David Kaplan is a former Video/Publishing Platforms editor for AdExchanger.com. A New York City-based journalist for over 20 years, Kaplan has covered media, advertising and marketing. A former staff reporter at paidContent, Adweek and MediaPost, he has also written for Advertising Age, Broadcasting & Cable, Crain’s New York Business, The New York Post, Newsday and the Boston Globe; he has also covered financial issues for the Bond Buyer and Worth magazine.
AUTHOR ARCHIVE FOR:
David Kaplan
Articles By David
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NYT Is Open For Programmatic Business - 'Issues' Remain
For the past year, executives at The New York Times Company speaking on its quarterly earnings calls have singled out a particular challenge for the newspaper publisher’s display ad business: programmatic media buying methods. With this month’s hire of online ad veteran Matt Prohaska as programmatic advertising director, the NYT still regards exchange and automated […]
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Video Ad Rivals Collaborate On Open-Source Viewability
You know viewability is a big deal when rivals in a given space band together to promote a new open source standard around it. That’s what’s happening in online video as TubeMogul organizes a group of fellow video ad tech vendors including BrightRoll, Innovid, LiveRail and SpotXchange to support OpenVV (or Open VideoView), a viewability […]
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Google Expands 'Display Benchmarks' As It Reaches For More Branding Business
Google is giving advertisers and agencies up-to-the-month access to its industry performance benchmarks for display advertising. Called Display Benchmarks, the tool presents aggregated ad performance data that can be filtered according to variables such as click-through rates, ad interaction times, video completion rates, and other metrics. And it works across ad formats/sizes (including mobile), verticals and […]
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In Ziff Davis Acquisition Of NetShelter, Proof That 'Publisher Networks' Still Have Believers
Ziff Davis’ acquisition of tech blog network NetShelter is part of a continuing strategy to expand its vertical content for IT pros and young men. Ziff Davis has been a serial acquirer since former Time Inc. digital chief Vivek Shah took over the company as CEO nearly three years ago, with investment assistance from PE firm Great Hill […]
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Tumblr Is Yahoo's Instagram – Or Is it?
For the most part, internet analysts and ad industry observers are applauding Yahoo’s $1.1 billion acquisition of microblog Tumblr. The timing appears to be right for both companies. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, fresh from a series of acqui-hires, saw an opportunity to bring a new media network with a young, socially engaged, and logged in […]
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Ad Op Partners In Place, Pandora Makes A Grab For Local Radio Dollars
Streaming audio player Pandora has increasingly focused on building ad revenues from the local level up but has met with some hurdles in trying to pry ad dollars from the $15 billion terrestrial radio market. This week it struck deals with two media buying and planning software providers, Mediaocean and STRATA , which Pandora hopes […]
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For ESPN's Live Video, 'Real-Time' Advertising Is A Real Focus
ESPN unveiled results of its first advertising “hackathon” at its cable network upfront presentation this week. The hackathon event divided ESPN staffers into groups and charged them with developing new ad solutions that would be presented to six judges and 250 other employees. Marketers and media buyers were given a preview of some of the […]
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For Priceline, TV Is For Branding, Programmatic For Conversions
There’s been no shortage of talk about “programmatic direct,” which involves using automated buying tools to support negotiated ad deals with presumably branding-oriented campaign goals. But for Priceline.com CMO Brett Keller, the idea is an illusion. “We’ve been using TV as our branding vehicle from very the beginning of this company 14 years ago and […]
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IPG's David Bell Sounds Off: Ad Tech Complexity Unsustainable
David Bell, the chairman emeritus for Interpublic Group, offered his take on some barriers to growth in digital advertising today at Aol’s Thought Leadership Summit on programmatic advertising. Number one on his hit list was the clutter of ad tech startups. He also took aim at the power wielded by procurement officers and bashed the ad industry for […]
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Heineken And Tremor See TV And Web Video Ads As 'Friends With Benefits'
As Heineken continues its discussions with ad sellers from broadcast, cable and digital for those outlets’ respective “upfronts,” the beer marketer is looking to tie its campaigns more closely among TV and the web. While there’s nothing unusual about that, the company, which also owns the Newcastle and Dos Equis beer brands, is working with […]
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As Sellers Take Their Data More Seriously, BlueKai Expanding Publisher Push
