Advertising Technology

Emerging technologies always encourage scrutiny and critical analysis, and advertising technology (ad tech) is no different. This discipline has been around for a few years, but it's only recently caught the attention of savvy ad tech vendors. In the era of big data, we've recognized having ad tech company relationships makes us more powerful and attractive to clients. The age of social media has forced agencies to investigate innovative ways to interact with relevant users, rather than relying on typical broadcast or digital media buys. The first step to leveraging ad tech is understanding that it is the umbrella term for the software and tools that help agencies and brands target, deliver, and analyze their digital advertising efforts. If you've ever scratched your head at the terms "programmatic" or "omnichannel," you've likely already heard a little about what ad tech does (though you may not have even realized it). Programmatic advertising, for instance, buys target audiences instead of time slots: Think about buying ad space that reaches a particular demographic wherever it is instead of buying a prime time TV spot and hoping the right people are watching. Omnichannel marketing reaches target consumers across all channels -- mobile, video, desktop, and more -- within the context of how they've interacted with a brand (those first seeing an ad will receive a different message from those who have engaged with that brand a number of times). Omnichannel and programmatic aren’t the only two tools within ad tech, but they are two of the most revolutionary.

If you’re plugged into ad tech, you’ll surely know that one of the topics around the industry is supply path optimization (SPO) which is the practice of pruning bid requests through algorithms to make smarter buying decisions and reduce infrastructure load and the next evolution of programmatic. These algorithms often look at the supply-side platform (SSP) publishers work with to analyze traffic patterns and win rates to assess which publishers provide the most direct, toll-free path to their inventory. One way that publishers are engaging with the SPO movement is through ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) whch is an initiative from IAB Technology Laboratory. It specifies a text file that companies can host on their web servers, listing the other companies authorized to sell their products or services. This is designed to allow online buyers to check the validity of the sellers from whom they buy, for the purposes of internet fraud prevention. 

More advertisers think log-level data is a remedy for many of programmatic’s woes. Originally, we used the data to check that nothing shady was happening to our money, whereas now we’re using it to funnel our money through cheaper, better-performing ad tech vendors. But getting this data isn’t easy. Log level data is granular data that is collected about every single ad request. It can include everything from the designated market area (DMA) associated with the ad request to the specific reason why a bid was blocked. Most data publishers and advertisers can access within an advertising platform is aggregated. On the other hand, log level data is completely raw and can be used to create advanced reports not typically available within a platform. Log level data allows publishers to optimize their inventory’s performance from an ad call to an impression. Publishers can evaluate this data for a full perspective regarding how buyers are bidding on their inventory over time. If a publisher sees pockets of peak demand when an increase in bidding occurs, they can adjust their inventory prices accordingly. With a complete picture of their demand, publishers can optimize price floor and price rules to balance price against demand, ultimately leading to additional revenue and a higher fill rate. Publishers can also use log level data to optimize their traffic acquisition strategies. For example, a publisher may need to decide if they should attempt to drive more traffic to a desktop site or in-app content. If the publisher knows which inventory has higher demand at particular days and times, they can drive traffic to the best performing content.

Large brands and agencies have invested in data intelligence teams to help shed light on what has been a traditionally murky programmatic supply chain. Advertisers can review auction-level data to understand the full scope of the supply and demand “ad tech tax” they are paying for a single impression. Evaluating this data also allows advertisers and brands to whittle down their supply partners and develop closer relationships with a limited number of SSPs and exchanges. Stronger relationships with fewer partners can help improve brand safety and inventory quality. One of the most important things to understand about log level data is it is not delivered as a report. Any publisher or advertiser hoping to gain additional insights from log level data will need their own business intelligence software to gain any insights from these files. As the industry pushes towards full transparency in the programmatic supply chain, log level data will continue to be an essential piece of the puzzle for both publishers and advertisers.