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Bid Me Twice, Shame on Who? Decoding the Auction Enigma
The murmurs are growing louder, and the shadows in the alleyways whisper of a return — the Bid Duplications are back. It's time to peer into this digital twilight and unravel the tales entwined
within.
In the digital cosmos of programmatic advertising, bid requests are nothing short of sacred rituals — the beckoning calls from the publisher's sanctuaries, inviting the pantheon of Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) to grace their digital real estate with an advertisement. These requests, however, aren’t mere signals lost in the vastness of cyberspace. They are intricate and intimate letters, laden with details — about ad placement, the choir of
the targeted audience, and the lavish price an advertiser might pay to earn that hallowed spot. The beauty lies not just in the request but in the ensuing dance. Publishers serenade multiple DSPs, each evaluating the request with a sharp, discerning gaze. They engage in a bidding war, with the highest bidder's ad shimmering into existence for the visitor. This celestial ballet occurs at the
speed of thought, epitomizing the elegance of automation, ensuring advertisers resonate with their audience in harmony. The Temptation of Multiple Bid Trafficking
Yet, where there is sanctity, there's always temptation lurking close. The exchanges, the middlemen of this grand opera, sometimes succumb to it. Their scheme? Trafficking
multiple bids for the same sacred impression. The objective? Amplifying the odds of securing the bid. But every deception has its price. In this delicate ecosystem, their cunning plan failed them, especially when the economic tides turned treacherous, and they found themselves spiraling towards oblivion.
Earlier this month, amidst the digital cacophony, an anonymous oracle emerged, casting aspersions on the supply-side platform (SSP) FreeWheel, a progeny
of the Comcast lineage. Through whispers and concealed screenshots, this seer accused FreeWheel of conjuring a duplicitous scheme named Smart Bidding. The indictment? That FreeWheel, in its quest for supremacy, would dispatch numerous bid requests for identical inventory, artificially inflating demand and bamboozling buyers into bidding for a phantom audience. Such mirages, though
captivating, do not truthfully mirror the publisher’s congregation or its treasures. The tragic fallout? Advertisers could end up pouring their gold into bottomless chalices. But every story has two faces. Representatives of FreeWheel, garbed in robes of defense, proclaimed that Smart Bidding was but an innocent in its infancy, yet to be unveiled to the world. They argued that the oracle’s
revelations plucked proprietary truths and skewed them. In their rendition, Smart Bidding was the messiah of connected television, conjuring opportunities for shorter ads to triumph in longer slots, an art previously reserved for ads of equal length.
This digital drama unfolds against a backdrop of a faltering economy, casting its long shadows over every act. Exchanges, already in the crosshairs of discerning programmatic buyers, find their existence
further threatened. Surges in digital traffic amplify costs in processing bid requests, adding weight to the sinking ship. DSPs, already staggering under economic burdens, now have an added incentive — and perhaps, a moral compass guiding them — to obliterate the specter of bid duplication. But as the sun sets on this act, a survey by Adprofs reveals the fragmented soul of the industry.
While 16% believe in the fairness of the game, 44% cast dubious glances, and a resounding 40% declare it a dance with shadows, unethical at its core. In this maelstrom of digital desires and deceptions, the quest for transparency becomes paramount. As the chapters unfold, one can only hope for clarity, for truth to emerge from the shadows, and for the industry to find its guiding
star.
