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DataView: The DataXu Blog

Category: advertising

  • Search and Display: Has Convergence Arrived?
    08/23/2010 | Categories: , , , , , , , ,

    By Mike Baker, President & CEO, Dataxu

    For years, many have viewed paid search advertising as the most simple and measurable form of online advertising. But with the growth of display ad exchanges and demand side platforms to manage the buying, display advertising has “gotten back in the efficiency game,” relying more squarely on data and bottom funnel metrics, and less on clicks and views.

    Building on the data-driven approach championed by search engine marketers, demand side platforms are now enabling display advertisers to replace much of the guess work of traditional media plans with bidding algorithms built on the learnings from a campaign as it runs. Borrowing even more literally from search, advertisers are now starting to use consumer search data to retarget display advertising.

    So, are search engine marketing and exchange traded display advertising ready for their convergence moment? Will search agencies successfully cross over into data-driven display practices? I recently spoke with Dax Hamman, VP display media at iCrossing, a Hearst-owned global digital marketing agency, to discuss these and other questions.

    Mike Baker: Search advertising, by its nature, is highly measurable. In your role as a display advertising evangelist in an agency with its roots in SEM, how do you educate clients about the value of display campaigns and their unique metrics?

    Dax Hamman: iCrossing has pioneered an approach to display that is particularly effective in ROI situations, focusing on talking to the individual expressing intent rather than simply shouting at the crowd. This approach is much more familiar to a search marketer and therefore is understood more by our client base than premium CPM buying and home page takeovers.

    Often, the hardest leap a search marketer must take is how to measure the campaign. SEM is very click based and an action is easily tied to a result. Display conversely relies more on post-impression data, a continuing hot topic amongst marketers in general. At iCrossing, we advise clients to run quantifiable studies to benchmark the post-impression results and determine what should be accounted for. This is often enough to alleviate any concerns.

    MB: Expertise in search engine marketing and display advertising has traditionally resided in separate domains – for both agencies and their clients. What will it take to successfully bridge that divide?

    DH: Agencies often structure themselves to suit the needs of a client, and while clients continue to typically manage SEM and display out of separate budgets with distinct goals, agencies will provide two teams of specialists. At iCrossing, we have merged SEM and display into one single media practice and have been cross-training individuals in order to find the synergies that may exist. This “new” world of exchange buying makes display planners think more quantifiably and bid-based like a search marketer and so the two camps are more aligned. Sometimes questions arise such as “who should manage a performance campaign that uses real time bidding” as you need both types of expertise working together. Quite simply, we can provide the framework for both parties to learn the other’s trade, and then the more experience each person gains, the quicker the synergies will come.

    MB: What can search advertisers learn from display advertising, and vice versa?

    DH: Like any form of marketing, display and search do not sit in silos, therefore the learnings from one channel should inform the other. There are some specific cases though where the learnings are more direct. iCrossing has been testing search retargeting, with Yahoo for instance. We also have been buying the data directly, of which there are now several including Magnetic, Chango and Simpli.fi. The success of these campaigns is in part based on selecting the right keywords, of which the SEM campaign is the richest source of learning.

    We also see cases where a SEM campaign can be improved by understanding why certain contextual buys in display are effective and what messaging works best. For instance, the iCrossing display team will often provide the creative units for a banner campaign on the Google Content Network for the SEM team to run.

    MB: Cross-channel, multi-format convergence is the “holy grail” of digital advertising. How close are we? What role will the big three (Google, Yahoo, MSN) search engines play in making this vision a reality? This may be controversial, but do you view them as partners, competitors, or both?

    DH: As an industry, we move closer and closer to convergence every day, and the benefits are being felt by brands already. The big 3 are certainly a factor in this, but we see them as more partner than competitor, educating search marketers about techniques such as display retargeting, and making it easy to buy it and place it. With the typical size and complexity of our clients, we do not see any of the engines being a sole provider to any of them. For smaller brands and smaller agencies I think the threat is greater – the reality is there are very few needs that a marketer at a small company cannot fulfill with Google.

