Comments on: Not Every Demand-Side Platform (DSP) Is Created Equal: What Is A True DSP?

By: Chris Zaharias

Chris Zaharias — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:40:00 +0000

A: Yes

By: gfairnak

gfairnak — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:41:52 +0000

Can you tell me if I am missing something here?

A DSP receive complete URLs from exchanges
DSPs are matching cookies from URL info they recieve with cookies buyers possess to target aduiences

Here is an example... If I wanted to target http://www.cnn.com/health. My guess would be that the DSP knows that the page the ad is being served on.
Is this true? Can DSPs match complete URLs/webpages with buyers white list of URLs webpages?

thanks for the input

By: The Second Half of 2010 – Looking Into a “Simplified” Crystal Ball « Epic's Winning the Web Blog

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:44:52 +0000

[...] is a theme that underscores what a successful, true demand side platform is or should be. It was said: “At its core, a DSP is software for transparent automated media buying across [...]

By: Google’s Invite Media Acquisition Raises Conflicts of Interest

Google’s Invite Media Acquisition Raises Conflicts of Interest — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:24:28 +0000

[...] platforms. But it also muddies the waters, to some extent. Invite Media CEO Nat Turner wrote in a guest column for AdExchanger in February that a “true DSP” must be transparent and fully-self service, but it must [...]

By: Chris Zaharias

Chris Zaharias — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:47:46 +0000

If Kafka's rumors of your acquisition by Google are true, then by your own definition (specifically point #3), Invite Media is no longer a DSP, right? Or does your logic change when the acquisition price is above a certain amount?

Just askin'...

By: trinity

trinity — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:26:59 +0000

Great sales pitch. Also contradicts some of the other recent posts that a DSP must have RTB (and ADD) who makes all this acronyms up?

By: Rob Leathern

Rob Leathern — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:49:43 +0000

Bennett - good points all. We are very early in this space and things will take a while to coalesce.

Robert - it is all about performance and at the end of the day, the model/revshare/whatever doesn't matter in absolute terms at all, it is just the advertiser's performance relative to goals that does. Period.

By: jason w

jason w — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:46:50 +0000

Couldn't agree more, Robert. At the end of the day, performance and efficiency are what will define the leader in this space.

By: Robert Smith

Robert Smith — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:52:03 +0000

A lot of interesting comments. I agree with the previous post that pointed out that the DSP space is only 2.5 yrs old. I think it is even younger than that since that it was only a few months ago that the DSP label stuck (I heard RTB, Media Trading, etc.).

I was surprised that you failed to mention anything about performance. This truly is a statement of your Company's beliefs (as mentioned in a previous post).

Most of the new DSP entrants (or those calling themselves DSPs) state to have the exact selling points and beliefs that you do. Boiled down, I view many of the DSPs on the market today as middleware - giving advertisers and agencies the ability to buy across exchanges. You are solving a technical hurdle which others have solved as well. But the exchanges are motivated to have folks hook into them, which makes it a basic technical problem at best.

The key point that should be the first bullet on your list should be about performance. Sure - anyone can build integration into exchanges, but can the platform help me reach or exceed my campaign goals? THAT is the key. Performance should be the major reason for selecting a DSP (whether it is a brand campaign or performance campaign). If I am focused on performance, then I shouldn't care if it is delivered as a SaaS platform or if it is delivered as a managed service. The question should be - will I get a higher conversion of my ad dollars spent using one DSP over another, and also compare those results to going direct or using a traditional ad network.

Sounds like you are running into stiff competition to post an article like this. Competition is good. Natural selection should point to the best performer.

By: Bennett Zucker

Bennett Zucker — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:24 +0000

Nat, This is really a statement of your company's beliefs and how you compare them with what you perceive to be the practices of competitors.

At just 2.5 years old, your industry segment has been pressured to grow up too fast and hurry up and solve all the problems of inventory glut and inefficient buying. Pushers include investors, suitors, pundits and networks and tech providers searching for new business models.

It's too soon to stifle innovation by trying to impose standards. With over a dozen competitors calling themselves DSPs, and with buyers adopting formal RFP processes for vendor selection, it's late for any one provider – even an early market entrant – to dictate what’s “true.” Your marketplace of agencies and advertisers will define the boundaries, if not make the rules, and you are free to ignore or follow them.