Facebook Ad Delivery; Trading Desk Defense

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Facebook Mechanics

A BuzzFeed story looks at the thinking behind Facebook’s ad delivery. The company uses targeting data, including its own interest data, “to quickly whittle away the number of ads that are relevant to a specific user to between 5,000 and 7,000 ads. At this point, the job is only around halfway done.” The ultimate decision rests on a combination of factors, including ad quality and, of course, bid price. “Higher quality ads — whether that’s good video, high-fidelity photos, or ads that attract a lot of likes and comments — cost less to be ranked higher in News Feed.” More.

Desk Defense

It would be interesting to see a major publisher or advertiser mount a spirited endorsement of the trading desk model. For now we’ll have to settle for one of its key global leaders, VivaKi AOD’s Marco Bertozzi, who writes in a think piece for the WSJ, “I submit that an in-house option or managed service demand-side platform that buys on a marketer’s behalf will provide less brand safety than an agency trading desk. It simply costs too much to deliver extensive black and white lists, tech vetting and human vetting at a client level.“ Read it.

Google Hires Another Customer

Continuing its recent trend of tapping brand execs for lead advertising roles, Google grabbed former P&G NA Marketing Director Julie Eddleman. Eddleman will serve as global client leader and “joins a team that includes fellow P&G executive Kirk Perry, now Google’s president-brand solutions.” Ad Age story. Go here for an AdExchanger-compiled list of Google’s recent hires from the brand side.

1Up Media

Facebook bought Oculus, Amazon bought Twitch, Microsoft wants to buy Mojang and gaming took a prominent place at Apple’s product release last Tuesday. What’s going on? “The video games industry is one of the most widely misunderstood components of the modern media landscape,” wrote Digiday’s Eric Blattberg on Friday. “Some brands are capitalizing on the ubiquitous medium and the passionate culture that sounds it, but more are flailing blindly or ignoring the industry entirely.” Industry execs, brands: Get in the game. Read how.

Machine-rrific

Exchange-traded media is the “it girl” of the media business, and The Economist further proves it with a big feature. “The rise of real-time bidding is important because it offers a glimpse of how other ad-supported media may change over time. As more devices, including television sets, radio and outdoor billboards, become internet-equipped, a market for advertising space that can be bid for will spread to other industries, eventually even to television.” All in good time. More.

But Wait. There’s More!