Ad Operations Online » Ad & Media Strategies

New Kantar Solution Optimizes Campaigns Based On Impact

Otilia Otlacan — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:00:02 +0000

New Kantar Solution Gives Advertisers the Power to Go Beyond Reach and Optimize Campaigns Based on Impact

Compete, Dynamic Logic, DoubleVerify integrate audience, ad viewability, brand and behavioral data into a single measurement and optimization solution

Boston, MA – Leading digital insights and Kantar Group companies Dynamic Logic and Compete have teamed up with DoubleVerify, the pioneer in online media verification and viewability, to launch Advance™ − an integrated solution that provides marketers the insights needed to optimize digital media campaigns based on brand, behavioral and sales impact.

Advance is the only solution in the industry to combine exposure metrics (audience composition, reach and viewability) with effectiveness measures (brand, behavior and sales outcomes) into a unified reporting and optimization system.

The Advance platform addresses the measurement struggles advertisers, agencies and publishers face in aligning key data and increasing marketing ROI. Advance provides end users with more control over the data needed to make critical media selection, placement and creative decisions. Rather than being limited to basic measures of audience reached, media planners can now incorporate brand, behavioral and sales impact data as inputs into their optimization decisions. This new capability brings increased transparency to media planning and performance, enabling well-informed changes in real time and ultimately brand and sales lifts – the key drivers of marketing ROI.

“While digital media is thought to be more measurable than traditional media, there have been blind spots preventing advertisers from really understanding their digital media ROI,” said Yaakov Kimelfeld, Chief Research Officer of Compete. “Advance removes these blinds spots with a holistic tool that enables optimization focused not just on reach and impressions, but squarely on advertiser impact.”

Advance reports on the four critical aspects of a campaign in a single interface: Audience Target Reached, Ad Viewability, Brand Impact and Behavioral Impact. The platform includes a real-time analytics dashboard to provide planners with the ability to adjust campaigns “in-flight” and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of digital spend. In addition, a cost-analysis calculator enables planners to input media costs and compare Effective CPM, Effective CPP (cost–per–point), Viewable CPM rates and Cost-Per-Impact.

“Until now, optimization solutions have focused primarily on campaign delivery; but GRPs or TRPs alone are not sufficient,” said Michelle Eule, SVP of Digital Solutions at Dynamic Logic. “Advertisers and planners now have a more complete formula for evaluating the success of their campaigns using unique metrics such as Impacted Audience and Cost-Per-Impact to optimize how they reach their target audiences.”

“We’re excited to partner with Compete and Dynamic Logic to help solve the performance measurement gaps that exist in online marketing today,” said Wayne Gatinella, CEO, DoubleVerify. “Together we can build a better industry that enables brand advertisers and their agencies to achieve optimal media performance and insights.”

Additional benefits of the Advance solution include:

• Customizable demographic and behavioral audience definitions to pinpoint reach within the audience segments that advertisers value the most

• Verification and viewability technology that is accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC), adheres to 3Ms standards and is used by more than two hundred Fortune 500 brands

• Streamlined tagging solution that leverages existing workflow and is already merged into most media buying platforms

• Normative insights for brand and behavioral measures; brand impact metrics are benchmarked against norms from thousands of other campaigns and correlate with changes in brand equity

• Customizable reporting and deliverables that extend client insights into cross-media, cross-device and cross-channel applications

“By bringing delivery, attitudinal and behavioral data together, Advance allows us to understand how optimizing against one metric is impacting the others in real time, which is critical not just for managing complex digital campaigns but for elevating the level of insights we provide for our clients,” said Hilary Kolman, Director, Analytics & Insight at MEC.

“In our client work we always focus on delivering a holistic view of metrics and KPIs so as to optimize and truly drive performance,” says Tommy Wiles, Associate Director, Strategy & Analysis, Digitas. “Advance’s dashboard has made the process of creating a full picture view easier by putting all of our reporting data in a single, easy-to-use interface.”

