Is RTB good for the publisher? Can it really result in better returns for the publisher? Will the technology leave publishers open to “cherry picking” DSPs and ad networks, who are only interested in buying slivers of juicy inventory? These are questions which continue to cause heated debate among Europe’s top publishers. Given all this apprehension, it is interesting to see a majority of UK publishers saying that RTB could help increase the price paid for non-premium inventory.
The Improve Digital report was carried out at a recent AOP event with over fort
y UK premium publishers. Over 51% of respondents thought that RTB could help increase the pricing for unsold ad inventory. It’s a slim majority granted, but that number is impressive given some of the misguided coverage of late in the space. Despite all the misinformation in the industry, publishers
remain a practical lot, and are likely to try RTB to see if it actually works. If it does work then they will pile into it. I have no doubt about that.
Another key finding from the report is that 80% of publishers surveyed expect the number of mobile ad networks to increase considerably over the coming three years. This thinking is motivated by the explosive growth of content creation in the space and the subsequent ad inventory that is now available to buy. You can see why the yield optimisers are moving aggressively into mobile. The market is beginning to mature. With Google offering DFP for mobile (and possibly DFA?), you’d expect the media spend to flow into this marketing channel and the number of ad nets to arrive en masse. And who will the publishers turn to manage these multiples of new ad networks? You guessed it: the yield optimisers.
Improve Digital is pleased to announce that former RAPT and Microsoft VP’s Ben Crain and David Smith joined Improve Digital’s advisory Board in January 2010.
David Smith, has spent his career in management consulting, venture-funded technology companies, and media advisory services. Dave was instrumental in the successful exit of two start-ups, most recently with the advertising yield management technology firm Rapt (acquired by Microsoft, April 2008). With Rapt, and later with Microsoft Advertising, he built industry-leading publisher solutions sales and services teams. Dave will bring tremendous sales, sales strategy and sales management experience to Improve Digital.
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Ben Crain is a well-known industry expert on inventory, pricing, and yield management in digital media who brings vast knowledge, experience and insight to Improve Digital. Most recently, he has been focused on the technology side of the equation, with Rapt (acquired by Microsoft, April 2008) and later with Microsoft Advertising. Turning his skills as a practitioner on their head, he was central to the development and deployment of Rapt’s standard-setting suite of advertising yield solutions.
“We are excited to have both Ben and Dave on our Board and believe the addition of these 2 prominent industry veterans will prove valuable as we continue expansion of our business and bring innovative revenue optimisation solutions to the market.” said Joëlle Frijters, Improve Digital’s Chief Executive Officer.
The Improve Digital advisory board is a strong, balanced blend of skills and experience. The board provides guidance and insight in core areas important to Improve Digital.
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London, February 10th, 2009 –Improve Digital, a leading ad revenue optimisation provider in the online media industry and exclusive reseller of PubMatic in Europe, announced today that David Smith and Ben Crain both ex RAPT and ex Microsoft senior VP’s, joined Improve Digital’s advisory Board.
David Smith, has spent his career in management consulting, venture-funded technology companies, and media advisory services. Dave was instrumental in the successful exit of two start-ups, most recently with the advertising yield management technology firm Rapt (acquired by Microsoft, April 2008). With Rapt, and later with Microsoft Advertising, he built industry-leading publisher solutions sales and services teams. Dave will bring tremendous sales, sales strategy and sales management experience to Improve Digital.
Ben Crain is a well-known industry expert on inventory, pricing, and yield management in digital media who brings vast knowledge, experience and insight to Improve Digital. Most recently, he has been focused on the technology side of the equation, with Rapt (acquired by Microsoft, April 2008) and later with Microsoft Advertising. Turning his skills as a practitioner on their head, he was central to the development and deployment of Rapt’s standard-setting suite of advertising yield solutions.
“We are excited to have both Ben and Dave on our Board and believe the addition of these 2 prominent industry veterans will prove valuable as we continue expansion of our business and bring innovative revenue optimisation solutions to the market.” said Joëlle Frijters, Improve Digital’s Chief Executive Officer.