With the advent of header bidding, the digital skies witnessed a new constellation. Publishers found themselves in a renewed position of strength, with DSPs like The Trade Desk bestowing blessings upon those that practiced auction duplication. Why? The mathematics was simple, yet potent: More bid requests for the same digital canvas heightened the chances of securing a princely sum from a DSP. But like every tale of power, there came a twist. The Trade Desk, the grand sorcerer of this realm, began its crackdown. While it didn't banish the incentives entirely, it did cast a spell to diminish the allure, curbing the rampant usage of the same exchange over and over. Ratko Vidakovic, the renowned sage from the land of AdProfs, pondered
upon this turn of events. "The Trade Desk's actions, while economically rational, seem rather raw," he mused. "In their quest to eradicate bid duplication, they are pruning the tree without discerning the fruitful branches from the barren. Not all exchanges are created equal, after all." Decoding the Layers of Auction Duplication
Yet,
the maze deepens. For within the world of auction duplication, two distinct pathways emerge. The first, a path carved by exchanges, initiating bid duplications. The second, a trail blazed by publishers, wrapped in the cloak of wrapper duplication. The former has found itself ostracized, labeled as manipulation of the sacred auction dynamics. The buyer’s chorus has been loud and unanimous
against it. They seek accountability, with some champions like etching bid duplication atop their list of forbidden arts. But, the latter path, the publisher-initiated wrapper duplication, bathes in the sunlight of acceptance. When a publisher dances with multiple wrappers, a single exchange finds itself echoing multiple bid requests for the same impression. It's a perplexing paradox.
Why does the industry embrace one while shunning the other?
Among the myriad voices, Alexandre Nderagakura's resonates with a clarity that cuts through the din. On the digital scrolls of Twitter, he illuminated the growing concern: The programmatic ecosystem, he warned, is being deluged with duplicated bid requests, murky waters that cloud the true value of every impression. Beyond the financial quagmire, there's an environmental toll — a carbon footprint
expanding with every unnecessary bid. Moreover, Nderagakura spotlighted the complex tapestry of pricing dynamics. "Is it just to pay identical sums for duplicated bids?" he pondered, echoing the sentiments of many. Even as the quality of a bid request metamorphoses, some platforms, like The Trade Desk, often veer towards undervaluing them, seeking to capture the ethereal essence of an ad's
true worth.
Bid duplication, while an arcane art, has tangible repercussions. An influx of bids can inflate demand, which, over the sands of time, may elevate the Cost Per Thousand clicks (CPMs). But, like pouring water into a chalice, there's a danger of overflow. Flooding the market risks drowning the value, casting shadows of uncertainty over CPMs. But perhaps, the gravest concern is the loss of transparency. Advertisers, once confident navigators of these waters, now find themselves adrift, their compasses rendered unreliable. They question the very essence of what they're acquiring, yearning for the beacon of clarity. As the curtain falls on this act of bid duplications, the digital realm stands at a
crossroads. The path ahead is uncertain, strewn with choices and challenges. In this intricate ballet of bids and bytes, the industry's soul yearns for enlightenment, for ethical practices that honor both buyer and seller, ensuring the sacred dance of programmatic advertising continues, untainted and true.
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All the news you need today, in a format that isn't TL:DR summarized for the busy executive.
🚀🔍 Fresh out of the oven: Google's giving newbies a seat at the table! If you're a newcomer in the ad world, Google's Local Service Ads is leveling the playing field, letting you shine in the search results. No more being overshadowed by the old-timers. 🌟 And speaking of shining, YouTube's serving a hot plate of "No More Ad
Blockers" - either you watch the ads or join Premium. 🚫📺 Seems like a win for advertisers, right? But wait... there's a plot twist with Performance Max. Some ads aren't performing as they should. The culprit? Maybe Google itself. 🤷 But Google's sage advice? Sit tight and hope for the best. Patience, folks! ⏳😅
📌✨ Honey, grab your glasses, Pinterest’s quarterly report is here
and it's SPICY! 🌶️ Their Monthly Active Users (MAU) shot up by 17M, reaching a whopping 482M! 🚀 While Europe and the US are playing the hokey pokey with growth, North America remains the cash cow. 🇺🇸💰 And guess what? Gen Z's not just scrolling, they're engaging BIG time – making them Pinterest’s VIPs. 💁♀️💖 On the money front, they raked in $763M (an 11% jump from last year)! But, oops, they spent $768M. 📉💸 Thanks to mobile deep linking, though, more clicks are coming their
way. 📲 So, brands targeting the Gen Z audience, with a dash of visuals, might just find Pinterest the place to be. Keep on pinning! 📌💫
🐦💸 Guess what? Twitter's going cha-ching! Elon's shaking things up at Twitter (let's call it TwitterX for fun). Introducing two new premium subs: 1️⃣ Cheaper but with ads and 2️⃣ More bucks, but ad-free bliss. No subscription? You're
in the audience now, no tweeting for you! Yep, Twitter's pioneering the "Pay to Play" social media game. 🤯 They're rolling the dice in the Philippines and New Zealand first. 🌏 It's a sneaky play against bots, but will this scare off the tweety birds? 🤷♀️ Only time will tell. Stay tuned, peeps, this space is about to get wild! 🍿🚀 #TwitterRevolution.