    DSPs like DataXu will be at the center of the convergence as more and more media comes together. I do not see just display or even display and search together being bought through such a platform, but potentially all media, including offline.

    (This article also ran on ClickZ on 8/23: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1728864/search-display-has-convergence-arrived)


  • DataXu Helps iCrossing Extend Search Services into Display Traded Media
    08/17/2010 | Categories: , , , , , , , ,

    Today we announced our partnership with Global Digital Marketing Agency iCrossing.

    DataXu was selected as iCrossing’s Demand Side Platform, helping extend iCrossing’s growing display services into the exchange-traded display media market.

    Already leaders in the search marketing space, this partnership will further develop iCrossing’s display offering, guiding clients’ media buying strategy with sophisticated decisioning and audience buying technology.  Mirroring iCrossing’s search-advertising efficiencies, DataXu’s machine-learning technology creates advertiser-specific algorithms as well as simple pricing and targeting controls to guide display campaigns and improve ad performance.

    “The convergence of search and display is all about data.  We’re pleased to be working with an industry leader to define the next generation of data driven marketing,” said Mike Baker, President & CEO, DataXu.

    Both DataXu and iCrossing will be speaking at SES San San Francisco this week.  Per our most recent post, DataXu’s CEO Mike Baker will be participating in a SES panel on the topic of “Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap from Search to Display.”

    Today’s full press release is available at: http://www.dataxu.com/news/DataXuDSPforiCrossing.php


  • DataXu’s VP Sales to Speak on ‘Evolution of Display’ at FRWD Event in Minneapolis
    08/04/2010 | Categories: , , , , , ,

    DataXu’s VP of Sales and Go- to-Market strategy Steven Golus will speak at the FRWD event: “Pushing Boundaries: Exploring the Evolving World of Display Media”, on August 11 in Minneapolis.  The event will consist of an afternoon of discussions with industry leading Publishers, Demand Side Platforms, Data Aggregators, Verification and Survey tools providers.

    Steven will speak on the first panel of the day at 1:30 p.m. CT on the topic of “Leveraging Data in Display Targeting.” Joined by Brad King from BlueKai and Frost Prioleau of Simpli.fi, Steven will be discussing the integration of 3rd party and 1st party data into online display campaigns.

    Pushing Boundaries: Exploring the Evolving World of Display Media
    When: Wednesday Aug. 11, 2010

    Time: Registration- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CT
    Program- 1:00 PM- 5:00 PM CT
    Happy Hour- 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM CT

    Where: Fine Line Music Cafe: http://www.finelinemusic.com/directions.html

    Cost: FREE

    To learn more and register for this free event, see: http://www.frwdco.com/events/


  • Mike Baker in 140 Characters
    07/23/2010 | Categories: , , , , , , , , , ,

    Per our recent blog post, DataXu CEO Mike Baker was a busy man this week. He was in L.A. Monday for an OMMA AdNets panel in the afternoon and Dapper panel in the evening. Then off to Chicago on Tuesday for a panel at the Right Media Open.

    With 3 panels in 2 days, Mike had plenty to say; in fact the Twittersphere did a great job of capturing some nuggets from each of Mike’s panels. But if you weren’t at the events, we thought these 140 character sound bites might be confusing, see the below for some additional context and detail from Mike Baker…

    • MB: This was part of a discussion regarding the increasing complexity of the media buying and ad technology space. Here I was making the point that instead of existing companies innovating to include new features, what seems to be happening is that entirely new companies are popping up with products that could have simply been rolled into existing technology platforms thus the space gets more complex and crowded.
    • MB: At the Right Media Open, I was on a panel about the evolution of agencies in the digital media world. I’ve always been of the mind that machine-learning technology, like that of DataXu, can handle the tactical execution of media buying and planning, allowing overburdened media buyers  to focus their energy and time on more strategic marketing initiatives.
    • MB: As I wrote about on Forbes.com a few months back, Google’s acquisition of Invite Media and expansion into the DSP (Demand Side Platform) space is exciting and validating for DSP technology, but there are still some concerns around Google’s neutrality.  Google is the largest digital media seller, yet they’re going to remain an impartial  buy- side advocate for OMG?  Seems unlikely.

