Programmatic Direct Future; Programmatic In-Sourcing

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Programmatic Direct…Only?

Has the open exchange outlived its usefulness? In an interview with Beet.TV, Chief Investment Officer Ari Bluman says GroupM will limit its programmatic buying to private exchange deals struck directly with publishers. He says this will happen by year’s end. “That is our drive, to only buy direct from publishers using pipes to do so. Every brand that we speak to is very excited about that evolution. They understand the benefits.” A big change! So where does GroupM propose to obtain all the inventory its clients require? “For very large brands, it might take 500 individual deals to come through the pipes. It’s a lot of setup work.” Watch the interview.

Selling The Software

“What we’re seeing now is programmatic in-sourcing,” DataXu Founder and CEO Mike Baker says in an interview with Forbes. “It’s about brands and agencies acknowledging that software is playing an increasingly large role in advertising, and looking to acquire the talent and tools to operate that software inside their organizations.” Baker says ownership and control of all the data created through digital media is vital for competing in the ad tech provider space. Baker also hints at a potential DataXu IPO on the horizon. Read the interview in full at Forbes.

Bonjour Cannes

Cannes Lions Festival is fast approaching and “access to this many and this level of decision-makers is rare,” TubeMogul Senior VP-International Marc Galens tells Ad Age. With marketers, publishers and agencies descanting on France in full force, the challenge for ad tech companies might be convincing the industry that automation software matters to creative. Read on.

In-House Creative

In 2008, 40% of marketers operated in-house creative agencies but a survey of 200 marketers last year by the Association of National Advertisers saw that figure grow to 56%. Apple is one giant making the shift, and the WSJ reports that Google is also using internal creative teams in addition to its dealings with ad firms. The move in-house reflects marketers’ desire to reduce ad costs and responds to evolutions in digital advertising like the rise of social media marketing. “The sacrosanct marriage between client and agency is dead,” said Russel Wohlwerth, a principle at External View Consulting Group. Read on.

Roadmapping Ad Quality

On Monday, the IAB launched a “Trustworthy Digital Supply Chain Initiative” that aims to combat fraudulent ad impressions and pirated content. “There is no such thing as a completely trustworthy supply chain,” writes Mike Zaneis, IAB’s SVP. “Most of our efforts are directed at fighting criminal activity, and it’s impossible to stamp out all crime. But we can implement successful programs that make it difficult for the criminals to be successful.” Read more at the IAB.