Automated Guaranteed. Media trading that’s sweet as

The Problem with Programmatic

Programmatic trading is most commonly associated with real-time bidding (RTB) – which is inventory traded through ad exchanges – and perceived by some to drive efficiencies when trading digital media. Despite the hype it still accounts for only 20 percent of global digital media spend1. A 2014 AOL survey2 of brand, agency and publishing executives found the top three challenges facing programmatic were inventory quality, transparency, and the complexity of the technology. 

In the New Zealand market, the audience purchased is typically Kiwi eyeballs on offshore sites. Local publishers are reluctant to participate in any major way – and it’s not hard to see why. RTB sees publishers lose control over their inventory and price point. Advertisers can’t buy on a forward guaranteed basis – critical when certainty is required around timeframes, audience, frequency and context. It’s no surprise then, that the remaining 80 percent of ad inventory is still traded the ‘old way’ – using request for proposals (RFPs).

Introducing Automated Guaranteed

Automated Guaranteed hits the sweet spot between the ease of automation and the trust of direct buying. “It is ‘programmatic’ in the sense that it automates the trading process between buyer and seller, but the technology stack is very different to RTB,” says Tom Peacock, Adslot’s group commercial director. “Think of it as RFP turbo-charged.”

With Automated Guaranteed the inventory is local and with premium publishers, the buyer-seller relationships are preserved and hard earned price points are respected. It offers first-look high impact inventory, real time availability checks across known sites at a known price, and huge efficiencies through process automation for both parties. 

“Automated Guaranteed is a big step forward in reducing complexity in the direct purchase of media,” says Peacock. “Through the efficiencies our technology generates, time is unlocked that empowers human intelligence. Buyers and sellers are freed to think more creatively and strategically, to add more value for their respective clients.”

Leading the way

Adslot is an Australian-based company with a strong focus on New Zealand. “We connect and empower buyers and sellers through technology that is redefining media trading across New Zealand, Australia and other key global markets,” says Peacock.

Earlier this year, Adslot integrated its Marketplace with Symphony, a proprietary workflow technology for tier one agencies.

• Adslot Marketplace has 800+ premium publishers globally, including some of the biggest brands in digital media including The Economist, BBC, NewsCorp, The Financial Times and MailOnline. In New Zealand, clients include Trade Me, Fairfax, Adhub, Bauer Media and Ad2one
• Symphony: New Zealand agency clients include Neo@Ogilvy, OMD, FCB and Dynamo. More agencies are confirmed to come on board later this year

“As a result of the integration, Adslot is the only company globally that links the whole supply chain together from the publisher ad server, through to the agency media schedule and finance system,” says Peacock. “Through us, a transaction that would previously have taken days or even weeks can now be executed in minutes. That’s a blueprint for profitable, scalable growth for the industry as a whole.”

Adslot: Welcome to the new era of digital media trading.