Editor’s Note: The following speech is not real. It is for entertainment purposes only. It was not read by Yahoo!’s Ramsey McGrory at this week’s Right Media Open 2010 in Chicago… but what if it was real? And what if attendees had vuvuzelas? Play ball!
Ramsey McGrory: Thank you all for coming today. It is great to be with our partners on this momentous occasion. Not only are we reconvening for our popular Right Media Open event, but we have exciting news that will solidify Right Media’s position as the largest open, display advertising exchange in digital media.
[vuvuzela horns sound]
As many of you know, the deep, technological innovations of Right Media Exchange have kept us at the forefront of display advertising for several years. At Yahoo!, we continue to recognize the importance of finding new ways to research, plan, target and measure digital media so we can help speed the flow of ad spending online.*
In the recent past, as Yahoo! has re-focused its efforts, some of the innovation of RMX has remained locked or hidden to our exchange members and new innovations such as real-time bidding have come along more slowly than we would have wanted. Yet, there is no reason that Right Media Exchange cannot continue to lead with superior scale and technology, and after several weeks of discussions with key partners, today we’re announcing the new Right Media Exchange.
[vuvuzela horns sound]
Effective September 1, Right Media Exchange will be spun off from Yahoo! led by an investment from private equity firm Apax Partners. RMX will effectively become a start-up again.
This will have several initial benefits such as allowing the new company to concentrate on continuing the technological development of an independent best-in-breed exchange, incentivizing its employees and providing access to compelling, premium inventory to online display buyers which will include mobile and video by year end – and real-time bidding.
[vuvuzela horns sound]
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Yahoo! is fully committed to the new RMX and will maintain a minority stake in the cooperative enterprise and offer its science, art and scale wherever and however necessary. Importantly, as part of the agreement, Yahoo! will continue to make available its premium inventory from across its owned and operated properties through RMX.
[vuvuzela horns sound wildly]
There’s more.
[vuvuzela horns sound]
The new RMX entity will include two additional, foundational stakeholders.
I’m excited to announce that our friends at News Corporation have come aboard as one of these new stakeholders and will fold its Fox Audience Network efforts into Right Media Exchange as well as the premium owned and operated display inventory from its Fox Television and Dow Jones and Company subsidiaries including Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.
[vuvuzela horns sound wildly]
To lead these efforts and those of Right Media Exchange, Adam Bain of FAN will become the new CEO of Right Media Exchange. Adam, stand up and take a bow!
[vuvuzela horns sound]
Also joining this new, cooperative effort along with News Corp are our friends at Time Warner. Time Warner’s collection of properties will dedicate premium inventory from across its many great brands under the Time Inc and Turner Broadcasting umbrellas which will continue to grow and fuel Right Media Exchange as the largest premium display exchange.
[vuvuzela horns sound wildly]
By the end of 2010, we plan to announce several additional publishing partners that will join the new exchange. For brand marketers, this is a watershed event. Nowhere else, other than Right Media Exchange, will they be able to combine their audience buying efforts with the transparency and control of the open exchange across the Web’s key premium properties.
Critical to bringing marketing dollars and liquidity to the exchange will be the demand-side platforms and ad networks of our expanding DSP Pilot program which will be transferred to the new RMX.
As our agency partners continue to use these new advanced forms of media buying as well as build their own trading desks, Right Media Exchange will provide marketers with access to the audiences they most want to reach by leveraging insights from buyers, sellers and 3rd party data providers.*
[vuvuzela horns sound even louder]
There are more details to come, of course. And, please know that Yahoo! is fully-committed to this new strategy as is Apax Partners, News Corp and Time Warner.
[vuvuzela horns sound loudest]
OK, let’s go to the Cubs game!
[silence]
By John Ebbert
