Out With A Bang

For someone who has spent the last few days trying to get more than a little toe through the door of some interesting boys [and girls...?] in SF, this was interesting…

http://www.adexchanger.com/ad-exchange-news/up-to-80-of-campaign-impressions-delivered-incorrectly-says-doubleverify-ceo-netzer/

There is – perhaps – an element of he-would-say-that-wouldn’t-he to the headline; that up to 80% of campaign impressions are incorrectly delivered – a block that we have already been round before with Uncle Jeff and his ads for lovelorn, Jewish singles… who also happen to be big fans of all things new media.

Could have been worse. His pal was getting gay, Jewish singles… and so the jolly japes continued.

http://outwithabang.rickwaghorn.co.uk/?p=106

But therein lay a big point – that in that whole relationship between publisher, advertiser and third-party delivery mechanism there was only one winner. And it wasn’t either the publisher or the advertiser.

And, for me, having been on the receiving end of the same equation, that’s where certain ad models suck.

I’m left enfeebled, while others are left enriched.

And in many ways, fair play to Oren Netzer the ceo of DoubleVerify – it is into that particular, murky battleground that he strides with his new piece of ad checking kit – empowering and enlightening advertisers as to where their actual ad dollars takes them…

Above the fold, below the fold, right context, wrong content… everything that I, as a top down advertiser, might reasonably want to know in these economically-straitened times of ours.

Gone are the days when I’ll give any ad network 000s of bucks to chuck my brand willy-nilly over the web in the vague hope that some of that expensive, carefully-tailored branding lands in the right place; in front of the right eye-balls.

And if Oren’s figures are correct, then such tools as we now employ – be it as either publisher or advertiser – lead to a one-in-five strike rate.

“Ads being delivered next to inappropriate content is a big issue for advertisers. So are international impressions, below the fold ads or ads delivered to the wrong audience, and those are also the issues we find more frequently.

“In fact, we sometimes find up to 80% of a campaign’s impressions being delivered incorrectly…”

As a publisher there are bits of the thinking that would slightly alarm me; that suddenly the design – stroke re-design – of my site can be beholden to a DoubleVerify search spider wandering its way across www.myfootballwriter.com/norwichcity and taking piccies as it goes… ‘Nope, banner ad below fold; cancel, cancel, cancel…

For me, publisher me, that still leaves me feeling rather enfeebled – even if the theory is that I will then get better targetted ad campaigns that are happier with their final product placement.

But what interests me even more is the language that Oren uses to promote his product. And the big word on his lips is ‘transparency’.

‘…digital advertising is now a key component of brand advertisers’ marketing plans and that the budgets committed to digital advertising have become significant.

‘This had prompted advertisers and agencies to ask for more accountability and transparency from their media partners.

‘It is our job as an industry to make sure we deliver this – if we expect advertisers to continue shifting budgets online and for digital advertising to become a mainstream marketing vehicle for them, we need to give them the peace of mind, comfort and proof that their money is well spent.

‘We as an industry will all benefit from more accountability…’

There’s not much I would change in that – one word, perhaps. From that last sentence. I’d drop ‘industry’ and replace it with ’society’. It is, after all, what lies at the very heart of both the banking crisis and that fatal malaise that now leaves the UK Parliament disfigured and in disrepute… transparency.

‘We as a society will all benefit from more accountability…’

It is the Age Of Pixelisation, not the Era Of Sunlight; the devil is always in the detail – so let’s see the detail; let me see for myself the devil therein… Oooh, I see you’ve been cleaning your moat again… Oooh, I see my ad for Jewish singles ran on a new media blog… the devil and the detail.

Tis that great line from Daniel Roth in Wired, that: ‘…the era of sunlight has to give way to era of pixelization; only when we give everyone the tools to see each point of data will the picture become clear…’

http://outwithabang.rickwaghorn.co.uk/?p=276

All of which resurfaced again in the comments to news that Digg was starting to produce its own ad system…

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/03/told-you-digg-for-ads-coming/

Particularly that from Niel Robertson.

‘One of the challenges here is that to some extent the “price you out” model is a bit like Google quality score. While it has its advantages its extremely hard for a lot of small advertisers to keep up with.

‘AB testing means you have to try things and see what works. If you can get Digg QS’ed out you’ll be spending a lot of time managing things. Not always good for small advertisers who are time constrained…’

Like, Joe’s Pizza Parlour, on the corner of 17th/1st in www.OaklandNorth.net The new US home of addiply… http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/534542.php

What’s the best way for me to know where my ad is going? If I place the ad myself.

Right there it is. Job. Done. Can see it. It’s not going anywhere else. It’s where I want it to be. I’ve looked at the placement of the ads. It’s at the top. Above the fold.

Fine. Like that.

What’s your numbers. Fine. Happy with that.

How much does it cost me? Oh, it’s there… right in front of me. 50 bucks a week.

OK, can go with that.

And the publisher? Who’s this who wants to advertise? Joe’s Pizza Parlour? On the corner of 17th/1st… perfect. Yep… nice to have you here, Joe. Welcome to our OaklandNorth community.

What had Richard [Koci-Hernandez] found before? That as a publisher: ‘We had little-to-no control over the content…’

‘Little-to-no control…’ As a publisher.

And what have advertisers found to their cost…? That likewise they have ‘little-to-no control…’ over their branding; when – according to Oren – 80% of the time, that ad goes astray; ends up where it shouldn’t.

Control. Accountability. Transparency. Simplicity. Empowerment. Honesty.

At this particular moment in time, those are the words that underpin so much of what we aspire to… particularly in an era when big business, big government and big media appears so, so bust.

We need simple solutions that work for us both collectively and as individuals. As, hopefully, the kids of Berkeley will discover; that when nothing works, this just might…�

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