Live Webinar

The companies will introduce Advance and share insights in a webinar entitled “A New Formula for Optimization: Optimize Digital Ad Campaigns Based on Impact” on June 6th at 2 p.m. EDT. Please register for free at: http://success.compete.com/newformula.

www.compete.com/us/products/advance

About Compete
Compete (www.compete.com) provides digital insights that helps the world’s top brands improve their marketing based on the online behavior of millions of consumers. Compete’s offerings are fueled by the largest integrated online consumer behavior and survey panel in the industry. Consumer and media insights are interpreted by analytical experts in the automotive, entertainment, financial services, media, mobile, packaged goods, retail, technology, telecom and travel markets to deliver data and recommendations to create effective online experiences and highly profitable advertising campaigns.

About Dynamic Logic
Dynamic Logic (www.dynamiclogic.com) is the world leader in digital insights. Founded in 1999 as a pioneer of the digital revolution, Dynamic Logic helped establish the Internet\’s true marketing value to businesses by developing solutions that measure beyond click-through to quantify the full brand impact of online advertising. As part of Millward Brown, Dynamic Logic continues to lead the industry — developing innovations to optimize and track digital ad impact, specializing in emerging media platforms, and integrating insights across all digital and non-digital media. For marketers, agencies, and publishers alike, Dynamic Logic offers the most cutting-edge and adaptable solutions to make the most of every digital marketing dollar.

About DoubleVerify
DoubleVerify (www.doubleverify.com) is the world leader in online media transparency, accountability and effectiveness insights. MRC-accredited, DoubleVerify is the top choice of brand marketers, agencies, advertising networks, demand side platforms, exchanges and digital publishers looking to ensure quality advertising environments, campaign transparency and performance. DoubleVerify validates over 60 billion advertising impressions per month for hundreds of Fortune 500 brands, advertising networks and media platforms. DoubleVerify was conferred the World Economic Forum 2012 Technology Pioneer Award for being one of the most innovative stakeholders in the technology space. Headquartered in New York City, DoubleVerify’s investors include JMI Equity, Institutional Venture Partners, Blumberg Capital, First Round Capital and Genacast Ventures.

DataXu Introduces the Industry’s First Algorithm Marketplace

Otilia Otlacan — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:06 +0000

Programmatic Marketing Platform Employs Data Science to Drive Business Goals with Unprecedented Choice and Flexibility

Boston – DataXu today introduced the industry’s first Algorithm Marketplace, a major new addition to its enterprise programmatic marketing platform that leverages data science to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of digital advertising. The Marketplace is a library of algorithms created over time from DataXu’s experience solving clients’ complex marketing problems. For the first time, dozens of algorithms are available to users in one place, so brands and their agencies get complete transparency and control of their advertising investment strategies. Marketers can also continue to innovate and collaborate with DataXu to develop custom algorithms that address their business’ unique opportunities and challenges.

“The Algorithm Marketplace helps brands drive sales through data science,” said Mike Baker, CEO of DataXu. “We’ve worked with our clients to solve difficult business problems requiring advanced targeting rules and optimization techniques. We’re excited to codify our learnings and share them in a scalable, easy-to-use way. It’s like putting a data scientist at our customers’ fingertips – now they can confidently target and optimize digital ad investments based on real-time data to improve ROI.”

Marketers looking to capitalize on the programmatic aspects of digital marketing have been frustrated by the one-size fits all approach to targeting and optimization, forcing them to juggle multiple platforms and partners, which leads to higher staff and vendor costs, loss of data and reporting inconsistencies. The DataXu Algorithm Marketplace offers marketers a scientific “test and learn” methodology to continually refresh campaign models based on learnings acquired over time. The continuous cycle of testing, learning and executing plus the flexibility of the DataXu Platform gives marketers the ability and confidence to standardize on one platform that will meet their needs today and tomorrow.

The Marketplace also offers algorithms that tap into attribution and validation models from partners such as Adometry and Nielsen, and smart data sources from partners like eXelate. The intuitive user interface gives guidance on which algorithm is right based on a marketer’s channel, performance, targeting and delivery objectives.

The DataXu Algorithm Marketplace helps marketers:

Customize programs to achieve their own unique business goals
Engage consumers with relevant messages across multiple channels including display, mobile, video and Facebook Exchange
Integrate partner attribution and validation models for better audience insights and results
Apply a test and learn methodology that measures, models and optimizes every individual consumer interaction
Confidently standardize on one platform, avoiding duplicate fees and switching costs

For more information on the DataXu Algorithm Marketplace, a video demo is available.

