Online targeting data provider, eXelate, and Invite Media, a demand-side platform, announced an agreement in which “Invite Media customers gain both seamless access to eXelate data across multiple media exchanges including Right Media, Google DoubleClick’s Ad Exchange, AdBrite, AppNexus, AdMeld, PubMatic and others, as well as dynamic insight reporting indicating the audience characteristics that are driving results.” Read the release.
Meir Zohar, Chief Executive Officer of eXelate, spoke to AdExchanger.com about details of the release and the application of data in online advertising today.
AdExchanger.com: What do you mean by “multipoint performance analytics?”
MZ: Basically this process is all about providing advertisers with a new way to define who their audience is, and what members of that or any newly discovered audience segment are truly performing. It is based on “machine learning” in which each distributed creative looks at all potential segment identifiers, seeing which creates a lift, reporting that and then allowing impressions to be moved to the high performers. We have coined the term “behavioral optimization” for the process – and it is something I think you will hear a great deal more about in 2010 and beyond.
AdExchanger.com: Can you discuss the complexity of using eXelate data today? Do advertisers and agencies need to be adept with demand-side platforms, for example?
MZ: A key differentiator of eXelate’s approach to the buy side of the market is our “open platform” position. Our philosophy is that data should be able to be applied in many different methods, delivered in multiple formats and priced by flexible business models. Targeting applications for branding campaigns demand a different business and technology model than media exchange based analytics reporting or campaign optimization does. It is not a one size fits all data world. Our technology supports this concept by offering an open API that’s very easy to integrate into various demand side platforms, a direct data buy interface and a flexible group of business models. In a nutshell, we want to make our partners’ data easily applied anywhere so they can find their audience everywhere!
AdExchanger.com: What do you see as key drivers to demand for display advertising by advertisers/agencies in 2010?
MZ: A few thoughts on what will drive the display business:
- General economic recovery (a rising tide . . .)
- Remaining scars from the last downturn (dollars shifting from inefficient offline to accountable online media)
- Further development of the “secondary channel” based on Real-Time Bidding (RTB) becoming fully operationalized which will drive the continued growth of ad exchanges. That will go side-by-side with the growth in quality and quantity of data that feeds second channel targeting.
- Growth of premium media channel based on (a) the opportunity for the agencies to start leveraging data from companies like eXelate to perform “audience buying” as opposed to strictly using content as proxy for audience (this will eventually move offline as well), and (b) explosion of the agency buying platforms such as Vivaki, Cadreon and MIG, who want premium environments, but can drive massive centralized volume (and targeting as noted above)
- Great data that will fuel display performance which will finally start to approach that of search!
