This post follows up on an article this week by MediaWeek’s Mike Shields in regards to concerns publishers have about agency demand-side platforms (DSPs). Read the article. In the article, Shields said that Rubicon Project met with some of these publishers. A Rubicon Project spokesperson provided the following responses.
AdExchanger.com: Did Rubicon Project meet with “about a dozen of the Web’s biggest publishers” last week?
RP: No – the overall number was far greater, but in general, yes. And since the Mediaweek article, still more major publishers have been reaching out to us to find ways to solve some of the pressing problems they are facing. We are always meeting with our publishers to discuss how they can regain control over pricing and effectively leverage available channels. As for any one specific meeting – too soon to say.
Do large web publishers fear agency demand-side platforms?
Historically, technology and/or platforms that have been designed specifically for the demand side have been wonderful for buyers, but have driven a loss of control and leverage for publishers. That’s the root of publishers’ fear about these platforms, which Mike Shields documents clearly in his interview quotes from Kyoo Kim of MSNBC, for example. Publishers are expressing this concern to us – privately and publicly – more than ever lately.
