» AOL and Rubicon have entered into a non-exclusive partnership in six different European markets that allows the yield optimiser to manage the non-premium display of AOL and operated inventory. The partnership covers all Ad.com inventory – with AOL recommending the Rubicon platform to its network partners. The deal extends to six countries in total, including Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain. Both parties were at pains to stress that the deal only applies to unsold ad inventory. Having shuttered a number of regional offices, AOL is clearly looking to refocus its efforts on stronger areas: AOL still has significant reach and share in Europe’s powerhouse display markets, namely France, Germany and the UK. There are no details of how much non-premium inventory AOL has in the six countries named above, but it would appear Rubicon has achieved a significant win here. The combined ad network market of these six countries has an estimated value of around 200 million euro – and growing. They have now got a foothold in markets, particularly Spain, that have been traditionally difficult to break into.
Specific Media is arguably one of the strongest DR ad networks in the European market, appearing on most of the big agency media plans. How do they do it? Good optimisation? Good technology? Good ad ops? Good sales? You could say it’s a bit of all of the above.. Ian Dowds, VP UK, Specific Media, took time this week to speak to ExchangeWire about Specific Media’s premier status in the DR space, the possibility of consolidation in the ad network market, and the continued evolution of online display.
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.
Adify is a vertical ad network platform that helps publishers build out their own network, augment their reach, and connects brands to highly targeted audiences. Nick Reid, Senior Director of Platform Development UK at Adify, took time to speak to ExchangeWire this week about the state of the UK ad network market, what ad nets will need to do to survive, and the potential disrupting effect of DSPs.
» 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.
» 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)
nugg.ad is one of Europe’s leading BT specialists, offering its predictive behavioural targeting platform to agencies and advertisers in multiple European markets. The company has been a strong player in the BT sector for a number of years. With the EU “cookie” directive hanging ominously over the online advertising industry, it is interesting to see how a company so utterly dependent on the existence of the cookie industry is engaging with legislators and privacy advocates. ExchangeWire caught up with Stephan Noller, Nugg.ad CEO & Founder, to discuss its BT platform in more detail, the growing issue of user privacy and the plans for growth in 2010.
» 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)
AudienceScience officially launched its audience-buying network in the UK last week. Its user profiling technology helps publishers segment premium audiences. These audience profiles are then packaged and sold into agencies and advertisers. There has been a move by agencies of late towards more audience-centric media buying, and AudeinceScience seem to be launching its premium offering at a very opportune time.
» AOL and Rubicon have entered into a non-exclusive partnership in six different European markets that allows the yield optimiser to manage the non-premium display of AOL and operated inventory. The partnership covers all Ad.com inventory – with AOL recommending the Rubicon platform to its network partners. The deal extends to six countries in total, including Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain. Both parties were at pains to stress that the deal only applies to unsold ad inventory. Having shuttered a number of regional offices, AOL is clearly looking to refocus its efforts on stronger areas: AOL still has significant reach and share in Europe’s powerhouse display markets, namely France, Germany and the UK. There are no details of how much non-premium inventory AOL has in the six countries named above, but it would appear Rubicon has achieved a significant win here. The combined ad network market of these six countries has an estimated value of around 200 million euro – and growing. They have now got a foothold in markets, particularly Spain, that have been traditionally difficult to break into.
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 
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» 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. (
