AOP Premium Publisher Alliance Announced in UK

AppNexus appointed as technology platform

London, UK – The Association of Online Publishers (AOP), today announced the formation of a premium publisher alliance for the UK, empowering publishers to capitalise on increasing demand for scale and quality in programmatic advertising. The alliance delivers a Private Marketplace (PMP) that offers buyers a carefully curated, brand-safe and context-rich source of inventory and audiences at scale.  At launch it will include inventory and audience data from Telegraph Media Group, ESI Media, Time Inc., Haymarket Media Group, Dennis Publishing Ltd, Auto Trader, Future Plc, Sift Media, and Bauer Consumer Media Ltd.

The development of the alliance is led by a steering committee within the AOP that comprises a number of leading UK publishers. After an extensive tendering process, the committee unanimously selected AppNexus as the technology platform to oversee the formation of the PMP.

The AOP will appoint a manager and operations team to work with its publishers and AppNexus to cement the alliance as a leading PMP and destination for buyers to securely buy premium inventory at scale.

“The unprecedented growth in advertising technology and automated ad platforms presented a real challenge to publishers looking to operate within a premium marketplace environment. The AOP is working collaboratively with its members to maximise ROI and deliver one marketplace comprising brand-safe inventory from the UK’s leading publishers,” commented Tim Faircliff, Chairman of AOP.

Faircliff continued: “AppNexus was selected because of its experience in delivering similar publisher alliances, its strong track record in enabling programmatic demand, and the overall flexibility of the underlying technology.”

Nigel Gilbert, UK VP of Strategic Development at AppNexus, said: “We are delighted to be selected as the technology platform of choice for this initiative and look forward to working with the AOP, leading UK publishers, and the media buying community to create a PMP of real and unique value.”

Further announcements relating to the development of the alliance will be made public in the next few months.

About AOP

The UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP) is an industry body representing digital publishing companies that create original, branded, quality content. AOP champions the interests of media owners from diverse backgrounds including newspaper and magazine publishing, TV and radio broadcasting, and pure online media.

For more information, please visit www.ukaop.org.

About AppNexus

AppNexus is a technology company that provides trading solutions and powers marketplaces for Internet advertising. Its open, unified, and powerful programmatic platform empowers customers to more effectively buy and sell media, allowing them to innovate, differentiate, and transform their businesses. As the world’s largest independent ad tech company, AppNexus is led by the pioneers of the web’s original ad exchanges. Headquartered in New York City with 22 global offices, AppNexus employs more than 800 of the brightest minds in advertising and technology who believe that advertising powers the Internet. For more information, follow us at @AppNexus or visit us at www.AppNexus.com.