The Dutch and German exchange marketplaces are starting to see signs of serious growth. With new exchanges and platforms springing up all the time, 2010 looks likely to be the break-out year for automated trading platforms. One of the leading companies in both markets is Amsterdam-based ClickDistrict. Marco Kloots, ClickDistrict CEO, spoke to ExchangeWire recently and discussed the company’s business model, the opportunites in both the Dutch and German markets, and ClickDistrict’s plans for the year ahead.
» MediaMath rolled a new tool on its TerminalOne platform this week, which aims to give agencies and advertisers deeper insights into audience-specific performance. MediaClarity is an analytics and data visualization solution, and is integrated into the existing TerminalOne dashboard. MediaMath claim that this insight can be made actionable by linking it to actual media data, and can help users identify potential upside and improve campaign performance. (MediaMath)
Alenty is a Paris-based ad visibility specialist, offering advertisers and agencies the tools to monitor the visibility time of their display campaigns. Laurent Nicolas, Alenty Founder and CEO, took time to speak with ExchangeWire this week about the company’s ad visibility offering, how it is helping European agencies and advertisers gain more transparency into their display advertising buys and why Alenty can improve CPM rates for publishers.
Netezza (NYSE: NZ) is the global leader in data warehouse and analytic appliances, and helps simplify high-performance analytics for some of the biggest media buying agencies in the world. Brad Terrell (@bradterrell), vice president and general manager of Digital Media at Netezza (@netezza), spoke to ExchangeWire this week about the state of the display market and the challenges European agencies face in adopting data-driven strategies to best compete.
Tagman is one of the quiet success stories of the European ad-tech sector. Its universal tagging technology is being used in a number of high-profile US and European agencies, as well as some of the largest e-commerce players on the web. Tagman recently raised $1.3 this month in new funding to further expand its business in the US and European markets. Jon Baron, General Manager and co-founder of Tagman, spoke to ExchangeWire this week about tracking the complete user journey, the state of display market, and how Tagman’s technology can be used for better re-targeting.
Anthony Rhind is co-chief executive officer at Havas Digital and, given his senior position at one of the biggest agency holding companies, has an excellent perspective on how big agencies are developing strategies for exchange trading. Rhind took time to speak to ExchangeWire this week about the challenges of buying media through automated platforms, the complexities of managing client and agency data, and what impact the DSPs are likey to have on European market.
» The Rubicon Project believes the current ad server is a “legacy technology”, and must be put to the sword. In a blizzard of PR, hype, and typical Rubicon showmanship, the company set out its “manifesto” for content creators last week. The document lists the ways in which it intends to help publishers wrest more spend from the buy-side. I think there is a massive opportunity for the likes of Rubicon on the supply-side. Oversupply of ad inventory is driving prices into the ground. Future revenue growth for publishers now lies in extracting value from data: yield optimisers like Rubicon will have to equip publishers with the tools to better understand and build out audiences, so that they can sell at a higher price to media buyers. Rubicon is clearly positioning itself as a supply-side platform. If it’s to prosper, the new SSP will have to give publishers better technology, better inventory control, better yield management and better audience insight if the current decline in pricing is to be arrested. (The Rubicon Project Blog)
» 2010 is definitely the year of the acronym: DSP, DST, DBO, RTB and now SSP. The supply-side platform is the latest buzz word in display advertising. Doubtless you’ll see it bounced around industry blogs and websites (like this one) as if it was the ultimate panacea for all the publishers’ ills. What does a SSP do then? The SSP is essentially a turbo-charged yield optimiser, which allows publishers to gain better insight into user data and manage yield across guaranteed and non-guaranteed inventory. Pubmatic appears to be the first – although Admeld and Rubicon would probably disagree – yield optimiser to position itself as a supply-side platform. The company’s press release outlines a number of key areas where its premier product will help publisher better monetise data and inventory, including impression-level ad auction and guaranteed inventory yield management. (Pubmatic)
» Improve Digital and AOP are building up to their joint event next week. Improve Digital gives a full list of attendees and the agenda for the half-day conference. ExchangeWire will be on “the changing dynamics of buying and selling media” panel and looks forward to some lively debate on the subject. (IT Director)
» There does seem to be a lot of coverage on industry blogs and websites about DSPs. A lot of vendors are jockeying for a lead in the nascent DSP market. Today it’s the turn of LucidMedia to spell out why its DSP is better than the rest – and it’s a growing list. The article lists five key criteria for a successful DSP, all of which I might add LucidMedia’s platform fulfils: integrated RTB, intelligent bidding, retargeting, managed services, optimisation and inventory sources. (LucidMedia)
» Tagman the “universal tag company” raised $1.3 million in funding yesterday to expand its offering globally. Tagman is already working with a number high-profile ecommerce and agency clients (it recently inked a recent deal with Boden to track all of its online channels) as it seeks to rid the world of duplication. (TagMan Blog)
» Adweek published an extensive piece on the evolution of the exchange eco-system and the way it’s affecting display advertising. It is a thorough overview of how the display market is moving more towards automated platforms and how data is being leveraged to deliver better performance. (Adweek)
The Dutch and German exchange marketplaces are starting to see signs of serious growth. With new exchanges and platforms springing up all the time, 2010 looks likely to be the break-out year for automated trading platforms. One of the leading companies in both markets is Amsterdam-based ClickDistrict. Marco Kloots, ClickDistrict CEO, spoke to ExchangeWire recently and discussed the company’s business model, the opportunites in both the Dutch and German markets, and ClickDistrict’s plans for the year ahead. 
» 
Anthony Rhind is co-chief executive officer at Havas Digital and, given his senior position at one of the biggest agency holding companies, has an excellent perspective on how big agencies are developing strategies for exchange trading. Rhind took time to speak to 
» The Rubicon Project believes the current ad server is a “legacy technology”, and must be put to the sword. In a blizzard of PR, hype, and typical Rubicon showmanship, the company set out its “manifesto” for content creators last week. The document lists the ways in which it intends to help publishers wrest more spend from the buy-side. I think there is a massive opportunity for the likes of Rubicon on the supply-side. Oversupply of ad inventory is driving prices into the ground. Future revenue growth for publishers now lies in extracting value from data: yield optimisers like Rubicon will have to equip publishers with the tools to better understand and build out audiences, so that they can sell at a higher price to media buyers. Rubicon is clearly positioning itself as a supply-side platform. If it’s to prosper, the new SSP will have to give publishers better technology, better inventory control, better yield management and better audience insight if the current decline in pricing is to be arrested. (