About DataXu

DataXu is transforming the way companies build their brands in a digital world through the industry’s only fully integrated programmatic marketing solution. The DataXu Platform offers cloud based software that leverages data science to help enterprise marketers better understand and engage consumers, and optimally manage marketing investments for more efficient and effective customer acquisition strategies. With 11 offices in eight countries, DataXu services more than 700 brands across the globe. For more information, visit or follow us at twitter.com/dataxu.

Innovation in Action:

“Adometry solves a problem faced by the world’s top marketers every day—knowing and acting upon what truly influences customer conversions. The DX Algorithm Marketplace allows marketers to leverage Adometry’s best-of-breed attribution solution and their own algorithms in a single platform. The result for marketers will be increased ROI from media buys on DataXu as part of their overall omni-channel media strategy.”- Gad Alon, VP of Business Development for Adometry

“The Algorithm Marketplace combines eXelate’s smart data platform which provides accurate, actionable and agile consumer data and analytics with business rules that will achieve a Brand’s specific marketing objectives. Together, the two address a growing demand for programmatic marketing platforms that provide a single integrated solution for driving smarter marketing decisions that provide immediate top and bottom line impact.” - Mark Zagorski, Chief Executive Officer at eXelate

“Marketing in a digital world is evolving so quickly that one size fits all solutions can’t meet the demands of today’s brands. A solution like the Algorithm Marketplace helps us maximize ROI for each individual client based on their unique business goals and grow with them as their needs change.” – Scott Macdonald, Head of Display at Forward

appssavvy Answers the Industry’s Cries for Scalable, Standard Native Advertising

Otilia Otlacan — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:00:47 +0000

appssavvy’s Activity-Based Ad Units Employ IAB “Rising Stars” Canvasses for Brand Advertising Naturally in a User’s Activity Stream and Native to The Experience

NEW YORK, NY – “Scale” and “standard” are two question marks that often arise about native advertising. appssavvy (www.appssavvy.com) continues to answer these questions with its activity-based advertising platform. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is encouraging adoption of the IAB Rising Stars, new canvasses for brand advertising on digital platforms, but these are too often delivered in a non-native manner. appssavvy fixes this through its activity-based web and mobile ad units.

“Delivering ads in natural placements within the user activity flow is the Holy Grail for advertisers — as is engaging, creative experiences. Using the IAB Rising Stars in-stream delivers a new standard ad unit that is native to the experience and demonstrates the next generation of digital brand advertising,” said Peter Minnium, Head of Brand Initiatives at the IAB.

appssavvy’s activity-based advertising technology platform focused on people’s native activities, reaches an audience of 103 million unique users per month. appssavvy delivers a Full Page Flex mobile “Rising Star” ad unit featuring a full screen experience with interactive functionality. These ads, which are similar on the web, except that they are 600×300 in size, are triggered by people performing activities, such as creating and consuming content, or communicating. Each of these activities, which, today, appssavvy delivers against more than 4 billion per month, provides a natural break within the user flow resulting in better timing, as well as context based on the activity, to drive scalable, standardized native advertising.

“The IAB’s Rising Stars initiative is in lock-step with our vision to rethink the delivery and reception of advertising,” said Chris Cunningham, co-founder and CEO of appssavvy. “As people’s behavior has shifted from page-based media to activity-based, both on the web and mobile, so should how we think about advertising. Through our, now, IAB standard, activity-based ad units native to the digital experience, we’re making advertising better by empowering leading web publishers to get smarter about their inventory and what it’s worth through data and insights, and brands to reach people within natural breaks and when they are most receptive, all in real-time.”

To learn more about the IAB’s Rising Stars, visit: www.iab.net/risingstars.

About appssavvy
appssavvy (www.appssavvy.com) is a technology company with the mission of rethinking the delivery and reception of advertising. Focused on activity, appssavvy redefines how brands reach consumers, creates native ad experiences for publishers, and most importantly, improves advertising through data and insights about real-time behavior. For more information, visit www.appssavvy.com, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/appssavvy) or follow us on Twitter @appssavvy.

