Blockgraph is officially hopping on the self-service CTV platform bandwagon.
On Thursday, the TV identity resolution company announced a new self-serve product, aptly called Blockgraph OnDemand.
OnDemand allows marketers of any size to link up their first-party data with that of media sellers, publishers and ad tech platforms within Blockgraph’s network.
Unlike Blockgraph’s existing enterprise software model, OnDemand is free upon initial sign-up, so smaller marketers can onboard their data and test it out with a single distribution partner before committing.
Blockgraph CEO Jason Manningham told AdExchanger the new offering combines what he believes are three of the biggest trends in the TV and video space: first-party data, self-serve platforms and cross-company collaboration.
“What we haven’t seen is those three things come together yet,” Manningham said, “being able to not only use your first-party data, but to use it in a self-service capacity across a whole ecosystem of customers.”
Small advertisers, big data
Although OnDemand was built for agencies and brands regardless of their size, Blockgraph hopes smaller and mid-tier businesses will take advantage. TV advertising is dominated by a handful of larger advertisers, but there are thousands of SMBs that would run TV campaigns if it was easier to do.
Any advertiser with access to some first-party data can use it to target streaming video or linear TV buys through OnDemand, Manningham said.
All TV advertisers should have the same level of self-serve capabilities they get in walled gardens and streaming platforms, like YouTube TV (via Google) and Hulu (via its own ad manager).
So far, Blockgraph is already seeing success among Tier 2 and Tier 3 automotive advertisers using dealership data, retailers using sales data and direct-to-consumer brands. DTC brands have a wealth of data, including from newsletter sign-ups, website visits and online conversions.
Many smaller advertisers and businesses also have access to similar types of data, but haven’t had the opportunity to make it actionable, said Manningham.
“If I could encourage the industry to really evolve its thinking, the one thing that I would advocate to advertisers is to just get started,” he said. “Don’t be bashful. You likely have more first-party data than you’re giving yourself credit for.”
The future of self-service
Beta testing for OnDemand started in late February with a pool of 10 advertisers, roughly one-fifth of Blockgraph’s customer base.
One tester was independent digital advertising agency PMG, which had already been working with Blockgraph to help its clients securely share and access addressable first-party data.
Mike Treon, PMG’s head of CTV and video strategy, said Blockgraph factored into the success of the agency’s recent campaign for Spectrum Reach, which won an AdExchanger award this year for “Best Data-Driven TV Campaign.”
It’s empowering to be able to choose between managed and self-service capabilities depending on the client, Treon said. Clients have the option to work directly with Blockgraph and don’t have to pass data through to PMG.
“It’s self-service, but it’s also in support of activation,” Treon said. “I think that’s really important with regards to first-party data.”
And interoperability is just as important.
Treon suggested the CTV space is developing in a similar way to social media platforms – meaning easy, self-service access, but at the cost of large data sets fragmented across walled gardens.
But data silos are so passé.
“We need to evolve as an industry,” Manningham said, “and the only way to do that is through collaborative innovation.”
