Yahoo! says that in AdExchanger.com’s news round-up earlier today, there was a clear misinterpretation of the comment by Yahoo! VP Ramsey McGrory at yesterday’s IAB meeting regarding concerns publishers should have about RTB.
McGrory tells AdExchanger.com that his point “was that the lost bid data that comes when an auction is broadcast to bidders and a bidder doesn’t respond or responds and loses is very valuable data that a seller should fully consider before allowing bidders to have. If a bidder gets all the pings of the unsold for a publisher, over time they can calculate the sell through of a publisher and use that aggregate knowledge against the publisher in negotiations. The counter argument is that it helps the bidders bid more effectively if they know how often they’ll see a user (call it a scarcity factor). Generally, we believe the publishers that are working with third parties providing RTB should be aware of what is happening with lost bid data and then decide whether they want to support. RTB has to protect the primary interest of the publisher. The marketplace without fruits and vegetables is just an empty parking lot.”
AdExchanger.com’s (a.k.a. My) assertion that Yahoo! may have a reason to criticize the benefits of RTB for failing to have an RTB solution was further rebutted by McGrory who said Yahoo! has been piloting RTB (via Right Media) for the last several months with more details to come.
By John Ebbert