BIM Hires Dr. Paul Barford as Chief Scientist to Focus on Ad Optimization and Traffic Quality

Otilia Otlacan — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

UW Computer Science Professor, founder of Nemean Networks, is Expert in Internet Traﬃc Measurement, Large Data Analytics and Internet Security

MADISON, WI - Broadcast Interactive Media (BIM), whose evolving suite of Web, video, and mobile publishing tools help increase client revenues by attracting more traffic and improving ad delivery, today announced that Paul Barford, PhD and Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, has joined the company as Chief Scientist, a newly created position. Dr. Barford will direct the development and operation of a new BIM platform that assures its network of local publisher sites can identify and avoid invalid traffic which is now costing the online ad ecosystem over $10 billion in wasted ad spending.

While teaching at Wisconsin (Madison) Professor Barford was the founder of network security company NemeanNetworks, an Internet security company focused on commercializing next-generation intrusion detection technology. Nemean was acquired by Qualys (NASDAQ: QLS) in 2010. Dr. Barford is also founder and director of the Wisconsin Advanced Internet Laboratory, which receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Army Research Office and Cisco Systems. He was also part of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, a public transdisciplinary research institute and “skunkworks” focusing on the interfaces of computation, laboratory science, the humanities and entrepreneurship.

“I am exceedingly lucky to have Paul Barford join our team. He is an industry and academic leader in network security and data analytics,” says Timur Yarnall, CEO of BIM. “For more than 10 years we have been working with high demand local media and pure play publishers focused on interactive mobile, display, and video inventory. Since we have been seeing roughly 500 million monthly impressions from over 40 million unique visitors we have been able to see a wide swath of traffic and identify the kinds of irregularities that point to fraud for both brands and publishers.”

Dr. Barford’s research interests have been in measurement of Internet traﬃc and topological structure; large data analytics and Internet security including detection of traffic anomalies and identification of malicious attacks and intrusions. More recently, his interests have turned to challenges in online advertising. Dr. Barford was a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge, an EPSRC Visiting Fellow in 2011 and has been a consultant on Internet measurement and security issues to a number of companies. He also served as Chief Scientist at Qualys.

Author of many highly-cited research papers, Dr. Barford also served on numerous panels, organizing committees, and program committees (ACM SIGCOMM ’13 TPC co-chair, ACM SIGMETRICS ’10 TPC co-chair, and ACM IMC ’06 TPC chair). He had served as an associate editor for IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, on the board of directors of the National Lambda Rail, and on technical advisory boards of companies. He is an NSF CAREER award winner and senior member of the ACM and IEEE. Dr. Barford received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Boston University.

“I am very pleased to have a chance to work with the fantastic customer base, talented developers, and team at BIM, “ said Dr. Barford. “I’m certain that the application of big data analytics to our large network of publisher sites will yield immediate results.”

Broadcast Interactive Media (BIM) (www.broadcast-interactive.com) is a leading digital ad network and data services provider of revenue and technical solutions to online publishers and remains a trusted resource for hundreds of local broadcasters and media sites worldwide. Core products are the BIMLocal Digital Network, BIMvid video CMS, MediaStarSuite of program scheduling tools, and TitanTV.com Guide Data Services. Customers include ABC, Belo Corp., Capitol Broadcasting, CBS Television, Fox Television, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst-Argyle, NBC Owned Television Stations, Scripps-Howard, and the Telemundo Station Group. BIM is based in Madison, WI, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Cedar Rapids, IA, and Austin, TX.

AOL Signs on as First Large-Scale Digital Media Company to Require Entire Sales Team to Be Certified Through IAB Digital Media Sales Certification Program

Otilia Otlacan — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:00:00 +0000

NEW YORK - The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has announced that AOL is the first large-scale digital media company to require its entire sales team to take and pass the IAB Digital Media Sales Certification exam, marking a major milestone for this program, created less than a year ago. With today’s digital media sales roles requiring in-depth knowledge across a spectrum of ever-evolving standards, measurement guidelines and best practices, IAB launched the certification program as the first-ever professional benchmark for interactive advertising sales teams.

“AOL is dedicated to providing clients with the best digital advertising customer service, knowledge and innovation”

“AOL is dedicated to providing clients with the best digital advertising customer service, knowledge and innovation,” said Marta Martinez, Head Of Sales Strategy and Operations, AOL. “Customer service is a hallmark of AOL’s business, and fundamental to building a long-term relationship with our clients. By certifying all our sales employees and ensuring that they have a deep understanding of the interactive advertising platforms, technologies and capabilities that impact the industry, we are demonstrating our dedication to our clients and staying ahead of the curve.”

