Target's Digital Ad Platform Goes Programmatic; Here's Who's In Charge At Snap

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

Bull’s-Eye Targeting

If you want to use Target’s first-party data, you don’t need to use Target’s DSP – just the SSP where it has its data loaded. Competitors (ahem, Amazon) force advertisers onto an owned DSP to activate segments such as “electronics purchasers,” for example, but Target wants to be able to offer brands more flexibility rather than layering in more complexity, said Kristi Argyilan, president of Roundel (the new name for Target Media Network). The retail media group will now integrate with Index Exchange so that buyers can activate Target data with their current DSP, Adweek reports. In testing now, the SSP data-sharing partnership will be available more broadly in July. More.

Brand Safety School

Is protecting brand safety part of your job description? Starting Tuesday, you’ll be able to enroll in classes at the Brand Safety Institute (BSI) and earn professional certification. There are modules for everything from ad adjacency and brand reputation issues to tips on vetting supply chain partners and best practices for avoiding ad fraud and malvertising. The Institute was created last year with the goal of offering brand safety education to ad execs. But it’s not just brand safety officers that need to know the ins and outs of brand safety. Media buyers and sellers, sales execs and the legal department often need to be well-versed in at least the basics of brand safety, said Mike Zaneis, co-founder of BSI and CEO of the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). “The idea is to make people smarter about all of the component parts that make up the term ‘brand safety,’” Zaneis told AdExchanger. “There are so many programs out there, including TAG, that identify companies – but there aren’t very many certifications for individual people to achieve.” More.

Change In A Snap

Snap has seen a huge amount of executive turnover, including the departure of Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan last fall. The Information makes it simple with a new org chart showing the changes. Leading advertising is Chief Business Officer Jeremi Gorman, who left Amazon for the role. Gorman has reorganized Snap by vertical – CPG, auto, etc. – and away from geographic-based sales, similar to how other platforms such as Google and Facebook structure their teams. The move is meant to improve big brand advertiser relationships, which had “taken a backseat” to direct response advertisers. Part of Gorman’s role is to drive change at a company that recently paid settlements over discrimination and was called out for a “toxic” culture. Check out the org chart (subscription required) and a CNN interview with Gorman.

But Wait, There’s More!