TrustX GM and President David Kohl was sitting in the front row with a big smile on his face when P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard laid into the digital supply chain at the IABs Annual Leadership Meeting last month.
For the past year, Kohl has been working on a project housed within Digital Context Next to bring premium publishers together into a programmatic cooperative.
Think of it as the love child between a joint business venture and a private marketplace.
So far, 31 publishers, including The Washington Post, CBS Interactive, Hearst, Purch, NBCUniversal and Vox, have signed on to make their inventory available with a human-viewable guarantee. The underlying tech was built by Iponweb, and Moat is providing the measurement and verification.
TrustX is in its alpha phase with a limited number of publishers testing the pipes against unpaid demand to make sure the plumbing works with desktop and mobile display. Beta will kick off by the end of the quarter, likely March, with somewhere between 100 million to 200 million impressions a month and with plans to ramp that up to about 1 billion impression.
The beta is slated to run until the end of July or early August, at which time it will probably also open to video and in-app inventory.
When it comes to transparency, RTB isnt the problem. Rather, the problem is the sprawling complexity of the digital advertising ecosystem.
For most problems, the answer in the ad tech ecosystem has typically been to throw a new piece of technology at the problem, layering technology on top of technology rather than trying to create a well-lit environment, said Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next.
Fraud and bad actors aside, inefficiency creeps in when everyone just wants to take their nickel or their dime, said Jed Hartman, CRO of The Washington Post, which plans to take part in the TrustX beta rolling out in March.
If the ecosystem had been purpose-built rather than jury-rigged, Kohl said, the digital supply chain would be less porous than it is today.
Digital advertising, particularly in programmatic, has been cobbled together over the last decade or so without any master plan, and thats enabled a tremendous economy to develop around media budget, Kohl said. But the fact is that less and less of each dollar is actually making it to working media.
According to the World Federation of Advertisers, agencies and tech providers siphon off about 60 cents of every buck spent on media.
Brand safety can also be an issue in programmatic, as starkly evidenced in early February when ads for a number of high-profile brands, including Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Sandals Resorts,appeared on jihadist and extremist websites. Unfortunate contextual placements aside, the brands were put in the highly awkward position of essentially monetizing terrorism.
But retreating into the relative safety of direct sold isnt an option for a publisher like The Washington Post, which generates more than 1 billion page views per month. That requires WaPo to run what Hartman called a sizable programmatic business, which includes selling on the open exchange.
Its not realistic to think that wed be able to sell all of that from a direct perspective, Hartman said. But were an experimental culture and we always lean toward trying new sell-side platforms.
And if the yields there, so will be WaPo. Its the same at CBS Interactive, another TrustX beta launch partner.
I think theyre doing great work, but if we can find a better CPM, thats always where were going were ruthless in how we handle yield management, said Dave Morris, EVP and chief revenue officer at CBS Interactive, who noted that CBSi is still deciding how much inventory to make available through TrustX.
But volume isnt necessarily the point right now, Morris said. TrustX is a collective PMP of highly desirable publishers, and the CPMs will be priced accordingly. Each publisher will set its own pricing strategy, Kohl said. Although its too early to say what the CPM range will be on TrustX, according to Index Exchange the average PMP clearing price was three times the open market average in Q2 2016.
Exchanges dont sell out by their nature because they have millions of opportunities, but this is not an exchange, its invite-only, and not every advertiser can afford to be in there or wants to be in there, he said. If youre a major direct-response advertiser looking for $1 or $2 CPMs, you wont run on TrustX.
Were just trying to get to sufficient scale so we can figure out a better way to trade programmatically, Kohl said. Let us be the industrys master experiment.
But for the experiment to work, TrustX needs demand. Kohl and TrustX CRO John Vilade, a former sales VP at Hulu, are pounding the pavement to drum up interest from marketers, DSPs and trading desks at the holding-company level, although Kohl declined to share names just yet. Publishers or marketers looking for a seat on the exchange can reach out to Kohl directly.
