Comments on: Thinking About The Marketing Services Company Of The Future http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/ Digital media optimization news and discussion website. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:33:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Rob Leathern http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-17609 Rob Leathern Thu, 12 May 2011 20:21:02 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-17609 Great piece Mike. I was having a tweet discussion with @mediamath about transparency and asked the question, that if the DSP has am agency as a client, does the end client have the right (our should they) to get performance data from the DSP. If ad networks emerged as solving a problem for the agency in aggregating lots of inventory from smaller publishers, they also helped create a new one by disconnecting the true media cost from the cost that the client ends up paying. The current idea of replacing networks with"trading desks"that just move that margin to a different player is a big step backwards. What if there was a code of conduct related to reporting where we all had to show the real share that gets passed on? In countries that have VAT or value-added tax, businesses have to show how their raw material costs relate to the finished goods prices. Whether this is for taxes or not, online media today is fast more opaque that it should be. Electric data systems are always found to be able to support more middlemen because of lower transactions costs vs offline systems but precisely for that reason there needs to be a standard of disclosure. Great piece Mike. I was having a tweet discussion with @mediamath about transparency and asked the question, that if the DSP has am agency as a client, does the end client have the right (our should they) to get performance data from the DSP. If ad networks emerged as solving a problem for the agency in aggregating lots of inventory from smaller publishers, they also helped create a new one by disconnecting the true media cost from the cost that the client ends up paying. The current idea of replacing networks with"trading desks"that just move that margin to a different player is a big step backwards.

What if there was a code of conduct related to reporting where we all had to show the real share that gets passed on? In countries that have VAT or value-added tax, businesses have to show how their raw material costs relate to the finished goods prices. Whether this is for taxes or not, online media today is fast more opaque that it should be. Electric data systems are always found to be able to support more middlemen because of lower transactions costs vs offline systems but precisely for that reason there needs to be a standard of disclosure.

]]> By: Brent http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5389 Brent Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:07:13 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5389 What an exciting market we are in when everyone agrees that publishers execute poorly today, advertisers execute poorly today (compared to everyone's common vision of the future), and middle-men are gouging all parties. Ripe for value creation! What an exciting market we are in when everyone agrees that publishers execute poorly today, advertisers execute poorly today (compared to everyone's common vision of the future), and middle-men are gouging all parties. Ripe for value creation!

]]> By: Lee F http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5385 Lee F Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:08:59 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5385 Terrific commentary Mike! Agreed. There are too many competing interests within the holding companies and their operating agencies to serve the best interest of marketers. Right on regarding the lack of "Technical Excellence" and limited "Drive to Innovate" which has created huge opportunities for agencies and solution providers outside the holding companies. Terrific commentary Mike! Agreed. There are too many competing interests within the holding companies and their operating agencies to serve the best interest of marketers. Right on regarding the lack of "Technical Excellence" and limited "Drive to Innovate" which has created huge opportunities for agencies and solution providers outside the holding companies.

]]> By: Ad News and Views from Around the Web « Yahoo! Advertising Blog http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5380 Ad News and Views from Around the Web « Yahoo! Advertising Blog Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:14:40 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5380 [...] Michael Walrath on demand We’ve been trying to keep you up on the emergence of demand-side platforms for awhile now (like here, here and here). Over at AdExchanger, Michael Walrath, former CEO at Right Media (now part of Yahoo!), has penned (or is “pixelated” the right word?) an op-ed piece on demand-side. Look out agencies, he says, because demand-side holding companies just might be poised to swipe your martini money. [...] [...] Michael Walrath on demand We’ve been trying to keep you up on the emergence of demand-side platforms for awhile now (like here, here and here). Over at AdExchanger, Michael Walrath, former CEO at Right Media (now part of Yahoo!), has penned (or is “pixelated” the right word?) an op-ed piece on demand-side. Look out agencies, he says, because demand-side holding companies just might be poised to swipe your martini money. [...]

]]> By: Kirby Winfield http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5374 Kirby Winfield Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:54:49 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5374 Nice piece, Mike. IMO the "taxmen" get rolled up by ad servers, one of which is OAS (WPP)...I wouldn't count out the holding co's yet... Nice piece, Mike. IMO the "taxmen" get rolled up by ad servers, one of which is OAS (WPP)...I wouldn't count out the holding co's yet...