    Stay tuned for more event news and updates and remember, you can always find us on Twitter at @dataxuinc!


  • Industry Leaders Collaborate to Make Digital Advertising More Efficient
    07/16/2010 | Categories: , , , , , , , ,

    Digital is the fastest growing and arguably most strategic sector of the advertising market, yet an agency executive recently told me that transaction costs are 300 percent greater than for television.

    As is often the case with rapidly innovating industries, marketers are struggling to master and manage the media planning and buying workflow.  With the recent launch of a coalition dedicated to developing industry standards, it seems that we may finally be able to make the business of digital advertising more efficient.

    The complicated display advertising ecosystem (see diagram here) exacerbates work flow issues for agencies and their clients.  Campaign data gets pushed through third party intermediaries, ad networks and exchanges, demand side platforms and more.  Reporting, tracking and reconciliation tends to be manual and thus very inefficient.

    Last week, Interpublic and Microsoft announced “MOMS” (Media Operations Management System), a program to overhaul the workflow involved in planning and buying digital media. The hope is that The American Association of Advertising Agencies will expand the initiative to a coalition of agencies, marketers, media and technology solution providers; developing standards for streamlining digital advertising with automated technology processes.

    Beyond removing needless cost, initiatives like this inevitably streamline the ecosystem, hopefully weeding out the low value middle men that populate the landscape today, and shining a light on what specific points of value each vendor is providing.  No doubt that these reform initiatives will become increasingly important to the industry’s survival much less growth over the next 5 years, with additional holding companies announcing similar efforts and embracing technology standards that will allow them to better leverage economies of scale in the age of digital data.

    In fact, we’ve seen similar reform efforts in other industries; from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems streamlining resource allocation in the enterprise, to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) making B2B transactions more standardized and efficient, and even recent efforts in the medical industry to address the security and privacy of health data with the Health Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

    Why is the advertising industry so late to the game?

    - Mike Baker, CEO, DataXu

    (**This piece was also posted on the MarketShare blog at Forbes.com: http://blogs.forbes.com/marketshare/2010/07/16/digital-advertising-efficiency-agencies-ad-networks/)


  • DataXu’s Mike Baker Makes the Rounds – 2 days, 3 Events
    07/12/2010 | Categories: , , , , , , , , ,

    They say you can’t be everything to everyone, but for DataXu CEO Mike Baker you CAN be everywhere with everyone.  Next week, Mike will be speaking at 3 different industry events.

    12:15 p.m. PT, Monday, July 19, 2010:

    OMMA AdNets – Los Angeles, CA

    An annual OMMA event, this year’s OMMA AdNets seeks to uncover the value in the many layers of the digital advertising ecosystem. Mike will be speaking on a pre-lunch panel, at 12:15 p.m. PT, titled “Simplify the Stack: Fighting the New Cost and Complexity of Media Buying.” Moderated by David Szetala, CEO, Clix Marketing and joined by panelists from Razorfish, Click Forensics and Catalyst, Mike will discuss strategies for improving the efficiency of the media buying process.

    7:00 p.m. PT, Monday July 19, 2010:

    Dapper Fixing Advertising Panel – Los Angeles, CA

    Co-hosted by the Rubicon Project, Fixing Advertising Los Angeles will explore the tremendous changes and opportunities in display advertising today as innovations in user data, intelligent media buying, and dynamic creative drive new efficiencies and performance gains – at a remarkable scale. The panel will also take a deep dive into the ways that the new data-driven ecosystem is affecting publishers, including insights into which data is owned by publishers, how well they are represented by supply-side platforms and whether or not they are capturing enough of the value chain. The panel will be moderated by Peter Kim, General Manager, Yahoo! Smart Ads, and joining Mike as panelists will be executives from The Rubicon Project, Triggit and more.