“The digital advertising space is booming,” said Michael Theodore, Vice President, Training and Development, IAB. “With competition at an all-time high for talent in the digital advertising space, to recognize those who have attained the requisite skills and intelligence needed to succeed. The IAB Digital Media Sales Certification is the professional barometer that all digital media companies should aspire to, and we are thrilled that an industry leader like AOL has been so proactive about adopting it.”

To receive the certification, digital sales professionals must complete an examination, which covers general comprehension of the interactive advertising ecosystem, selling digital media and analyzing campaign performance.

The certification knowledge areas include:

Comprehending the digital advertising ecosystem
Selling digital media
Managing digital advertising campaigns
Analyzing campaign performance

No formal coursework is required to take the IAB Digital Media Sales Certification examination. Designed for salespeople with 2 to 5 years of experience in the digital industry, the exam is recommended for candidates who have a strong command of current industry issues, players, and operations, as well as a broad understanding of every major digital platform. The test costs $400 for IAB members and $500 for non-members.

The IAB worked with the fully accredited test development company Professional Testing, Inc. to create the content of the exam, alongside subject matter experts. All exams are administered through Pearson Testing Centers and are available worldwide.

Earlier this year AOL was one of only two companies selected for the IAB Award for Overall Sales Excellence, recognizing the company’s commitment to providing its clients with the industry’s best customer service.

For more information on the IAB Digital Media Sales Certification program or to register to take the exam during the next window, July 1 – 31, 2013, please visit www.iab.net/certification.

About AOL

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a brand company, committed to continuously innovating, growing, and investing in brands and experiences that inform, entertain, and connect the world. The home of a world-class collection of premium brands, AOL creates original content that engages audiences on a local and global scale. We help marketers connect with these audiences through effective and engaging digital advertising solutions.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

Martini Media UK Announces Content Syndication Deal With Incisive Media

Otilia Otlacan — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:35 +0000

Incisive Media, One of the Largest International B2B Publishing Companies, Cites Affluent Reach, Native and Rich Media Units as Key to Partnership

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, NY and LONDON - Martini Media, the digital media and content platform for engaging the audience with the most money and influence online, has formed a content syndication partnership with Incisive Media, one of the world’s leading business-to-business (B2B) information providers, serving a wide range of financial, business technology and professional services markets globally. The partnership gives Martini Media the ability to seamlessly integrate Incisive Media’s vast vault of content within Martini Media’s unique custom content unit (CCU).

Incisive Media selected Martini Media for this strategic partnership because of its distinctive custom content ad unit. Martini Media, one of the first to adopt IAB’s Rising Stars rich media ad units, will continue to leverage these engaging ad formats to help its clients reach the most valuable audience at scale. These custom content rising stars units offer the ability to marry compelling brand stories with engaging content. Martini Media immerses brand advertisers’ message at scale into the content of top sites visited by the affluent audience, AB1 professionals with household incomes over £50K.

“At Incisive Media, we aim to bring product provider and purchaser business communities together using all the varied platforms available to a modern information business,” said Darren Sharp, Incisive Media. “Martini Media was the natural selection for this content syndication deal because of their stronghold on the affluent audience as well as their rich media ad units across all digital platforms.”

The content syndication agreement will help Incisive Media publishers such as Investment Week, Legal Week, Post, Risk, FX Week, AVCJ, Professional Pensions, SES, clickz.com, Accountancy Age and V3.co.uk monetize their inventory. Additionally, this deal will assist UK advertisers to engage affluent consumers more effectively with the massive amounts of relevant content and the custom content ad units.

“We are thrilled to announce this partnership with a world renowned publishing group, such as Incisive Media,” said Tom O’Regan, President and CRO of Martini Media. “The top priority for marketers worldwide is content marketing according to several industry studies, and our very own research supports this. According to our recent digital brand study, 60% of UK marketers noted they were leveraging their own content or other publisher’s content in ads. That’s why we believe forging a partnership like this will be so valuable for brands looking to align their messaging with compelling and engaging content. We’ve already witnessed that ads integrated with content increase engagement rates by 33% vs. ads without content.”