]]> By: Michael Walrath http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5360 Michael Walrath Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:10:06 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5360 darren - thanks for the comment. I think there was more about what will work in here than what won't. It's not in a roadmap format, but rather a set of principles that would be required for someone to win big here. In the next piece I'll discuss why it's going to be so incredibly hard for anyone to do this (huge opportunities are hard to realize). darren - thanks for the comment. I think there was more about what will work in here than what won't. It's not in a roadmap format, but rather a set of principles that would be required for someone to win big here. In the next piece I'll discuss why it's going to be so incredibly hard for anyone to do this (huge opportunities are hard to realize).

]]> By: Walter Paulsen http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5349 Walter Paulsen Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:45:48 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5349 I agree that marketing services will come from smaller companies with compelling ideas backed up by clever technology. Innovation from within a holding company model is incredibly difficult, although it can happen in certain niches. In retail, Blackhawk Network began as "Safeway Marketing Services" a skunk works that tried a bunch of different initiatives before building a $6 billion business distributing gift cards in the grocery channel. Companies will have to reconsider what constitutes marketing and focus on what changes consumer behavior. Ultimately, companies spend money on marketing to drive incremental revenue, and the services that can deliver on that promise will meet with great success. Strange niches like gift cards -- which create new store visits and predispose consumers to spend more money on higher margin items -- will continue to expand and grab a bigger share of marketing budgets. I agree that marketing services will come from smaller companies with compelling ideas backed up by clever technology. Innovation from within a holding company model is incredibly difficult, although it can happen in certain niches. In retail, Blackhawk Network began as "Safeway Marketing Services" a skunk works that tried a bunch of different initiatives before building a $6 billion business distributing gift cards in the grocery channel.

Companies will have to reconsider what constitutes marketing and focus on what changes consumer behavior. Ultimately, companies spend money on marketing to drive incremental revenue, and the services that can deliver on that promise will meet with great success. Strange niches like gift cards -- which create new store visits and predispose consumers to spend more money on higher margin items -- will continue to expand and grab a bigger share of marketing budgets.

]]> By: Darren Herman http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5334 Darren Herman Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:49:58 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5334 Mike, so who will "win"? What's said above IMHO is fairly accurate and being talked about throughout the industry but until someone steps in and creates a model that "works", then this is what we resort to. I do maintain my belief after seeing it thru for years now that a DSP or like unit can exist but needs to exist in an organization that is agile enough to utilize it. I do believe as well that the outsourced DSP is here today because everyone will dip their toe in the water but if it is going to become strategic, there is going to be a lot of building or buying in 2010-2012. You are one of the smartest men who understand technology and marketing, what's your roadmap instead of telling us what doesn't work? Mike, so who will "win"? What's said above IMHO is fairly accurate and being talked about throughout the industry but until someone steps in and creates a model that "works", then this is what we resort to.

I do maintain my belief after seeing it thru for years now that a DSP or like unit can exist but needs to exist in an organization that is agile enough to utilize it. I do believe as well that the outsourced DSP is here today because everyone will dip their toe in the water but if it is going to become strategic, there is going to be a lot of building or buying in 2010-2012.

You are one of the smartest men who understand technology and marketing, what's your roadmap instead of telling us what doesn't work?

]]> By: Zach Coelius http://www.adexchanger.com/considering-digital/thinking-about-the-marketing-services-company-of-the-future/#comment-5331 Zach Coelius Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:54:24 +0000 http://www.adexchanger.com/?p=17605#comment-5331 Well said Mike. It will be interesting to see how the technical excellence component of your thesis plays out. Since technology as core competency traditionally creates exponential differentiation between competitors, we could see a dramatic change in the marketplace where the current status quo of relative parity in the competitive dynamic of agency service companies is upend. My bet is that it is slow then out of control fast process. Anyway, enough theory. Back to selling ads... Well said Mike. It will be interesting to see how the technical excellence component of your thesis plays out. Since technology as core competency traditionally creates exponential differentiation between competitors, we could see a dramatic change in the marketplace where the current status quo of relative parity in the competitive dynamic of agency service companies is upend. My bet is that it is slow then out of control fast process.

Anyway, enough theory. Back to selling ads...

]]>