath. Here he sits down with ExchangeWire to breakdown their acquisition developments and what this means for their expanding platform offering.

How do you think the recent acquisitions by MediaMath, in video, mobile, and data solutions, have changed MediaMath’s position in the market?

MediaMath’s vision is to be the operating system for digital marketers. By analogy, we are the OS that runs the device you are using to read this Q&A: That device provides a software environment and runs first-party applications (Apple iOS and Safari, for example.) It further provides an environment on which to use other third-party applications (Chrome, for example). The OS needs to be flexible and interoperable to ensure it remains central to how you communicate with the world.

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Nick Stringer is Director of Regulatory Affairs at IAB UK. Here he addresses the European Commission’s draft data protection proposals: what you need to know — and do.

In a rapidly evolving sector, such as digital marketing, there will always be challenges from legislators as they seek to ensure consumer safeguards keep pace with technological innovation. Collectively, it is our job to inform them that this needs to be balanced without throttling innovation and the commercial models that underpin the internet. Self-regulation – where privacy-enhancing approaches are built into product cycles – has a very important role to play, as it can move faster with markets than a statutory approach.

The approach by Brussels

However, a year ago in January 2012, the European Commission proposed changes to the way personal data is protected and regulated across EU markets. The proposals were driven by a need to update the law in light of technological changes since 1995 (when the current law was framed in Europe – the 1998 Data Protection Act in the UK) as well as to streamline the rules to make it easier and more efficient – particularly in a digital world – for businesses operating across territories, hopefully saving millions of pounds in administrative burdens. Above all, the proposals were aimed at providing European citizens with a strong level of data protection and accountability, fostering a new climate of trust in the services we all use.

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Ad tech is a funny business. Experts and onlookers alike have been hammering the concept of ad networks for the better part of three years, yet when Facebook seem poised to launch one, it has many salivating over the prospect. Just last week, we saw GigaOm fuel the speculation that the great FB ad network is imminent, but what can we expect? What will it look like? Why will it be valuable? More importantly, why will publishers want to participate?

Exporting Native?

Much discussion has centred around what would the FB ad network’s ads look like? There has been huge speculation about whether or not there will be a ‘native’ solution. Many believe the rise of consumer web monetisation has been predicated by native solutions, and many are investing in its future. But how can Facebook export a native solution? Would sponsored stories sitting within an MPU be a strange user experience? Would it outperform standard ad units? Perhaps as Facebook becomes more and more synonymous with the user’s general internet experience, then these ‘native’ solutions would not look out of place?

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Damian Scragg, Managing Director for Evidon UK discusses the ePrivacy Directive, what impact the European initiative will have on the APAC region and what’s in store for mobile privacy.

Evidon’s ad and site notice is now available in 40 countries and 39 local languages. What has been key to this growth? What is differentiating Evidon in all these markets? Or is a lot of this driven by global deals?

Enhanced notice on websites is becoming the commercial standard globally. This was first driven by our global clients, who wanted to comply with self-regulatory standards in the US and the ePrivacy Directive here in Europe. However, increasingly, web publishers and brands are beginning to see this as a clear best practice everywhere, including in markets where the standard has not become a requirement.

Working with the largest publishers and brands has certainly helped us to engage in these conversations on a global level, but we’ve also invested heavily in local markets to help us understand, and where possible, help shape what is required. There is no single solution that works across markets, even within Europe, as we’ve seen vividly this year.

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It’s the biggest data-driven advertising event in Europe. It’s the event that even has its own acronym. ATS London is now in its third year, and the line-up of speakers and content is the best yet. Often copied – A LOT! – but never equalled, ATS London brings together the best in the global online ad industry to discuss the latest trends and developments in the space. And this year is no exception.

It is clear that our industry is moving beyond the mess of the LumaScape to a platform-centric world, and this certainly is one of the key areas being explored by ATS London this year. The full-day programme will be organised into three core themes: brand, application and big data. All of these are effectively shaping the data-driven ad space, and speakers and participants on the day will explore these issues in more depth.

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James Yancey, VP of Global Strategy at IgnitionOne, on the future of Facebook Sponsored Stories combining social graph and third-party data.

What would happen if Facebook partnered with third-party data providers? Warning: if you’re a privacy fanatic, then it will probably stress you out to read any further. For those with an open mind, hear me out. If you take 900 million active users and understand not just how many friends they have, but how valuable those are based on their interests, demo data and influence – what are the possibilities?

In the months anticipating the Facebook IPO, the news had been calling for more ads that show clear direct performance, like search or display. And finally Facebook has been delivering one ad unit that shows comparable promise, the Sponsored Story. It’s a simple idea: show a socially relevant ad unit to friends only in the format and context of other updates in the news feed.

The success of the Sponsored Story is based on an idea that Facebook calls “amplification”. The thought behind amplification is that the original ad can reach many people at scale if their friend’s “like” it and it shows up in their subsequent news feeds. But again, it’s tied to reach metrics. Direct response advertisers have lost their interest and patience in many cases when comparing it to things to which they are accustomed.

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Franc Goebbels, Managing Director for Annalect in the Netherlands, chats with ExchangeWire on automated trading, the Dutch cookie law and why semantic targeting needs the human touch in his local market.

Can you give us some overview on the Accuen Netherlands operation?

As you may know, the OMD label is within the Omnicom Media Group, and Omincom Media Group is currently launching Annalect across the globe. Annalect has an automated trading unit that is referred to as Accuen, so all our automated trading and algorithmic buying goes through Accuen. We were one of the first companies in media to have a full-blown trading operation going within our network. We started out a little bit more than two and a half years ago, going ahead of the curve in our local market.

Is all your trading currently automated? If not, is that where you’re headed you think?

When trading is in the context of overall media buying, it is not. We see we really have to have an evolution in digital marketing, and automated trading can really help us achieve that evolution, especially where there’s IAB format. Basically, everything that is standardised should be automated. The main advantage of our focus on automation is basically the handling and operation of analytical media planning.

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Rocket Fuel Secures $50 Million in Funding to Fuel Global Growth

Rocket Fuel, a leading provider of artificial intelligence advertising solutions for digital marketers, announced it has secured $50 million in new financing. The round was led by long-term Rocket Fuel investor Northgate Capital, and included two new investors: Summit Partners, and Cross Creek Capital, the private equity affiliate of Wasatch Advisors. Existing investors Nokia Growth Capital and Mohr Davidow Ventures participated, as did Comerica Bank. Total Rocket Fuel funding now exceeds $76m.

Rocket Fuel is on a rapid growth trajectory. Between 2009 and 2011, its compound annual growth rate exceeded 325%; in 2011 alone, the company grew revenue to $45m and reached EBITDA profitability in Q4 2011. Rocket Fuel will use the infusion of new capital to accelerate its aggressive growth strategy. Rocket Fuel plans to expand into more international markets and invest in hiring, technology and business development.

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