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Category: display advertising

• DataXu MarketPulse: “Comparing Exchange Targeting Strategies: Following the Crowd Will Cost You”
  09/09/2010 | Categories: ad optimization, advertising optimization, audience buying, audience targeting, digital advertising, digital media, display advertising, MarketPulse, media buying, retargeting

  Today, we released our fourth MarketPulse  newsletter, a regular publication utilizing DataXu’s proprietary data to uncover and reveal interesting trends in digital advertising.  This month’s issue compares exchange targeting strategies – Audience Targeting, Retargeting and Optimization – to find the real cost of the media.

  The full pdf is available here: DataXu MarketPulse_Exchange Trading Strategies_September 2010 and below is snapshot of the report.

  DataXu MarketPulse: September 2010

  “Comparing Exchange Targeting Strategies: Following the Crowd Will Cost You”

  

  This analysis was prepared averaging cost of media across campaigns for consumer electronics, financial services, software, and automotive.
  
  

  Data Highlights:

  • The cost of media for Optimized ROE is 1.2X more expensive than media for general ROE buys
  • The cost of media for Audience Targeting is 3X more expensive than ROE (but effectiveness as measured by CPA was 2.7x better for Optimized ROE than for Audience Targeting)
  • The cost of media for Retargeting is on average 3X more expensive than ROE
  “The data shows what the smart media buyers know: Audience Targeting and Retargeting are effective, but the scarcity of placement opportunities causes media prices to spike and impedes campaign scale,” said Sandro Catanzaro, VP of Analytics and Innovation. “Optimization, however, is not similarly constrained as it works across a much wider swath of impressions, which enables more buying efficiency and scale.”

  For the full MarketPulse report, you can download the pdf here: DataXu MarketPulse_Exchange Trading Strategies_September 2010

  DataXu’s MarketPulse explores the data that defines today’s digital advertising marketplace. Sign up here to have future MarketPulse newsletters delivered directly to your inbox.

  
  
• The other meaning of “ROI”
  09/07/2010 | Categories: ad optimization, data driven decisioning, digital media, display advertising, DSP, Mobile, mobile advertising

  Every advertiser seeks better “ROI” (return on investment).  Since we launched the first version of our platform — less than a year ago! – it’s been gratifying to see many big brands and agencies embrace our solution to drive better ROI from online display.

  But  “ROI” has another meaning, and it’s equally important:  “Rate Of Innovation”.  This kind of ROI is measured by how quickly a company can innovate in response to a new opportunity or problem.  And as digital transforms the media and advertising landscape, it’s increasingly apparent that the winners will be determined by Rate of Innovation.

  So today, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of the industry’s first Mobile demand side platform (DSP).  This is a sort of homecoming for many at DataXu, who came to us from Enpocket, a trail- blazing mobile marketing company with a reputation for innovation and high customer satisfaction.

  Indeed, the DataXu “tribe” — employees, customers, partners, investors and friends – is formed by a shared belief in rapid and relentless innovation, in rejecting “good enough”, in solving hard problems for customers, in the power of technology to improve business, and more importantly, our lives.

  As a repeat winner in the business of growing digital media companies, I’m often asked “how do you tell the winners from the losers”?  it’s actually pretty simple: look to a company’s rate of innovation.  In times of disruption and change, “snapshots” are not meaningful; you need to see the “motion picture”.  So if you’re a brand or agency evaluating ad tech partners, dig into both kinds of ROI!  And stay tuned for a steady stream of innovations from DataXu …

  
  
• Search and Display: Has Convergence Arrived?
  08/23/2010 | Categories: advertising, data, data driven decisioning, demand side platform, display advertising, DSP, online advertising, search advertising, trends

  

  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: advertising, advertising optimization, data, demand side platform, digital media, display advertising, DSP, media buying, search advertising

  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

  
  
• Mike Baker to Discuss Search & Display at Connected Marketing Week
  08/10/2010 | Categories: display advertising, DSP, events, IAB

  

  DataXu’s Mike Baker will be speaking on two panels during Day 3 (August 18) of Connected Marketing Week at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

  Mike will begin his day at SES San Francisco, speaking at an 11:00 a.m. PT panel on the topic of “Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap from Search to Display.”  The group will discuss how search advertisers can make the leap from search to display with Demand Side Platforms (like DataXu!). Mike will be joined on the panel by executives from mexad, Yahoo! and Local.com.

  For more information on this panel and the full SES San Francisco agenda, see: http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/sanfrancisco/agenda.php

  Then Mike will head over to the IAB “Future of Display: Networks & Exchanges” event for a 3:30 p.m. PT panel on the topic of “RTB, DSP, WTF: Is Everyone a Media Trader?” Mike will speak alongside spokespeople from Triggit, AppNexus, The Trade Desk and more, discussing how real time bidding and demand side platforms have changed the role of the media buyer.

  For more information on this panel and the full IAB Future of Display agenda, see: http://www.connectedmarketingweek.com/agenda.php#day3

  
  

• DataXu’s VP Sales to Speak on ‘Evolution of Display’ at FRWD Event in Minneapolis
  08/04/2010 | Categories: advertising, data, data driven decisioning, digital advertising, display advertising, events, trends

  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/

  
  
• DataXu’s Mike Baker Makes the Rounds – 2 days, 3 Events
  07/12/2010 | Categories: advertising, data, digital advertising, digital media, display advertising, events, media buying, online advertising, performance, Yahoo!

  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.

  
  
• DataXu Joins Yahoo’s Demand-Side Platform Pilot Program
  03/15/2010 | Categories: demand side platform, display advertising, DSP, innovation, real-time bidding, RTB, Yahoo!

  Big news today: Yahoo has today announced their demand-side platform pilot program (see Yahoo’s announcement). This marks a significant milestone in the emergence of demand-side platforms and real time bidding because the industry’s largest publisher is embracing this new paradigm.

  We are pleased to be one of the demand-side platform partners selected to participate. Yahoo has a great history of innovation through leadership when it comes to display advertising, and we look forward to working with them—along with major agencies and advertisers—to create a sustainable ecosystem that makes digital advertising more effective. We share Yahoo’s vision that innovations such as RTB will benefit all participants.