About Martini Media:
Martini Media is the digital media and content platform for engaging the audience with the most money and influence online. With more than 1,000 publishers organized across multiple lifestyle and business verticals, Martini Media has helped the world’s leading brands reach over 125 million consumers across the globe that invest in their passions at work and play. Martini Media’s full-service marketing capabilities encompass display, video, mobile, social, and audience targeting to effectively engage the most valuable audience online at scale. Since 2008, Martini Media has been the premier media destination where influence meets affluence. Headquartered in San Francisco, Martini Media has offices in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and London. Visit www.martinimediainc.com to learn more.

About Incisive Media:
Incisive Media is a leading global business information and events company. The company’s principal markets include financial services, legal and accounting services, marketing services, technology and risk management. Incisive Media’s market-leading brands include, Investment Week, Legal Week, Post, Risk, FX Week, AVCJ, Professional Pensions, SES, clickz.com, Accountancy Age and V3.co.uk. It has offices in London, New York, Hong Kong, and Beijing.

ChoiceStream’s May Audience Cost Calendar Finds Travel Segments on Top in Online Advertising

Otilia Otlacan — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:08 +0000

BOSTON – ChoiceStream, the top choice for brand advertisers interested in advanced target optimization and programmatic buying, today announced the next installment of its Audience Cost Calendar — a monthly aggregation of impressions traded on digital ad exchanges. The Audience Cost Calendar was created to help media buyers and marketers understand trends in the cost of various online audiences. This month looks at April’s data and highlights the top traded audience segments, including Careers, Travel and Holidays & Events. Once again, Careers: Customer Service remains the top performing segment with a 40 percent increase above the average price for that targeted inventory.

“In previous Audience Cost Calendar reports it seemed that specific audience segments changed specific to cyclical trends”

Five of the top ten best performing segments based on month-over-month increased cost of the targeted inventory include:

• Travel: Italy – 11 percent increase in price since March

• Holiday & Events: Anniversary – 11 percent increase in price

• Travel: Greece – 8 percent increase in price

• Travel: Spain – 6 percent increase in price

• Travel: Europe – 6 percent increase in price

“In previous Audience Cost Calendar reports it seemed that specific audience segments changed specific to cyclical trends,” said Bill Guild, vice president, product management and marketing at ChoiceStream. “However, for the past two months, the top ranked segment, Careers: Customer Service, remained consistent. Hopefully this is yet another indication that the economy and job market are recovering. Another indication of a recession turn around is the increased interest in travel and destination specific inventory. Eight of the top ten segments were travel destinations with Italy and Greece in the number two and three spots, respectively.”

Vacation and Travel
With the summer travel season approaching, it’s not surprising to see that eight out of the top ten ranking segments in April were travel related. Leading the May Audience Cost Calendar in relative cost was Italy and Greece segments, followed by the South Pacific and Spain. Other spikes in the travel segment include warmer destinations including: Australia & New Zealand, Mexico and Central America.

Anniversary Segment Highlights Spring Wedding Season

The Holiday and Event: Anniversary segment jumped to the number eight spot on the list, potentially predicting an early shopping season for summer wedding gifts or a shift to earlier season weddings from the more common June time frame.

To view the full infographic, complete dataset and the most active categories for the month of April, take a look at ChoiceStream’s Audience Cost Calendar located on the company’s newly relaunched website that can be found here.

About ChoiceStream
ChoiceStream improves ad relevance and digital campaign performance by programmatically selecting optimum advertising opportunities based on a dynamic understanding of consumer’s active preferences. With an extensive first and third party data network enhanced by proprietary data, ChoiceStream can target and convert the most valuable consumers in real-time. ChoiceStream is headquartered in the Innovation District of Boston and works with industry leading brands and their agencies. For more information on ChoiceStream, please visit www.ChoiceStream.com.

SES Toronto Conference Offers Attendees the Opportunity to Meet and Hold One-On-One Dialogue with Digital Marketing Experts

Otilia Otlacan — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:45 +0000

The annual conference offers multiple formats for attendees to get their marketing challenges addressed and build relationships with industry luminaries

SES Toronto 2013

TORONTO - SES Conference & Expo, the leading online and integrated marketing event series, announced today that online marketing and advertising professionals who attend this year’s SES Toronto Conference, June 12-14, 2013 at the Toronto Marriot Downtown Eaton Centre, will be able to participate in the popular “Meet the Experts Roundtable Forum.” This forum facilitates face-to-face interaction and discussion with industry thought leaders and leading practitioners. Attendees will also be able to hear these industry luminaries speak throughout two morning keynotes, 30+ conference sessions, theater presentations and express clinics on the Sponsor Showcase floor, and 4 ClickZ Academy onsite training workshops.

