We sat down with OPS Markets’ Keynote Speaker Martin Kelly from Infectious Media and quizzed him on the RTB market place, the digital ad landscape in 2012 and got his predictions for our industry in 2012.
RTB really took off in 2011, what do you see happening in a more mature market place for RTB in 2012? Are there any areas in which you feel it’s fallen short/not been exploited?
2011 was an amazing year for RTB and I feel like it’s really starting to be a topic in mainstream marketing conversations. Previously we’ve felt that we’ve spent most of the time in a meeting with an advertiser educating them but now we’re finding this happens less and less.
Do you see RTB as a long term killer to direct sales teams or do you see them working alongside one another?
I think they are complementary in their nature but the roles of the direct sales team will definitely change. It makes sense for all parties if standard display is traded through RTB both from a workflow perspective but increasingly also from a pricing perspective. Taking the commodity element out of a direct sales team means they can concentrate on more bespoke advertising solutions for advertisers. I also think that guaranteed buying will start to go through RTB systems this year as the inescapable benefits surrounding the ease of trading through these channels will start to be felt on the supply and demand side.
What are your thoughts on the ePrivacy directive? Do you think this will have a massive effect on the RTB market?
The ePrivacy Directive is obviously a concern for everyone in the RTB space. I believe that the industry is doing the right thing however in making very positive steps to self-regulate and the IAB are doing a great job at leading that initiative. Ultimately I think consumers can make their own choices about this if they are given all the information and easy ways to opt out.
It’s been touted for a while now but do you agree that 2012 is the year for Mobile? Who do you think will be the key players in this space?
I think mobile is getting some traction now but there’s still some fundamental flaws around the very limited creative options available and also the lack of tracking, meaning many standard media metrics for campaigns such as reach and frequency just aren’t there yet. I also wonder if mobile is standalone, the reality is that the mobile and web experience are becoming very intertwined. It’s exciting but still very early on, it reminds me of online advertising around 1998-1999!
Do you see RTB as the future for Mobile?
Absolutely but it doesn’t just stop there. The changes that are going on at the moment are about making all media addressable and the next really exciting area is going to be IPTV. There are lots of companies working on that piece now, interconnecting different media channels to give a unified view across web, mobile and TV.
What should we be looking out for in 2012?
I have four quick predictions for 2012:
1. Marketers will start to ask questions about RTB and what’s actually changed for them. Up to now, all the benefits have been for publishers and buyers, 2012 will see marketers asking ‘what’s in this for me?’
2. We’re excited about Video and are running at scale for a number of advertisers. The fact that we can use the same tracking and measurement infrastructure has meant we can see a clear attribution path making it an easy channel to invest it.
3. The real time creative will be a big deal in 2012, what’s the point of targeting the right person at the right time if you don’t them show them the right message?
4. We’re feeling critical mass in the data market, there’s been a lot of talk about this area but with most large publishers now getting comfortable with the premise of RTB, data monetisation will be a big growth area
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