The Improve Digital advisory board is a strong, balanced blend of skills and experience. The board provides guidance and insight in core areas important to Improve Digital. Among its members are Robert Boekhorst, Partner at Baker & McKenzie and
About Improve Digital:
Leading premium publishers work with Improve Digital to increase revenues and yield from online advertising. Improve Digital’s offer is making use of own technology combined with PubMatic’s ad prediction platform in order to offer the full yield optimisation solution. Improve Digital has offices in London, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Paris and is a member of the IAB. In the US, Dave Smith and Ben Crain will be the commercial contact persons for commercial requests for the US market through their advisory firm Elevage Media (www.elevagemedia.com)
14.00 – 17.30 IPC Media, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London
Organised and supported by:
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Online display advertising has seen a dramatic evolution in recent times – With the rise of ad networks, exchanges and optimisers, to sit beside sales houses and in-house teams, the current online advertising landscape is far more sophisticated than ever before. It also offers publishers much greater choice.
There are new ways for publishers to trade and new ways to generate additional revenue and cost savings. But with greater complexity, comes increased challenges such as controlling the quality of campaigns, creatives and ultimately protecting the brand.
So how can publishers take full advantage of what the market has to offer while overcoming the challenges of increasing automation, and commoditisation? And what further opportunities will the new decade bring?
This forum brings together industry experts to examine the current state of online trading and to look in-depth, through cross-industry panels, at two key issues impacting on publishers: the changing dynamics of buying and selling media; and the role of audience data in generating publisher revenue.
AGENDA:
2.00 pm Registration
2.30 pm Chair’s Introduction and Overview
2.40 pm Trends in display advertising, Matt O’Neil, President Admonsters Europe
3.00 pm The changing dynamics of buying and selling media
Dave Katz, Head of Trading
Topics:
* Agency networks – what they are and what they are doing
* How publishers can benefit from real bidding buying platforms
* Publisher networks – where they fit in
3.20 pm Panel Debate
* Mark Mannino, VP of Supply and Data, MediaMath
* Nick Burcher, Head of VNC UK & Products / Partnerships EMEA, Vivaki
* Tom Bowman, VP Global Ad Strategy & Operations, BBC Worldwide
* Ciaran O’Kane, Editor, ExchangeWire.com
3.50 pm Coffee Break
4.10 pm The role of audience data in generating display revenues for publishers,
Donald Hamilton, Partner Precedio and former MD Wunderloop &
Kimon Zorbas, VP of IAB Europe
* The role of audience data in current and future revenues
* Why 3rd party data is so important
* Who owns the data – Digital Agencies, Media Corps and Digital Giants
* The legal aspect – UK versus Europe
4.30pm Panel Debate
Panelists:
* Kimon Zorbas, VP of IAB Europe,
* Steve Dorey, Head of Business Development, Criteo,
* Stuart Coleman, MD, Audience Science
* Abeed JanMohamed, Head of Agency Sales ESPN Digital Media
5.00pm Wrap Up
5.10pm Drinks
Book your tickets at AOP here and join us
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splay Advertising 2010
Supported by Improve Digital
Wednesday 23rd November 2009
14.00 – 17.30
IPC Media, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU
OVERVIEW:
Online display advertising has seen a dramatic evolution in recent times. With the rise of ad networks, exchanges and optimisers to sit beside sales houses and in-house teams, the current online advertising landscape is far more sophisticated than ever before and offers publishers much greater choice.
There are new ways for publishers to trade and new ways to generate additional revenue and cost savings. But with greater complexity, comes increased challenges such as controlling the quality of campaigns and creatives and ultimately protecting the brand.
So how can publishers take full advantage of what the market has to offer while overcoming the challenges of increasing automation, and commoditisation? And what further opportunities will the new decade bring?
This forum brings together industry experts to examine the current state of online trading and to look in-depth, through cross-industry panels, at two key issues impacting on publishers: the changing dynamics of buying and selling media; and the role of audience data in generating publisher revenue.
We ask:
Where do publishers stand with display advertising today and what are the biggest challenges that they face? How can publishers benefit from new trading mechanisms and where do agency and publisher networks fit in? What role can and should audience data play in revenue generation, and what are the legal implications/ restraints?