Last month, BlueKai signed a deal to build a data management platform for MLB Advanced Media, the interactive business division of Major League Baseball, designed to connect the company’s 30 team websites for advertisers. MLBAM was the fifth publisher BlueKai has added to its client list this year. CEO Omar Tawakol tells AdExchanger that while […]
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As NBCU Preps TV Upfront Showcase, Emphasis Is On Cross-Platform
About seven days ahead of last week’s NewFronts digital content showcases held by Yahoo, Aol, The Weather Company, Blip, Digitas and others, NBC Universal tried to get a jump on things with its own interactive presentation, which it dubbed “Digital.Amplified.” Although it was a participant in the NewFronts last year, the feeling this year was […]
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Aol's Barbell Strategy Shows Uneven Lift For Display Dollars
Aol was able to maintain its hard-won profitability and ad sales gains Q1. But just as Aol was finally able to turn US display around with a decent growth of 6%, the usual powerhouse of third-party network revenues showed signs of slowing down. Read the earnings release. The company’s third-party network revenues growth slowed to […]
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Condé Nast Aims Chute Ads At 'Creative Fatigue'
A collaboration between Condé Nast and social images aggregator Chute has led the startup to create its first advertising product, designed to use consumers’ photos as backgrounds for marketers’ messages. Chute Ads will make their first appearance on Condé Nast Traveler‘s site next month with an as-yet-unidentified marketer. While neither Condé Nast executives nor Chute […]
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Comcast Taps Mediaocean To Manage Broadcast Partners' Ad Sales Workflow
Mediaocean, fresh from striking a collaboration with digital video rights manager FreeWheel for handling Aol’s ad inventory across TV and online, has just netted an even bigger assignment – Comcast. The media buying workflow software company will be in charge of processing ad buys for Comcast AdDelivery, the cable operator’s cloud-based tool for distributing spot TV. It’s […]
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The World According To The OPA: Prez Pam Horan Talks NewFronts And Private Exchanges
The NewFront – the digital world’s answer to the TV upfront marketplace – wrapped up last week with a number of high-profile, extravagant showcases of new content from Yahoo, Aol, The Weather Channel and others. At the same time, programmatic buying methods have adopted traditional models of locking in guaranteed sales, months ahead of schedule. But can […]
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Digitas And HuffPost Attempt 'Real-Time' Native Ads
At yesterday’s Digitas NewFront, Huffington Post executives said they would offer their native advertising content distribution system exclusively to the Publicis Groupe interactive shop’s clients. While billed as “real-time,” the self-serve content system will post marketers’ content within a two-hour window of receiving the request. “We’re bringing our year-old BrandLive service to HuffPost that will […]
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Facebook Sees Mobile Ad Gains In Q1, Says No Ad Network Plans For Atlas
Facebook’s mobile ad growth was the big story in Q1, as ads served to handheld devices grew to 30% of all advertising revenue. Read the earnings release, or check out these highlights on the ad side: Total ad revenue grew 43% to $1.25 billion Mobile accounted for roughly 30% all Facebook ad dollars in Q1, […]
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Corrected: At Aol's Newfronts, Lines Between TV And Video Disappear
For all the glitz and glamour that surrounded Aol’s Newfronts programming preview on Tuesday, perhaps the most relevant news for advertisers came at the end of the showcase with a mention of the unsexiest of topics: back-office operations designed to support the thousands of hours of digital video, along with analytics. Following appearances by actors […]
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Self-Serve Twitter Ads No Longer Invite-Only, Now Open To All
A year after Twitter opened its self-serve Twitter Advertising system to businesses on an “invite-only” basis, the microblog’s Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts products will be open to anyone in the US. Read the release. This news was mentioned as Kevin Weil, Senior Director of Product for Revenue at Twitter, participated on a panel with […]
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Yahoo's De Castro Pledges Guarantees To Buyers Who Shift TV Budgets
Yahoo executives talked a lot about “new” ad formats and video-centric programming during its Newfront presentation, but a vague familiarity persisted until the very end of COO Henrique De Castro’s presentation, when he made a promise to media buyers: give us a small yet sizable portion of your TV ad spending and we’ll guarantee satisfaction. […]
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A Year After OpenX Acquisition, LiftDNA Founder Departs For Investor Life
It’s been over a year since publisher, ad server and ad exchange OpenX bought publisher ad tech services provider LiftDNA (AdExchanger story). And as often happens in these cases, the founder of the acquired company is exiting. Vadim Telyatnikov, who founded LiftDNA in 2009, told associates in an email memo obtained by AdExchanger that he is […]
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MRC Blesses Google's Viewability Metric. Does That Matter To Agencies?