TikTok's quest for a bigger slice of the advertising pie is heating up this festive season
🎄. Historically, the platform's been the little cousin at the ad dollar feast, but times are changing 📈. While big brands like Uber are still focusing on organic strategies, marketing agencies report a growing interest in advertising on TikTok. Power Digital, for instance, has seen a 32% rise in TikTok advertising from last year 🚀. Other agencies also note similar TikTok ad spend hikes. The introduction of TikTok Shop 🛍️ seems promising, merging product discovery with direct
purchases. Despite the momentum, TikTok's still on its maiden voyage towards becoming a mature advertising platform, akin to Meta or Google. The platform’s recently shared Q4 holiday strategy 📅 hints at its ambitions to woo brands during peak shopping events like Black Friday. In short, TikTok's holiday jingle is getting louder, but will brands dance to its tune? 💃🎶🤑.
🛍️🚀 In a high-stakes game of digital Monopoly, Omnicom just dropped a cool $835 million to snag Flywheel Digital from Ascential's roster. Flywheel, the e-commerce maestro that plays matchmaker for brands and online giants like Amazon and Alibaba, is set to nest under Omnicom's umbrella. Duncan Painter, swapping his Ascential CEO cap for an Omnicom one, is taking the reins. With the e-commerce pie expected to hit a
mouth-watering $7 trillion by 2025, Omnicom's move is less "shopping spree" and more "strategic power play." 🎩💼🌐 📊💡 McKinsey's latest deep dive shows a relationship status of "It's Complicated" between CEOs and CMOs. While businesses with tight CEO-CMO bonds tend to flourish, there's a murky
understanding of marketing's evolving role in the C-suite. Here's the tea ☕: while CEOs think the marketing playbook is crystal clear, CMOs beg to differ. Plus, modern marketing is becoming more tech-savvy, and only about half of the CEOs feel they're keeping up. Metrics? CEOs ❤️ revenue growth, while CMOs are all about that brand awareness. The solution? Redefining roles and bringing everyone on the same page. Oh, and in the CMO world, job tenure is looking shorter than that TikTok you just
scrolled past, down to an average of 4.2 years in 2022. 🔄📉gin and tonic! We're talking posh Tanqueray negronis, chic Ketel One cosmopolitans and espresso martinis, and a classic Bulleit Bourbon old fashioned and Manhattan. 🥃 Bakery, the Austin-based ad maestros with a history with Diageo, is running the show. They're going all out, dazzling social butterflies 🦋 from Reddit to Snapchat and even CTV and OLV. Spotlight's on the ladies aged 25-35 🍸👩 and all the party hosts out there. Tune in
for the 30-second headliner, "You've Got It Made," with bite-sized 6 and 15-second trailers. What's the buzz? Less time mixing, more time mingling – holiday celebrations just got an upgrade. 🎄 As Bakery's chief puts it, it's all about those dreamy, quality-filled moments with pals. And with Diageo's $20 billion revenue and a star-studded drink line-up, this party is just getting started! 🎉 Cheers to that! 🥂
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THE ALCHEMIST’S GUIDE TO STREAMING: TRANSMUTING PIXELS INTO GOLD
In the dim-lit rooms of 90s family homes, the familiar drone of a cable box would hum in the background,
anchoring households to one shared reality: the televised world.
