RTB Trends; Twitter Programmatic

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RTB Trends

Accordant Media has released results from a study of Q1 2012 real-time bidding data seen through its ad buying platform. According to a release, “Ad placement transparency improved significantly from 32% to 41%” – which seems to mean that Accordant could see the URL/publisher for the placement it was bidding on. Read a bit more on MediaPost.

Twitter Programmatic – Day 2

No doubt in reaction to AdExchanger’s post about Twitter’s programmatic strategy, Twitter announced yesterday that it’s now allowing keyword targeting in its timeline, according to a new post on the company’s advertising blog. Twitter product manager Nippon Malhotra writes, “Users won’t see any difference in their use of Twitter – we’re not showing ads more frequently in timelines, and users can still dismiss Promoted Tweets they don’t find relevant.” I wonder if this means people will be tweeting “I want a Starbucks coupon” in hopes of a freebie. Read it. Retargeting those user cookies through a display ad exchange could be next.

The Cookie Crumbles

All the talk about Mozilla Firefox joining Microsoft’s IE browser in blocking tracking cookies by default has got some in the industry intensely worried about the continued growth. But Lotame COO Adam Lehman says not to worry. Writing in Digiday, he says, “Turning off the Firefox third-party spigot will only represent a 15-20 percent reduction in the available third-party data from Web-based sources. Taking a broader view, as the Firefox door closes, a hundred new doors will be opening (or at least a few new doors with a hundred times the data).” Read the rest.

AdX Private Auctions

Google is letting DoubleClick publishers set up private auctions “directly above the open auction.” The new offering, which follows the launch of preferred deals last year, lets a display ad seller give “first look” access to select bidders – for instance, a handful of agency trading desks. On the buy side it’s available to all, including Google’s own DoubleClick Bid Manager (née Invite Media). Blog post.

Ad Network Buys A Rival

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As The Economy Goes, So Does Ad Spend; Microsoft AI Plays Nice With Pubs

If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em. Video ad network Alloy, fresh from banking a $30 million funding round, has acquired its similarly youth-focused rival DBG. “With the added muscle of DBG’s impressive video and CLiP platform, we are further realizing a vision for delivering compelling content directly to both consumers and advertisers and effectively monetizing the value of our top content brands in a new media world,” said Matt Diamond, CEO of Alloy Digital. Read the release (via Deadline Hollywood).

About Those IAB Numbers…

MarketingLand’s Danny Sullivan is taking issue with the online ad revenue growth figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau this week, particularly the way the ad categories – search, mobile, display, etc. – are grouped: “For example, consider a display ad that you see on your phone. Is that display spend or mobile spend? According to the IAB, it’s a mobile spend – despite it being a display ad. The same is true if you see a search ad on mobile. Despite you having done an actual search, resulting in a search ad, the IAB considers that spend to be a mobile spend.” Read the rest.

Targeting Exhilaration

Social and mobile ad startup MediaBrix bets that serving ads to game players while they are basking in the glow of a high score will yield higher engagement levels. A new product, Rewards, lets brands send players a coupon or other messages when they achieve some in-game milestone, such as a new level. “Rewards produces powerful emotional connections and creates lasting impressions for a brand,” claims CRO Todd Bowman. Read the press release.

Publishers’ Creative QA

In his publication, AdMonsters’ Rob Beeler delivers the results of a study on creative QA and the publisher. Beeler writes, “While almost every publisher reviews creative look and functionality, fewer had a sufficient built-in process for the other things that come through a third party tag: namely malvertising and tracking pixels.” Read more.

Sleepy Local Media

IAC Chairman Barry Diller told Newspaper Association of America’s mediaXchange attendees that “sleepy” companies behaving like “recovering alcoholics” as ad sales continue to drop off will face extinction in the age of disruption. Net News Check’s Michael Depp reports that Diller doesn’t understand why local media has not capitalized on the “ability to be so granular and local that you are every possible grain to anyone who lives in a defined community.” Read more.

Don’t Sell

On his company’s blog, Upstream’s Doug Weaver whispers in the ears of naive sellers everywhere with a list of what not to do at client meetings. Weaver lists one don’t: “‘You sleepwalk through the first three minutes.’ So much happens in the first 180 seconds that really defines the meeting. Yet so many reps squander that time with meaningless small talk and paper shuffling.” Read more don’ts.

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