Google’s offering in the ad viewability space has scored third-party accreditation from the Media Ratings Council. Google joins others who have wended through the MRC’s approval process – the respective viewability products from comScore, Double Verify and RealVu have been approved – so Google does not stand alone. But given its expansive relationship with marketers, […]
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Still Vexed By RTB Impact, NYTCo Tweaks Paywall And Video Strategies
The New York Times Co. CFO Jim Follo reiterated a point he’s been making on earnings calls since last year, namely that “premium” digital advertising continues to be challenged by the rise of audience targeting and the infinite amount of digital inventory generated by social media. Read the release. During the Q1 earnings call, Mark […]
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ShareThis Tightens Social Data Relationship With Starcom MediaVest
Social data analytics provider ShareThis is allowing Publicis-owned Starcom MediaVest Group to embed the company’s Social Quality Index rankings in its advertiser dashboard. In essence, the SQI is an indicator of the volume of social sharing and clicks across all of ShareThis’s 2.4 million publishers, who are mostly smaller, long-tail players but also include major […]
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MailOnline Considers Programmatic Amid Traffic And Video Gains
MailOnline’s site is an endless broadsheet of breaking news, tabloid gossip and tawdry thrills (pictured: the money a stripper makes in just ONE shift – and it’s more than most people make in a month). Some might consider this publishing format tailor-made for real-time bidding. But the site, which has its own dedicated editorial and […]
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Weather.com Taps Lotame's Data Management To Target Audiences Beyond Rain Or Shine
The Weather Company (TWC) has partnered with Lotame to target ever-narrower segments of audiences across PC and mobile screens. Lotame, the seven-year-old data management platform, beat out four other DMPs for the assignment, TWC Chief Revenue Officer Curt Hecht confirmed. Hecht declined to say who the other contenders were, but sources indicate Lotame bested Bluekai […]
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Ford Expands Programmatic Video As New TV Campaign Launches
Last week, Ford Motors kicked off its latest long-term ad campaign, dubbed “And Not Or,” with a theme that could also apply to its digital strategy. The spots, which began running on TV and have heavy online video components, touch on concepts that people expect to naturally go together; consumers are asked to choose between […]
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Minneapolis StarTrib 'Restocks' Inventory To Drive Programmatic Turnover
Minneapolis’ Star Tribune has been a relatively early and aggressive adopter of programmatic ad sales. The newspaper site has just finished a re-installation of Google DoubleClick’s DFP system as part of a wider effort to expand its own Advantage program, which covers real-time biddable inventory and targeting. The basic promise of Star Trib’s Advantage is […]
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Nielsen To Add More Data Providers for OCR, Mobile – Cautiously
Nielsen has steadily expanded its efforts to tie online and offline together and to build products around digital ad effectiveness. That push has required Nielsen to strike relationships with outside data providers such as Datalogix and Facebook. As social and mobile become more crucial for advertisers, Nielsen is under more pressure to come up with […]