There are plenty problems to be solved in the ad operations world, including issues like IVT, bad ads, malware, and much, much more. So at every Publisher Forum, we bring together all of the noobs (yes, I meant first-time attendees), put them into small workgroups, and open the gates for discussion and collaboration.
The teams come together to ponder over whatever ad ops issues are impacting their daily work — with the main goal of finding viable solutions. It’s sort of like a startup weekend (or hackathon) if you will. Here are some of the really great ideas — and ad ops challenges — that came out of the Admonsters Austin Publisher Forum.
Company Name: The One
Tagline: You CAN handle the truth
Problem: Discrepant fraud measurement between vendors
Solution: New fraud translation layer that defines fraud
Celebrity Endorser: Jack Nicholson
Company Name: Tiny Ops
Tagline: No ad ops problem too big; No ad impressions too small
Problem: Small teams dealing with trafficking, optimization, ad quality, reporting and standards
Solution: We help the small teams solve big problems such as trafficking optimization ad quality reporting standards
Celebrity Endorser: Paw Patrol
Company Name: Behavioral Sciences Labs (B.S.Labs)
Tagline: B.S. Labs – We call you out
Problem: Invalid traffic (IVT)
Solution: Data graph integrated with ad servers to prevent IVT impressions from delivery
Celebrity Endorser: John Legend
Company Name: Pudding
Tagline: Putting together the right mix of product and ads.
Problem: How do you know your assumption is correct? Product vs ads? We are on the same team but we are at war.
Solution: Out-of-box solution to A/B test UX vs Ads (product engagement vs revenue)
Celebrity Endorser: Martha Stewart & Snoop Dogg
Company Name: BidSwitch (Editor’s note: Haven’t we heard this one before?)
Tagline: Figure it out, finally
Problem: Inability to figure out which header bidders are problematic when a bad ad appears on the site
Solution: Toggle for a nonprogrammer to instantly turn on/off header bidders individually
Celebrity Endorser: Mr. Potato Head
Company Name: Specs, Specs, Baby
Tagline: Let’s talk about specs, baby! Let’s talk about Q +C
Problem: As each publisher has different rules; i.e. video aspect ration, MB size, duration, etc. User connections vary with 3G, 4G, OTT, Desktop
Solution: Ad server/exchange dashboard; Rule configuration for allowable ad specs; Determine specific criteria to allow/block ads that do not match pub requirements; apply bitrate allowable based on connection speed
Celebrity Endorser: Vanilla Ice
Company Name: MADOPS
Tagline: One tag to rule them all
Problem: The industry lacks one source of record impression delivery that is accepted by advertisers, agencies and publishers
Solution: We are inventing a universal code that ALL will adopt and use as the single source of record for delivery & revenue actualization; the IAB will own this and enforce it.; the benefit will be less waste and more revenue for all sides
Celebrity Endorser: Chance the (W)Rapper
Company Name: Digitopia
Tagline: One ad – reimagined
Problem: Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) challenges
Solution: Creative execution plug-in that optimizes creative automatically based on user preferences
Celebrity Endorser: Lady Gaga
Company Name: Build AI
Tagline: Bridging selling & serving
Problem: Order management systems are either too manual or they aren’t customizable
Solution: Build AI allows proposal/order creation that integrates selling & serving
In 2018 digital advertising, and especially programmatic, have become more sophisticated than ever — but also much more complex and challenging. As we head into the mobile-first world of 2019, we’re likely to see many more challenges arise — but as ad tech and ad ops are wont to do, we will also see a lot of innovation tackling those challenges.