The Trade Desk has always positioned itself as an underdog and challenger, and the ad tech community has appreciated its stands against its Big Tech adversary, Google.
But since The Trade Desk is now a market leader in its own right, independent ad tech and publishers are learning what it feels like when The Trade Desk throws its weight around.
It’s one thing for The Trade Desk to decline to buy through Google’s open bidding; it’s another when The Trade Desk preferences some supply (SP500+, OpenPath), makes supply-path decisions that reroute traffic away from some publishers and SSPs or creates an alternative ID and has the power to encourage its adoption.
Ad tech leaders from Lotame CEO Andy Monfried to Viant COO Chris Vanderhook have complained on social media about The Trade Desk’s market dominance.
On this week’s podcast, we unpack some of the complaints against The Trade Desk and how its role is evolving in the independent ad tech space. How should The Trade Desk respond to its critics?
“Personally, I think The Trade Desk should lean in,” Senior Editor James Hercher says. When its actions frustrate its peers, he notes, it’s because The Trade Desk is making moves to clean up the programmatic ecosystem. “They’re cleaning up at last. That is going to materialize as frustration in the ecosystem, but it’s probably a good trend.”
Plus: An update on Google Chrome’s user choice mechanism and details from the front lines of Advertising Week New York.
