Today, demand-side platform (DSP) DataXu formally announced its mobile DSP capabilities. According to an article by MediaPost’s Mark Walsh, “The new platform also promises features such as advanced targeting, optimization that automatically allocates ad spending most efficiently, improved attribution metrics and analytics reporting across both the mobile Web and mobile applications.” Read more.
DataXu CEO Mike Baker discussed the announcement and his company’s demand-side platform strategy.
AdExchanger.com: What are the difference in capabilities – and constraints – between your mobile DSP and the one focused on the display channel?
MB: The two products work in a similar fashion, using advanced analytics and optimization to increase the effectiveness of ad spend and reduce operational complexity. The main difference is that the mobile channel has yet to normalize the data layer in several respects. As a result, our mobile DSP offering has additional functionality for counting, tracking, and attributing consumer conversions on mobile devices.
Does this move to a mobile DSP signal a change in strategy by DataXu?
No.. To the contrary, it’s the next leg of our strategy to become the “brain” of digital media across all channels, all devices. Our online DSP has been very successful, dramatically exceeding our expectations for adoption. Our mobile DSP, called DX Mobile, is about the future and establishing market leadership in a highly strategic growth area. We believe that in the relatively near future mobile will be bigger than the “fixed” PC Internet. It’s especially exciting for DataXu because we have some of the best minds in mobile advertising from our prior success at Enpocket and Nokia.
Is your mobile DSP in-market? How does this relate to your GroupM deal -and how is that going?
Yes, we’re offering it today to brands and agencies as either a licensed platform or managed service. Regarding GroupM, we worked with them in the beta phase of developing DX Mobile, and we continue to enjoy a successful relationship with them, continuing to deliver results for their clients that are superior to mobile ad networks and publishers.
What is performance like on the mobile channel with this type of solution? What should clients expect?
Clients can expect results that are comparable to our online DSP. Through our early testing, we’ve been able to show strong performance as measured by post-ad engagement that will place mobile at the top of any media plan. For example, we recently ran a campaign for a large technology company that delivered a “cost per engagement” metric 400% more cost effectively than the prior top of the plan media partner.
Please discuss cross-channel efficiencies. Can you map buying (follow the user) across digital channels such as mobile and display, for example? Is cross-channel attribution modeling possible?
We have a distinct vision for media convergence towards which all of our efforts are building. We are focused initially on integrating cross-channel analytics. The DataXu system derives unique data models for a brand advertiser, which we call a “brand genome.” The brand genome describes, empirically, how consumers react and engage with a brand based post ad exposure. We’re excited to show our clients the similarities and differences in the models across device experiences. In 2011, we will be working on extensions of the product, such as device path analysis and attribution.
What’s the next DSP channel after mobile for DataXu?
As we announced in September last year, we have a three-screen strategy for our DSP platform. In the coming months, we will announce additional product capabilities deliver on the market-defining vision that we laid out. We’re in a period of rapid change in the interactive advertising business. We’re committed to being the innovation leader.
By John Ebbert