One thing TrustX doesnt have to worry about, though, is making money, at least not for itself. The exchange will operate as a nonprofit subsidiary of Digital Content Next, which eliminates the profit motivation of a regular technology company, Kint noted.
While TrustX is never going to be a publishers main buying platform, the point here is to make a point, Kohl said.
Were building a purpose-driven platform to try and figure out what the next generation of ad tech looks like, he said. The publishers and agencies were talking to arent thinking about this as just another demand source. Its a transactional platform, yes real money will change hands but its more about trying to think about programmatic differently and building something new.
And the moment is right for a nudge or a shove toward greater transparency, said the Posts Hartman.
It feels like marketers are ready to really embrace something like this, Hartman said. And from our perspective, its 100% trusted brands in an exchange-type environment, so we looked at it and said, Why not?
See the article here:
The Digital Ad Ecosystem Is Messy And TrustX Is Grabbing A Broom - AdExchanger
- Green with Envy | How to Spot an Eco-Snob | Part III - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- EcoLogo - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 5 Ways to Green Your Exercise Routine - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Seed Bombs - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Guerrilla gardening - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Green Your Morning Routine - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Environmental Benefits of Telecommuting - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Safeway Sponsors Portland Community Cleanup - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Electric Vehicle Race - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Portland Bridge Pedal 2009 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- E-waste in Oregon - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bike Sharing in Portland - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bucks for the Bay Challenge - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Drive to Make a Difference with MyMPG - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bathroom Sprayers - Green your Toilet Routine - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ubuntu OS can Save Energy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Green Metropolis, David Owen - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sustainable Pens: GLO Pens - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- International Day of Climate Action - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Donate to Oregon Toxics Alliance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Biomass Energy Generation Myths - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Crude The Real Price of Oil | Playing in Portland - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Pictures From 350 Climate Day in Portland - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Arcimoto Electric Vehicles in Oregon - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Urban Rooftop Wind Turbines - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Chromium 6 Emissions from ESCO in Portland - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Food Inc. Review - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Making Maps with Google Earth and Google Maps by Shane Bradt of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension - March 23rd, 2010 [March 23rd, 2010]
- Demonstration of Miradi 3.1 by Nick Salafsky of Foundations of Success - March 23rd, 2010 [March 23rd, 2010]
- Advanced Mashups – KML and the Mapping API by Cary Chadwick of the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research - March 23rd, 2010 [March 23rd, 2010]
- Demonstration of InVEST by Heather Tallis of the Natural Capital Project - March 23rd, 2010 [March 23rd, 2010]
- GIS Maps Online by Emily Wilson of the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research - March 23rd, 2010 [March 23rd, 2010]
- From ArcGIS to Web Maps: Simple Techniques for Publishing GIS Maps Online by Emily Wilson of the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research - March 25th, 2010 [March 25th, 2010]
- Demonstration of Marine InVEST by Anne Guerry of the Natural Capital Project - March 31st, 2010 [March 31st, 2010]
- Eliminate and Decrease Styrofoam - March 31st, 2010 [March 31st, 2010]
- Portland Plans to Spend $600 million on Master Bike Plan - April 2nd, 2010 [April 2nd, 2010]
- (Webinar in Spanish) Demostración sobre Vista 2.5 de NatureServe en línea (Webinar) por Ian Varley, Carmen Josse, y Alexandra Sanchez de Lozada de NatureServe. - April 6th, 2010 [April 6th, 2010]