“The ‘Meet the Experts Roundtable Forum’ has become one of the most popular parts of the SES conference program”

Each roundtable discussion is led by 2 featured experts, with a total of 10 different key topics from which to choose. Some of the most popular topics include: Link Building, Content Marketing, PPC for Ecommerce, Video Optimization, Maximizing Mobile Marketing, and Social Media Optimization, and more.

“The ‘Meet the Experts Roundtable Forum’ has become one of the most popular parts of the SES conference program,” said Mike Grehan, Group Publishing Director at Incisive Media.

“In these informal roundtable discussions, SES Speakers are ready and willing to share their knowledge and expertise with conference attendees,” adds Grehan. “Attendees simply pull up a chair, take a seat and put forth their most challenging questions to the experts. What better way to get answers they need to hone their marketing campaigns?”

Grehan concluded, “Attendees can also move freely between different roundtables to make sure they get the most out of the session. After the Thursday, June 13^th ‘Meet the Experts Roundtable Forum,’ they can take their conversation and new contacts to our drinks.”

About SES Toronto

The SES Toronto conference includes informative presentations and panels, intensive training workshops, and a Sponsor Showcase floor. Each day is choreographed to leave plenty of time for networking opportunities with industry associates. Its real-time case studies provide attendees with best-practice knowledge that can be immediately applied to their marketing programs, and its classroom-style learning offers a high degree of interactivity.

The SES Toronto conference agenda, programmed by the SES Advisory Board, is designed to help online professionals with up-to-date marketing strategies and best practices. This year, specific consideration has been given to mobile marketing, Big Data, Web analytics, Email marketing, Display advertising, Content marketing, and e-Commerce. Visit http://sesconference.com/toronto/ for more information.

About Incisive Media

Incisive Media’s SES Conference & Expo is a leading global conference and training series focused on educating today’s digital marketing and advertising professionals. The SES sister brands include ClickZ, the provider of digital marketing news, information, commentary, advice, opinion, and research and Search Engine Watch, which covers news and information about search and analysis of the search engine industry, and offers tools for improving search marketing effectiveness.

Incisive Media is one of the world’s leading business-to-business (B2B) information providers, serving a wide range of financial, business technology and professional services markets globally. The company aims to bring product provider and purchaser business communities together using all the varied platforms available to a modern information business.

Whether communicating online, in print or in person, Incisive Media prides itself on its entrepreneurial culture, creating market-leading products for the industries it serves. The business operates across the main areas of financial services, with leading brands in the financial, legal, accountancy and IT sectors. For more information, visit www.incisivemedia.com.

For more news and event updates visit the SES press room.

OwnerIQ’s New Pre-Roll Capability Targets In-market Shoppers

Otilia Otlacan — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:28 +0000

New video capability is powered by unique retailer, manufacturer and e-commerce data

BOSTON - OwnerIQ, the inventor of Path to Purchase Media, has announced the launch of its new pre-roll product, which will enable advertisers to target shoppers from specific premium retailers and other top e-commerce websites with pre-roll impressions as they browse the web.

“Brands spend millions of dollars on national and local TV advertising to support their retail channel”

OwnerIQ’s unique targeting solutions enable advertisers to target online ad messages to consumers based on the products and brands that they are browsing on e-commerce and transactional websites. Early last year, the company launched its Retailer Branded Audience product, a targeting solution comprised of the website audiences of specific premium retailers – giving brands a unique way to drive sell-through in their retail channel with their online ad dollars. Through its in-house demand-side platform, OPTMS, OwnerIQ is now able to combine pre-roll inventory with targeting data based on consumers’ browsing behavior on their retail partners’ websites.

OwnerIQ believes this will be a game changer for many of their brand advertisers that sell products through retail. “Sight, sound and motion is still one of the most effective methods to deliver a brand message to consumers,” said OwnerIQ CEO and Cofounder Jay Habegger. “Today, brands that deploy video assets, whether through TV or digital, to support their retail channel have limited targeting options. We are offering these brands a way to get their video ad in front of consumers who have explicitly identified themselves as a shopper of a specific retailer.”