    2:30 p.m. CT, Tuesday, July 20, 2010:

    Right Media Open – Chicago, IL

    Yahoo’s Right Media Open is an annual event that brings together online advertising leaders to share insights and discuss industry challenges.  This year’s event will be keynoted by Terence Kawaja, Managing Director, GCA Savvian and Randall Rothenberg, President & CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Mike will be on a panel alongside executives from Cadreon, MEC and MediaBank to discuss the question, “How Are Agencies Evolving to Meet the Digital Future?”

    Stay tuned for additional insights, content and recaps from these events.


  • Agencies Grapple with Ad Technology and its Place in a Services Business
    06/25/2010 | Categories: , , , , , , , ,

    There’s been a wave of innovation in online advertising over the past year; new ad technology made just for ad buyers (DSPs) are quickly gaining traction as a way to improve media effectiveness and realize operational efficiencies.  DSP’s give agencies a powerful new tool, but the emergence of “buy side technology” is forcing them to grapple with a tricky new issue: how best to build a new technology core into an old services business model.

    Some agencies have decided that forming strategic partnerships with external technology providers is the way to go.  Others believe that the best strategy is to try to develop the technology themselves.  While it’s too early to conclude the winning approach, this is an issue that smart clients will monitor as the digital era marches on because it will affect not only agency performance, but also the basic economic structure of the agency-client relationship.

    In-house ad tech
    The in-house technology approach is probably best embodied by WPP, with its 2007 acquisition of ad network and technology firm 24/7 Real Media.  Since the acquisition, WPP has done a nice job of using these assets to grow an internal innovation engine known as MIG (Media Innovation Group).  In a recent interview, MIG’s Brian Lesser explained some of the reasons for their continued investment in proprietary ad technology:

    • More holistic media strategy – can alleviate issues that result from a fragmented media buying approach and result in a more efficient media spend.
    • Data-driven marketing – integration of client data throughout the agency’s decision-making process informs the marketing strategy and results in more valuable insights to guide the clients’ campaigns.
    • Less data exposure – with in-house ad technology, proprietary data is pushed solely through an agency’s platform and is thus able to be leveraged exclusively by the agency.

    Third party ad tech
    Alternatively, Publicis and Omnicom have weighed in as favoring partnerships with external ad technology providers.  Curt Hecht of Publicis’ Vivaki business unit recently discussed with AdExchanger their partnership with Internet giant Google, which includes use of Google’s new “house DSP” Invite Media (acquired by Google last month).  And  Omnicom’s Randall Weisenburger explained to ClickZ that they have opted against building an in-house DSP because of the vast benefits technology partners can provide to clients:

    • Greater access to innovation – when agencies partner with outside technology vendors, they can innovate more quickly and better align with client needs.
    • Focus on core competence – agency resources can be focused on larger strategic considerations that are core to the agency.
    • Less risk of agency bias in media buying decisions – advertisers can be confident that an agency’s recommended technology strategy will not be influenced by an in-house proprietary service.

    Ultimately, these different approaches are still very new and only time will tell what truly makes the most sense for the agency and for its clients.  But just as advertisers want to know about an agency’s creative approach, it’s now best practice to dig into their technology roadmap.

    - Mike Baker, CEO, DataXu

    (**This piece was also posted on the MarketShare blog at Forbes.com: http://bit.ly/d0hEX3)


  • The 5 Signs of Cultural Transformation in the Media Business
    06/07/2010 | Categories: , , , , , , ,

    I just finished reading “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine,” an excellent book about the financial crisis of 2007-2008, by Michael Lewis, one of the most entertaining and perceptive story tellers of our generation.  I actually had the pleasure of meeting Michael Lewis the other day and hearing his views on a number of topics, the common thread being “cultural transformation” in industries where, as he put it, “aspects of what they are doing don’t make sense anymore.” Naturally, this led me to ask him about the business of advertising and media.