There was a certain comfort, a certain predictability to the rhythmic switch between channels. But as time pressed on, that comfort faded, the predictability lost to the maddeningly vast digital universe of streaming. “Canceling cable was liberating,” said a friend recently, their voice wistful, “but now? Every night is a dissertation defense on what to watch next.” Megan Halscheid, a bespectacled woman in her mid-thirties with an analytical mind, once noted on Digiday that we, as humans, are insatiable in our thirst for content, always seeking more. READ MORE NOW
FROM GUT FEELINGS TO GIGABYTES: THE AI MARKETING METAMORPHOSIS
Today AI stands like a monolith. Not just as a technological achievement, but as a beacon for what our future holds. No
longer is AI just a buzzword; it’s intertwined with our everyday existence, particularly in the world of business and marketing. The crescendo of the digital age is echoed by businesses and their marketing efforts. The bridge between businesses and the ever-evolving consumer is now maintained by Artificial Intelligence. Deep insights into consumer behavior, understanding minute preferences, and predicting future consumer trends
have turned marketing into a sophisticated game of chess. The king? AI Marketing. READ MORE NOW
Email Marketing Law Update: Google Announces New Requirements for Bulk Email Senders to Gmail
On October 3, 2023, Google released an
announcement entitled “New Gmail protections for a safer, less spammy inbox.” By February 2024, Google will require bulk senders to authenticate their emails, allow for easy unsubscription and stay under a reported spam threshold.
“…[T]oday, we’re introducing new requirements for bulk senders — those who send more than 5,000 messages to Gmail addresses in one day — to keep your inbox even safer and more spam-free,”
according to the announcement. READ ARTICLE
HOW GIANTS LIKE NETFLIX ARE CIRCLING BACK TO CABLE’S SHADOW
The age of streaming dawned with a promise, a vision of a horizon where content was king, and viewers were no longer shackled
by the constraints of traditional cable. But as the years have rolled on, those early promises seem to have evaporated, much like morning mist under the blazing sun. Today, we stand at a curious juncture where the once-revolutionary pioneers, like Netflix, echo the missteps of the very institutions they vowed to replace. READ MORE OF THIS STORY
The Ascendancy of Connected TV: A Dive into the Future of Advertising
In the dim light of modern living rooms, a battle is being waged: the evolution of television consumption. From black-and-white family gatherers to colorized rectangles of
entertainment, TVs have long been the center of home recreation. Today, the rise of Connected TV (CTV) marks a significant shift in how we view and interact with content. As Millennials, Gen X, Y, and even Gen Z make their mark, they’re tuning into CTV like never before. READ THE FULL STORY
The Murky Waters of Podcasting Ad Fraud
The digital soundscape of podcasts has experienced exponential growth. Millions worldwide tune in every day, taking solace in the intimate embrace of a podcast's
comforting audio. Like any influential medium, podcasts have piqued the interest of advertisers and with that, an influx of capital. But this golden age for podcasts, with its rapid expansion and significant revenue milestones, is facing the timeless ailment of the advertising world: fraud. READ MORE
ADTECH’S SECRET SAUCE: IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE CODE
If you're anything like me, it's all too tempting to get caught up in the glitzy allure of cutting-edge software and groundbreaking products.
Adtech companies, often driven by an unwavering belief in their innovative solutions as the ultimate game-changers, have been swept away by the irresistible current of technology. As the adtech industry continues to grow, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors. According to Joe Zappa, the Founder of Sharp Pen Media, the key to this differentiation lies in the
quality of service and caliber of individuals backing the product. Adtech companies often place a steadfast faith in their software or product, but this can lead to a focus on features and functionality rather than the overall customer experience. By prioritizing customer service and investing in top talent, adtech companies can set themselves apart in a crowded marketplace. READ FULL STORY
IS THE OPEN MARKETPLACE DONE? THE SLOW EXODUS FROM OMP TO DIRECT-SOLD ADVERTISING Ah, the digital
age – a world where you can have 500 friends yet be terribly alone, and where advertisers think they’re omnipresent until they realize 70% of their audience is in the digital witness protection program. But in an age of hyper-targeted advertising, there’s a plot twist worthy of a classic film noir. The Open Marketplace (OMP) – the trusted intermediary between publishers and advertisers – seems to be on the ropes. Are its days numbered?
READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE
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