In addition to online video buyers, Nick Vallante, Media Director at Carat thinks these types of solutions will be attractive to TV buyers as well. “Brands spend millions of dollars on national and local TV advertising to support their retail channel,” said Vallante. “While it is still an effective medium, it can be very expensive and have a notable percentage of waste due to its targeting limits. Solutions like OwnerIQ’s pre-roll product are interesting because they can be a very efficient way to extend the reach of our TV campaigns against our retailers’ customers, making it a good complement to our TV buys.”

Habegger says that the company’s OPTMSplatform is integrated with the major video inventory platforms, which gives it access to approximately 90% of all pre-roll inventory available via RTB (real-time bidding) in the US and Canada.

This story appeared first in the E-Commerce Times.

About OwnerIQ

OwnerIQ is pioneering the concept of Path to Purchase Media. They transform consumers’ interactions with products and brands along the path to purchase into powerful new online advertising solutions and marketing channels.

The companies’ Path to Purchase targeting solutions are powered by their unique data and technology. Their data is directly sourced from over 300 data partners comprised of some of the most popular websites used by consumers along the path to purchase: Retailers, Manufacturers, Price Comparison Engines, Coupon Websites, and Product Support Sites.

OwnerIQ’s technology was designed specifically to maximize the performance of their unique Path to Purchase data in the world of programmatic buying. CoEx is their data management platform (DMP) which tags and catalogues over 1 billion consumer product and brand interactions per month. OPTMS is their demand side platform (DSP) which is integrated with every major inventory pool – seeing billions of pre-filtered advertising opportunities via real-time bid (RTB) daily.

Programmatic Buying: The Advertiser’s Upside and the Publisher’s Dilemma

Caroline Watts — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:25 +0000

Programmatic buying is the not-so-new, technology-based form of ad buying that’s changing the game for online advertising.

Advertisers have adopted programmatic buying in droves (in the form of RTB or otherwise), because it’s faster, easier, and more efficient.

Publishers, however, have largely been hesitant to get on board with programmatic buying — some for better reasons than others. Here’s a look at how programmatic is changing the landscape, and why advertisers and publishers aren’t always aligned when it comes to programmatic:

Why Programmatic Is Changing Everything

Seventy percent of advertisers are currently using programmatic buying as part of their media-buying plan, and three-quarters of those currently using it plan to increase the percentage of their spend dedicated to programmatic over the next year. This shift is happening for a reason: programmatic buying makes media planning easier and more efficient.

As the programmatic ecosystem expands and matures, the benefits for advertisers continue to expand. Programmatic advertising has removed the lengthy, cumbersome process that’s required to complete a direct ad sale online.

Not only is programmatic efficient, it’s opened the doors for robust audience-targeting data that can allow advertisers to truly hone in on the precise audience that’s most valuable to them. Each impression can be layered with valuable data that lets the advertiser make the most of every impression.

Through both efficiency gains and the layering of valuable audience data, programmatic lets advertisers get more from less.

The Publisher’s Dilemma

The benefit to advertisers are obvious, but what about publishers? For some publishers, real-time bidding is a great way to monetize a chunk of their inventory, or in some cases, all of their inventory. (To be clear, real-time bidding or RTB is a form of programmatic buying, but not all programmatic buying is RTB).

RTB lets publishers automatically sell inventory without sales resources, RFPS, or IOs. Everything is automatic, so the overhead for the publisher is minimal. For some publishers, this is the most efficient way to monetize all their inventory. For many large publishers with expansive inventory, this is the best way to monetize a subset of inventory that isn’t sold directly. Inventory that may previously have gone unsold can be added to networks or exchanges and can earn incremental revenue for the publisher where previously they may not have earned anything.

On the other hand, RTB can have a downside for the supply side. RTB impressions tend to be relatively low priced, so even without the overhead the publisher can sometimes end up earning less money from RTB than from direct sales. Because RTB is often associated with remnant inventory, publishers with strong name recognition who rely on direct sales are sometimes hesitant to use RTB to sell any of their inventory for fear that it could harm their brand value.

In some cases, there is a fundamental misalignment between what advertisers want and what publishers need to sustain their business. Programmatic buying has changed media-buying forever, and there’s certainly no turning back now. The increased efficiency brought to the ecosystem can benefit publishers as well as advertisers, as long as the needs of both groups are met.

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