    In his first book, “Liar’s Poker,” Lewis observed a cultural transformation changing the business of bond and securities trading at Salomon Brothers.  Why?  In his view, cheap computing power led a “rapid intellectualization” of the field.  So Vinny, the high school graduate from New Jersey with hair coming up from under his shirt, now had to run his bond trades next to a PhD from MIT who could use mathematical models to understand the option value of the security.  As a recent Ivy League graduate, Lewis was given the advice: don’t socialize with Vinny – he might hit you!

    In “Moneyball,” Lewis chronicled this same “intellectualization” of the sports industry, as Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s relied on complex statistical techniques to scout and hire the most promising baseball players.  Rather than rely on dated but widely accepted measures of performance, like runs batted in and batting average, people like Beane used the new less obvious measures, like on-base percentage, to identify under-valued talent.

    With apologies to Lewis, I offer below my thoughts on how he might one day tell the story of a similar cultural transformation of the advertising and media business:

    1. Something the industry has been doing doesn’t make sense? Check

    • As the consumer migration to digital media roars on, the business of providing and monetizing the media is more manual and inefficient than ever; basic things like counting, tracking, and improving the performance of advertising are staffed by small armies of low paid workers.

    2.    Cheap computing power disrupting the traditional economic structure of the business? Check

    • As advertisers look for “faces rather than places”, engaging audience is emerging as the focus rather than placing advertising is premium media contexts.   Google has shown the world that with the right data and algorithms you can conquer the media world.

    3.    Math geeks are using advanced analytic techniques to better predict investment ROI? Check

    • Predictive analytics, data models, and machine learning algorithms are starting to substantially improve the targeting of advertising and reduce waste.

    4.    Tensions exist between the old guard and the new? Check

    • There’s a growing stream of angry sounding “algorithms don’t matter” posts from traditional advertising types, although unlike Vinny I don’t think they like to hit people.

    5.    The “new math” is creating new winners and losers? Check

    • I recently spoke to a senior manager in a media agency who told me that his algorithm-powered “media trading desk” (which buys media through online ad exchanges) produced more profit in its first year of operation than the entire traditional media buying agency from which it was spun out.

    The forces at work in the media business are indeed familiar, and most now agree that we are on the cusp of a transformation of the business itself.   I’m looking forward to perhaps one day reading Lewis’ account of it.  Meanwhile, let’s hope the leaders of this industry learn from the mistakes made by Wall Street.

    - Mike Baker, CEO, DataXu

    (**This piece was also posted on the MarketShare blog at Forbes.com – http://blogs.forbes.com/marketshare/2010/06/07/michael-lewis-and-the-cultural-transformation-of-the-media-business/ )


  • DataXu CEO Speaking at IAB Networks & Exchanges Event
    04/30/2010 | Categories: , , , , ,

    On Monday, May 3rd DataXu CEO Mike Baker will be in NYC to speak at the IAB’s Marketplace event: Networks & Exchanges. Mike will discuss RTB, DSP and the future of digital advertising on a panel moderated by Jay Sears, General Manager of ContextWeb’s ADSDAQ Exchange.

    The Networks & Exchanges event brings together luminaries from across the advertising ecosystem to help advertisers navigate the complicated ad buying space by defining the field, detailing successful campaigns, breaking down the value and offering a look at what the future holds—and where the next opportunities lie.

    Mike will be speaking alongside Sloan Broderick, Managing Director, MediaCom Interaction; Steve Katelman, VP, Publisher Development, Omnicom; and, Philip Smolin, General Manager, Platform Solutions, Turn on a panel titled “Looking Forward: RTB, DSP…OMG!?!”

    Event Details
    What: Networks & Exchanges: IAB Marketplace
    Panel Discussion: “Looking Forward: RTB, DSP…OMG!?!”
    Who: Mike Baker, DataXu, CEO
    When: Monday, May 3, 2010 at 5:25 p.m. ET
    Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel – New York, NY

    The event is SOLD OUT, but you can sign up to be on the waiting list here: http://www.iab.net/events_training/ne2010/register