Publishers

If you’ve ever seen an online meme or a viral image (and these days who hasn’t?), chances are you either viewed it through the photo-sharing service Imgur (pronounced “imager”), or it was uploaded there first. Founded in 2009 by then-Ohio University computer science student Alan Schaaf, Imgur has seen its financial support structure evolve from […]

As publishers have become more comfortable with the idea of programmatic direct for their online sales, sell-side-focused analytics provider Umbel is trying to get sellers to expand that comfort zone to include audience targeting around offline media and live events. The 2-year-old Austin, Texas, startup’s pitch to publishers has rested on the idea that they […]

“Brand Aware” explores the data-driven digital ad ecosystem from the marketer’s point of view.  Today’s column is by Mike Zeman, director of North American digital marketing at Netflix. It comes as a surprise to most publishers, ad-tech firms and other marketers I speak to that Netflix operates its own internal programmatic trading desk. In other […]

UK-based news outlet The Guardian is accelerating its programmatic ad offerings with the creation of a private video marketplace powered by Adap.tv. For the most part, The Guardian plans to aim the video marketplace to best capture incremental value around content such as tent-pole events like the World Cup and the upcoming Olympics. “When experiencing […]

Thrillist Media Group, the digital men’s lifestyle company dishing up everything from visual case studies on alcohol composition to foolproof ways to fight angst on red-eye flights, is banking business growth on branded content. Owner of myriad media and commerce properties that include JackThreads.com, a members-only men’s shopping site; Supercompressor, a newly launched Pinterest-esque buyer’s […]

Meredith Corp., the publisher of magazine brands such as Ladies’ Home Journal, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle, knows how to talk to women. With more than 18 titles, 100 special-interest publications and a digital audience of 50 million monthly visitors, the company is well-positioned to create unique marketing programs that engage its […]

Within IDG’s $3.55 billion global revenue across all businesses last year, its share of US online revenues remained stable at 66% in fiscal year 2013 from 2012. By contrast, the company’s US print share of revenues slipped to 19% last fiscal year, from 21%. Consequently, IDG intends to concentrate on its Web strength even more […]

Ever more companies on the buy side want to partner directly with publishers. Sell-side platforms (SSPs), ad networks, agencies, demand-side platforms (DSPs), retargeting networks and others have over the last year increased their efforts to gain visibility and direct inventory access. In a recent telling example, WPP Group’s Xaxis programmatic platform absorbed 24/7 Media to […]

Over the past few months, French real-time bidding (RTB) services provider AlephD has expanded work with AppNexus with particular focus on French publishers. Maxime Agostini, AlephD’s CEO, said that despite greater adoption of programmatic methods by advertisers there aren’t many services aimed at the sell side. Although AlephD is already integrated with AppNexus, Agostini said […]

As major publishers adopt programmatic methods to boost efficiency and cost-savings, one thing keeps them from putting more valuable inventory up for bid: The perceived lack of transparency in pricing. Consequently, an Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) task force made up of publishers has been working on guidelines to clear up the fees and better define […]

Dan Lagani, the print ad sales veteran who joined lifestyle content network Glam Media as its chief revenue officer and president late last month (read the release), doesn’t feel there is a print vs. digital way of doing business anymore. “Digital has reached maturity, though it’s still early,” he said. “So I don’t even categorize […]

Just over two months ago, UK-based news outlet The Guardian unveiled the biggest step it has taken after four years of operating in the programmatic space: it opened its own publisher-side “trading desk.” Read the release. Created with help from MediaMath, The Guardian’s trading desk GuardianResponse+ will augment the news company’s existing programmatic tools, including its […]

“The Sell-Sider” is a column written by the sell side of the digital media community. Today’s column is written by Jeremy Hlavacek, vice president for programmatic at The Weather Company. No one likes being on the defensive. It’s naturally uncomfortable. When faced with a challenge or critique, taking a defensive approach can often make things […]

Transacting advertising through real-time bidding and other automated methods is gaining ground with publishers and advertisers alike, but questions remain about how to leverage the technology as it continues to change. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) gathered executives from Google, CatalystDesk at Condé Nast, and Varick Media Management to hash out these issues with moderator […]

“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Jonathan Perelman, vice president of agency strategy and industry development at BuzzFeed. Bill Gates popularized the phrase “content is king” during a speech in 1996. Although content was king long before […]