- Using and Adding Your Content to Google Ocean by Charlotte Vick, Google Content Manager of Mission Blue - April 13th, 2010 [April 13th, 2010]
- End Paper Receipts - May 1st, 2010 [May 1st, 2010]
- Demonstration of CanVis by Chris Haynes of NOAA Coastal Services Center - May 6th, 2010 [May 6th, 2010]
- Demonstration of HD.gov Web Portal by Jeff Adkins from NOAA Coastal Services Center - May 13th, 2010 [May 13th, 2010]
- Demonstration of Ecosystem Assessment and Reporting Tool by Steve Schill of The Nature Conservancy - May 13th, 2010 [May 13th, 2010]
- Demonstration of Version 2.0 of the Multipurpose Marine Cadastre by Adam Bode and Brian Smith of NOAA Coastal Services Center - May 17th, 2010 [May 17th, 2010]
- CRUDE Filmmakers Subpoenaed by Chevron - May 22nd, 2010 [May 22nd, 2010]
- Demonstration of the Digital Coast Coastal Inundation Toolkit by Steph Beard, Jodie Sprayberry and Billy Brooks of NOAA Coastal Services Center - May 25th, 2010 [May 25th, 2010]
- Presentation on the Creating Resilient Communities EBM Tool Demonstration Project by Jocelyn Hittle of PlaceMatters - June 10th, 2010 [June 10th, 2010]
- Presentation on Economic Data Needed for EBM by Linwood Pendleton of Duke University - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- Recycling Water - October 16th, 2010 [October 16th, 2010]
- ODOT Partners with Oregon Toxics Alliance to Reduce Pesticides - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- Goats Hired to Mow Portland Lot - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- A World of Health: Connecting People, Place, and Planet - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- Alternative Recycling Options - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- No More Bullying the Bull Trout - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- 1000+ EV Charging Stations Slated for Oregon I-5 Corridor - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- The Vertical Farm Concept - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- Blog Action Day 2010 | Water - October 17th, 2010 [October 17th, 2010]
- Eco Districts - October 24th, 2010 [October 24th, 2010]
- Will The Nissan Leaf Thrive? - October 24th, 2010 [October 24th, 2010]
- A Green Railroad - October 24th, 2010 [October 24th, 2010]
- Biomass is not Oregon's clean-energy future as currently promoted - October 24th, 2010 [October 24th, 2010]
- Electrified Parking Spaces - October 24th, 2010 [October 24th, 2010]
- Tree Planting - October 24th, 2010 [October 24th, 2010]
- Three Tips to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Live Longer. - October 24th, 2010 [October 24th, 2010]
- Biomass is not Oregon’s clean-energy future as currently promoted - October 31st, 2010 [October 31st, 2010]
- Rail~Volution - October 31st, 2010 [October 31st, 2010]
- Green Streets Initiative - October 31st, 2010 [October 31st, 2010]
- Mayor Kitty Piercy and Envision Eugene - November 7th, 2010 [November 7th, 2010]
- The Willamette River Transit Bridge - November 13th, 2010 [November 13th, 2010]
- Collaborative Learning and Land Use Tools to Support Community Based Ecosystem Management by Chris Feurt of the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve - November 14th, 2010 [November 14th, 2010]
- Portland Federal Building Begins Green Makeover - November 14th, 2010 [November 14th, 2010]
- Vestas’ New HQ in Portland Shoots for LEED Platinum - November 14th, 2010 [November 14th, 2010]
- College Degrees to Get You in the Environmental Field - November 14th, 2010 [November 14th, 2010]
- Demonstration of openNSPECT, an Open Source Version of the Nonpoint-Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool by Dave Eslinger of NOAA Coastal Services Center - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Demonstration of EMDS by Keith Reynolds of the US Forest Service - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Demonstration of Habitat Priority Planner by Chrissa Waite and Danielle Bamford of NOAA Coastal Services Center - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Presentation on the Coastal Adaptation to Sea Level Rise Tool (COAST) by Sam Merrill of the New England Environmental Finance Center - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Presentation on the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard by Kathy Goodin of NatureServe - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Demonstration of Coral Reef Scenario Evaluation Tool (CORSET) by Jessica Melbourne-Thomas of the University of Tasmania - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Demonstration of Multi-scale Integrated Models of Ecosystem Services (MIMES) by Roel Boumans and David McNally of AFORDable Futures LLC - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Creating Life in the Desert - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]