» 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.
Why do European agencies and advertisers need hyper-local datasets to successfully target audiences, and can concerns around online privacy hinder the use of this data? Frank Bobo, Vice President of Digital Element, spoke to Exchangewire this week about how the company’s targeting technology, NetAcuity, is helping marketers to engage the right audiences at the hyper-local level, and why user privacy is at the core of its offering.
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.
TruConnect is a first-party ad server which enables advertisers to build one-to-one relationships with their desired audiences and customers web wide. James Sandoval, Founder and Managing Director of Invizua, spoke to ExchangeWire this week about how first-party ad serving can significantly improve campaign performance, why online display is not serving advertisers well, and what can be done to address some of the key problems in the display model.
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.
» With all the debate on the convergence between search and display, it was timely that SES London devoted a whole session to the very subject. The illustrious panel was made up of industry luminaries, including: Jonathan Mendez, Founder & CEO, RAMP Digital; James Sandoval, Founder & Managing Director, Invizua Limited; Dax Hamman, Vice President of Display Media, iCrossing; and Sacha Berlik, Founder and CEO, mexad. The majority of the panel agreed that some convergence was happening.
» 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)
» 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.
Why do European agencies and advertisers need hyper-local datasets to successfully target audiences, and can concerns around online privacy hinder the use of this data? Frank Bobo, Vice President of 
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 
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 
» With all the debate on the convergence between search and display, it was timely that SES London devoted a whole session to the very subject. The illustrious panel was made up of industry luminaries, including: Jonathan Mendez, Founder & CEO, RAMP Digital; James Sandoval, Founder & Managing Director, Invizua Limited; Dax Hamman, Vice President of Display Media, iCrossing; and Sacha Berlik, Founder and CEO, mexad. The majority of the panel agreed that some convergence was happening.
» 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. (