AGENDA:
2.00 pm Registration
2.30 pm Chair’s Introduction and Overview
2.40 pm Trends and Expectations in display advertising
Matt O’Neil, President, Admonsters
* Display advertising today
* The biggest trends…data, buying models, pricing models
* Challenges and opportunities for publishers
3.00 pm The changing dynamics of buying and selling media
Dave Katz, Head of Trading, MPG
* Agency networks – what they are and what they are doing
* How publishers can benefit from real bidding buying platforms
* Publisher networks – where they fit in
Panelists:
Mark Mannino, VP of Supply and Data, MediaMath
Nick Burcher, Head of VNC UK & Products / Partnerships EMEA, Vivaki, Tom Bowman, VP Global Ad Strategy & Operations, BBC Worldwide,
Ciaran O’Kane, Editor, ExchangeWire.com
3.20 pm Panel Debate
3.50 pm Coffee Break
4.10 pm The role of audience data in generating display revenues for publishers
Donald Hamilton, Partner, Precedio
* The role of audience data in current and future revenues
* Why 3rd party data is so important
* Who owns the data – Digital Agencies, Media Corps and Digital Giants
* The legal aspect – UK versus Europe
Panelists:
Kimon Zorbas, VP of IAB Europe,
Steve Dorey, Head of Business Development, Criteo,
Stuart Coleman, MD, Audience Science
4.30pm Panel Debate
5.00pm Wrap Up
5.10pm Finish
‘Understanding Real-Time Bidding (RTB) From the Publisher Perspective’ is published by our technology partner, Pubmatic (www.pubmatic.com), and is available to download for free from here: PubMatic_RTB_White_Paper
Pubmatic has offered RTB capabilities to publishers and ad networks in the US since early 2009. It is currently rolling out Version 3.0 of the product, which will also be available in the UK and Europe via Improve Digital during the first quarter of 2010. The technology enables online advertisers to reach the right user, in the right place, at the right time, with initial results showing an increase of up to 135 percent on click-throughs and 150 percent improvement in conversion rates. This adds significant value to the publisher’s offering.
‘Understanding Real-Time Bidding (RTB) From the Publisher Perspective’ explains how publishers can channel the potential of RTB through better-performing campaigns, which have a positive impact on all parties involved:
Improve Digital is introducing an integrated mobile offering to enable publishers to maximise income from their mobile ad inventory.
The move is in response to the rapid growth of the mobile advertising market. Among the key findings of the IAB UK’s mobile ad spend figures published in 2009: £28.6 million was spent on mobile in 2008, a figure almost double the previous year. Looking ahead, recent study by GroupM forecasts that mobile advertising spend will increase 19 percent to $3,3 billion in 2010.
The combination of mobile and online offering further strengthens Improve Digital’s footprint with premium publishers in The UK and Europe.
Publisher benefits include:
Real Time Bidding is the hottest ticket in the exchange space at the minute. Buy-side and sell-side all have (or are getting) RTB functionality. The AdX and the RightMedia exchanges have it. Most of the DSPs have it. And now some of the yield optimisers are offering it as part of their service to publishers and ad networks. Janneke Niessen, Co-founder and COO of Improve Digital, took some time this week to speak to FarneyMedia about their Pubmatic-powered platform’s RTB capabilities, and how it can help European publishers.
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The terms ‘ad network optimisation’, or ‘ad revenue optimisation’, become more and more widely used in our industry. But what do these mean exactly? Who are the parties involved, what is their role and how do ad network optimisers differ from exchanges?
This white paper gives a basic overview of ad network optimisation and how it fits within the online advertising landscape.
Download your free copy here
Ad Networks and Exchanges, participants of ‘The 2nd Channel’, are the fastest growing segments of online advertising, fuelled by an ecosystem that is driving rapid innovation. This report, that was distributed to participants of PubMatic’s AdRevenue09 conference in New York, shows brand new quantitative and qualitative data from in the in-depth interviews with top executives in the Industry.
Click here to download the report from PubMatic.
