Hey friends,
It’s been a while since I posted but I’ll just get straight into it.
ANA First Look Report
The long-awaited ANA report into the programmatic supply chain released just before Cannes and there were a lot of take aways. The original report is here. This excellent report has been keeping me busy (good busy!).
I recorded a podcast today discussing it (which will come soon and is fire) but I also wrote a short document for our clients on how they can amend/question their approach. Download that here. I hope it’s useful.
YouTube buying cr*p fiasco
WSJ took an Adalytics report into the buying malpractices of YouTube to the next level by publishing it with some heavily misleading headlines and bi-lines (%’s off modelled sample data aren’t ever a good look vs a huge corp). The article is here.
The usual suspects are trying to bury Google, and whilst the research is great (I have *so* much respect for Adalytics, check them out!), I was surprised to see it lacking the campaign setup you go through in AdWords (which most buyers use and yes, I did go through all the content of the report!) to run YT campaigns.
Buyers can turn off ‘embedded players’ as well as ‘video partners’ from their campaigns, or they could just not run campaigns with YouTube. Does this excuse Google, no? Are they deliberately monetizing inventory which falls outside their standards, I don’t think so. Keeping the long tail fraud free and in check is a tough task - Google are probably the only company in the world who have a genuine shot at doing this. Does that sell consultancy services and get eyeballs to read articles? Yes. Should I stop with asking questions that I answer myself? Yes.
Anyway, TLDR; the research has been overstated by the majority but it’s another example of where buyers need to use Google controls better. Google barely bothered to responded here. Come on buyers, be better!
Anzu Raise $48m
Yay. It’s been a while but programmatic in-game specialist, Anzu, have made a significant raise. ‘The year of in-game advertising’ has been touted for a while, perhaps when brands start to sink serious Q4 dollar, we’ll see a big shift? Time will tell, but very pleased to see this develop. Long live ‘new channel programmatic’.
LDTRT podcast
It’s my newsletter and I’ll self-promote if I want. I was back in London a few weeks ago and recorded a podcast to discuss moving to the US, our company TPA Digital and a whole host of other things (including getting engaged). It’s probably the most comfortable & open I’ve ever felt on a podcast, so please let me know what you think!
The AdPod Season 3
Phew, hosting a podcast series is tough! I just wrapped season 3 so you’ll see hear the final few episodes over the next couple of weeks. It’s been an amazing season with amazing guests! I’m always looking for new/interesting topics and people, so feel free to message me on LinkedIn with suggestions. It’s wild to me how much it continues to grow and how willing great people are to give up their time to chat!
That’s it for now. Stay safe and chat soon.
Cheers,
Wayne