OpenX recently hosted its third annual conference, bringing together senior publishing executives and ad buyers for frank and direct discussions on the state of programmatic, as well as insight on the OpenX product road map.
OpenX CEO, Tim Cadogan opened the event on the promise and potential of programmatic sophistication. Stating that only five years ago, programmatic advertising was merely a concept. Today it’s an industry worth $7 – $8 billion. While that’s an astounding (and rare) rate of growth, it’s only the first chapter for programmatic.
Miki Rapoport, Director Product, and Eric Salsa, Business Operations
As programmatic premium takes off, many advertisers see private marketplaces (PMPs) as an ideal buying model that will deliver the audiences they need at scale adjacent to premium, relevant content. For the most part, this is a correct assumption; PMPs do offer access to high quality and brand-safe inventory that deliver great campaign results- but just like any deal, they need to be executed effectively!
Every day we work with both buyers and sellers in PMP deals, and we’ve seen first-hand that campaign success, scalability, and operational efficiency aren’t given with PMPs; they’re targets that buyers (and sellers) must work towards. How do buyers help reach these targets? Below are some best practices we’ve witnessed for creating PMP deals that work and scale. Continue reading →
On December 10, 2014, Pixalate, an independent analytics firm focused on the programmatic space, recognized OpenX Exchange with the top ranking for inventory quality. This was announced as a part of its first-ever Global Seller Trust Index, ranking the 20 top-rated sellers by inventory, viewability, fraud, masking, and engagement.
We’re pleased to share OpenX ranked first in inventory quality, second overall and among the highest in each of the five categories. According to Pixalate, the index was based upon its proprietary technology that analyzes more than 100 billion monthly impressions and delivers ratings based upon inventory quality and ad performance, along with classic reach ranking. You can read more on its methodology here.
Now that programmatic advertising is going mainstream, lots of buyers are raising questions about how it works. Chief among those questions: What’s a Buyer ID? This blog post provides everything you need to know about it.
Let’s start with the basics: What’s a Buyer ID?
Buyer ID is a unique identifier that DSPs assign to their buyers (i.e. agency trading desk, agency, brand, marketer or buyer using a DSP or bidding platform) so that those buyers can be identified in programmatic trades. The Buyer ID is a numeric or alpha numeric string that is passed in the Buyer ID field in the bid response.
Why is it important?
Prior to Buyer IDs, sellers had little insight into the agencies and trading desks that purchase inventory on behalf of their brands. A Buyer ID provides OpenX with additional transparency by identifying who the buyers are. We can then use that data to establish a direct relationship with the agency or brand in order to educate them on a range of issues, including inventory quality, scale, and ways to optimize their bid strategies. We can also work with them to create strategic deals that are executed via the buyer’s DSP. Continue reading →
The second week of October 2014 saw the launch of IAB UK Digital Upfronts and the topic on everyone’s minds: cross-screen marketing. The issue is even more urgent now that Christmas is fast approaching; we all know that consumers will simultaneously use their computers, mobiles and tablets to make their purchasing decisions.
Of course, cross-screen marketing is bigger than just the holiday season. According to Internet guru Mary Meeker, mobile is the main source of growth in Internet usage. That changes a lot of things for marketers. Smart connected devices – along with advanced screen technologies – means our long-held notions of where, when and how publishers and advertisers can engage with consumers no longer applies. We’ve already witnessed an explosion in the number of smart connected devices (in the home, the car and those we can wear) arrive, and more will come as a result of the Internet of Things.Continue reading →
By Benjamin Johnson, Product Manager and Caleb Sotelo, Software Engineer at OpenX
A complete ad server outage is rare, which is why the DFP outage of a few weeks ago generated such widespread coverage. These days, most advertising technology platforms are SaaS (Software as a Service), so there is always a chance of an outage due to problems with servers.
However highly unlikely an event, it’s always best to be prepared. OpenX and other leading ad servers provide tools to allow publishers to ensure a best possible user experience, even in the midst of an unlikely event.
Below is our Top Five best practices for implementing ads during a server situation so that content still loads quickly, your user experience remains unaffected, and, crucially, that enables you to take immediate steps to mitigate any potential revenue loss.
They say that necessity is the mother of all invention. The New York Times, is a case in point. Faced with long-term financial challenges, the Times staked its future on its website to attract advertising revenue:
“We hope and believe the website — whether by selling ads or by selling subscriptions — will make money. The long-range future of the New York Times and of quality journalism depends on that” -Bill Keller, “Talk to the Newsroom,” April 10, 2006
The Times has embraced a variety of creative advertising, including native, to do the job. On 19 November 2014, the publisher pushed the envelope again when it ran its first print native ad; Shell was the brand.
Recently, Advertising Age published a story on URL masking, a new scourge plaguing the digital advertising industry. URL masking is when publishers misrepresent their URLs to inventory buyers, often to trick them into buying impressions on sites with illicit or stolen content. Technically, humans see these ads however OpenX still considers it to be ad fraud. The article quotes John Murphy, Head of Market Quality at OpenX, who explains some of OpenX’s strategies for combatting URL masking. One thing is certain: OpenX is taking action, John’s team fights URL masking with a crawler that monitors sites that are not qualified for the OpenX Exchange. It flags sites where the crawler sees an OpenX tag, indicating that the company placed an ad there nonetheless.
How do you merge all demand classes – particularly real-time bidding and network demand – into one big cohesive auction? OpenX’s co-founder and CRO, Jason Fairchild, takes to the white board to explain OpenX’s Demand Fusion™ in full detail.
In this brief video on ExchangeWire, Jason explains why the OpenX approach to a supply-side platform is truly unique in the industry. He illustrates how traditional SSPs work, and then compares it to the OpenX SSP and the inner workings of Demand Fusion.
Demand Fusion, as Jason points out, solves the historical problem of the wildly divergent business models used by ad networks and real-time bidders. These models prevent publishers from getting the best possible prices for their inventory because it artificially segregates competition.
If you’re interested understanding how publishers can bundle various demands sources but running low on time, make sure to watch this short video.
Murray Phillipson, Platform Demand Director for EMEA
In a recent MediaPost article, Sean Hargrave wondered if agencies will have a role in a programmatic future.
On the one hand, the future does seem a bit shaky for agencies. After all, more and more brands are bringing programmatic in-house in order to reduce costs as well as keep all of the campaign data and learnings closer to home. But is programmatic self-serve for everybody?
To start, setting up a programmatic campaign requires a bit of skill. The trafficker must strike the right balance of flight time, frequency of changes in offers and promotions, complexity of targeting and frequency tactics used, as well as performance and pacing goals.
Ongoing optimization requires a whole other skillset. Programmatic campaigns need continuous time and attention in order to reap the strategic benefits of the tactic, such as audience discovery and other learnings.
The second week of October 2014 saw the launch of 
he Times has embraced a variety of creative advertising, including native, to do the job. On 19 November 2014, the publisher pushed the envelope again when it ran its 