Download the free whitepaper here:
http://www.improvedigital.com/wp-content/uploads/wp_brandimage_sep09.pdf
Fully automated multiple currency optimisation and reporting has now become a reality for global publishers with audiences in multiple markets. With the launch of this technology , PubMatic answers a key need of leading publishers globally. The result is a seamless automated optimisation between local and global networks, resulting in increased revenues and convenient centralised control and insight.
The launch of the automated multiple currency optimisation and reporting feature is a ‘must-have’ for publishers who need automated integration with European, US and global ad networks. This enables a publisher to report revenues in non-USD currencies such as British Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc, and more. The launch of this feature places PubMatic and Improve Digital ahead of other more manual providers in the market.
It brings publishers:
“Optimising and central reporting across multiple currencies and markets in an automated way is a key feature to our business”, states Rogier van den Heuvel, VP Worldwide Sales Ebuddy, a global online communication service headquartered in Amsterdam with over 20 million users in 30 languages.
“PubMatic’s advanced technology in addition to Improve Digital’s local understanding and best-in-class service makes a winning combination for international premium publishers that are looking to significantly increase their ad revenue,” said PubMatic Co-Founder and CEO, Rajeev Goel. “We’re committed to being the best ad revenue optimisation solution in Europe, as well as in the U.S., and we will continue to pioneer service and technology innovation to meet the needs of premium publishers.
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Improve Digital has opened offices in Hamburg and Paris following the launch of Improve Digital in Amsterdam and London underlying the need for local presence in these markets. Ex Microsoft and Bertelsmann Internet veteran Axel Hoehnke has been appointed Managing Director in Hamburg with Michel Juvillier (ex Microsoft and Advertising.com) heading up the French office.
As the strategic partner to Pubmatic, Improve Digital opened offices in Amsterdam and London in 2007. Its technology enables publishers to maximise revenues via the automated optimisation of ad networks and the use of targeting capabilities. Due to data insights publishers are able to construct an optimal yield mix.
Working with German Publisher Bertelsmann for 4 years and over 7 years with technology leaders Digital Envoy and Atlas Microsoft, Axel Hoehnke is a highly respected targeting and ad technology expert. In 2008/2009 it was his responsibility to integrate Atlas & Rapt Portfolio into Microsoft Publisher Solutions.
Axel Hoehnke: “Yield Management is a highly challenging task for any publisher. It´s not enough to own and understand a great technology – a successful publisher has to manage this technology on a day to day basis, which is not necessarily the core business for a media house. Improve Digital provides value by offering technology plus services plus a commitment to the local market creating real value to the publisher and the ad networks as we improve overall efficiency. Improve Digital combines these success factors in a perfect way. Our goal is to become the strategic partner for leading publishers and sales houses and establish a long lasting relationship based on trust and excellence.“
Michel Juvillier has 20 years of experience in the French advertising industry. He worked for 6 years at the newspaper group Liberation and 8 years at Microsoft/MSN. He is the former deputy Managing Director of Advertising.com in France. Michel is recognised as a leading on-line advertising expert and has advised companies such as Schibsted group, Reed Midem and Sony Music. He lectures at several French Business School (ISG, EMLV, IPAG) on the subject of E-Business and is well known for his active collaboration with French professional advertising associations (IAB, EBG, UDA…)
Michel Juvillier: “Improve Digital allows publishers to benefit from ad networks and exchanges in harmony with their premium direct sales strategies. Improve Digital offers a solid range of yield management solutions to provide ongoing increased yield and revenue return”.
On the 30th of June we hosted our first ‘Table of Twelve’ breakfast session in the Haymarket hotel in London. During these sessions we discuss trends and issues that are currently relevant or could become relevant in the near future. With these sessions we want to share our experience with and view on these trends and provide them with a platform to have an open discussion and share their experience.
During the breakfast we welcomed 12 top premium publishers from the UK. The topic was around trends in US and what that means or can mean for the UK market int he future. Topics of the session:
The topics appeared to be hot and therefore we ended in a lively discussion!
Are you a Tier A publisher and would like to attend next time?
Please email us at info @improvedigital.com