Publishers have increasingly embraced products that provide more insight into their inventory and help them manage their ad operations. Yesterday at a panel discussion moderated by Yieldex CRO Andrew Rutledge at ad:tech New York, executives from Fox News Digital, Viacom, Washington Post Digital and Turner Broadcasting discussed the tools they’re using to better leverage ad […]

Brian Sugar has ambitious plans for PopSugar.com, a celebrity news and pop culture media platform he founded with his wife, Lisa Sugar, some seven years ago. Specifically, he wants to drive more than $1 billion in sales next year to retail partners through ShopStyle, PopSugar.com’s content and commerce offshoot it acquired in 2007. That figure’s […]

The New York Times Co.’s digital ad revenue continued to slide in Q3 as, for the first time in recent years, print actually performed better. CEO Mark Thompson sought to put that contrast in context, saying that it was more a sign that the company had been able to arrest print losses as it works […]

Wenner Media, home to an iconic stable of titles that includes Rolling Stone, Us Weekly and Men’s Journal, still subscribes to a true publisher’s paradigm: “When you have great content, it all falls into place.” But it’s innovation in programmatic media buying that will enhance its properties’ brand equity and  “will command better CPMs and […]

Over the past year, many sell-side ad-tech companies have offered publishers solutions around “programmatic direct.” Publisher analytics provider Yieldex has rolled out a simple tool called ” YieldEdge Sponsorship Calendar” that has been adopted in recent weeks by Comcast Spotlight, the local media sales arm of the cable giant. The product sounds fairly mundane, but it […]

In a striking coincidence, Turner Digital Ad Sales’ launch of its private marketplace  comes a day after former ad chief Walker Jacobs, who regarded programmatic methods suspiciously, joined Clear Channel Outdoor as chief revenue officer and president of sales. In an interview with AdExchanger a year ago, Jacobs, who resigned as EVP, Turner Digital Sales […]

Supply-side platform AdSlot’s pitch to help sell publishers’ guaranteed inventory via programmatic methods begins with avoiding anything that acts like a private marketplace. The company, which acquired ad agency workflow provider Facilitate Digital more than a month ago, has launched its Guaranteed Marketplace for direct online display sales this week. And, as AdSlot CEO Ian Lowe […]

In the past week, Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify – two companies whose aim is to ensure that brand advertisers get the kind of exposure and inventory they expect – unveiled their respective tools designed to limit, if not eliminate, the waste caused by fraudulent traffic – namely “bots.” The new tools, as outlined by […]

This morning NBC Universal entered a strategic partnership with Comcast and Twitter to engineer a “See It” feature allowing Xfinity TV viewers to take action around a TV show from their Twitter stream. The integration allows Xfinity TV viewers to take actions such as starting a show on-demand or setting a DVR to record. Executives […]

“The Sell-Sider” is a column written by the sell side of the digital media community. Today’s column is written by Jeremy Steinberg, senior vice president of digital ad sales for The Weather Company. After attending my very first ANA Masters of Marketing conference, I will never be the same. OK, maybe that is a tad […]

Keeping up with tech-savvy consumers who demand personalized experiences is a challenge for publishers and advertisers alike. Like other companies, health information provider WebMD realized it needed to revamp its advertising strategy with a greater focus on mobile devices and customizable features. Earlier this month, the company launched a new version of its app that […]

Microsoft is hoping to gain more traction with higher priced, direct sales inventory on its network by striking an agreement with its fellow portals, AOL and Yahoo, to support technical specifications for automating the buying process around reserved ad sales. In other words, Microsoft is joining the push toward “premium programmatic” that AOL trumpeted Monday […]

Spotify, the ad-supported music streaming service, has barely scratched the surface of its advertising capabilities, but the 7-year-old company is treading carefully. The streaming service is up to more than 24 million active users, a quarter of whom are premium subscribers, and earned $577 million in total revenue last year. Part of the Stockholm-based company’s […]

Todd Haskell began his new job as Hearst Magazine Digital’s chief revenue officer less than a month ago, joining the publisher of magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Elle and Good Housekeeping to manage the business side of the 28 related websites and 14 mobile properties. He previously served six years as the group VP of […]

In recent months, NYTimes.com has sought to refine its homepage ad strategy with the promise of something “unique” for large advertisers in consumer packaged goods, automotive, electronics and finance. The latest effort is on behalf of Bank of America and builds on the publisher’s evolving video strategy. The twist in this case is an “interactive” […]