AOL is to place all of its reserved online inventory into its own demand side platform – automating the entire ad trading process.
The company said automating the sale of reserved inventory, something that is currently done manually, will free up a “vast amount of time that is lost in the standard process, in addition to driving efficiencies and effectiveness with digital campaigns.”
AOL UK’s owned and operated sites include The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, AOL.co.uk and MyDaily. The company already partners with advertisers and agencies including eBay, Amnet, Cadreon and Vivaki.
“Making all of our inventory and premium formats available through our DSP is a major milestone for AOL UK and the industry as a whole,” said Noel Penzer, managing director, AOL UK.
“It re-affirms our investment in and commitment to automation and our belief that programmatic will be the main driver of digital advertising budgets going forward.
“We believe all of our inventory can be bought in an automated fashion, giving agencies and advertisers more time to spend on bigger creative integrations, sponsorships and tailored solutions.”
The news comes after a recent study charting the concerns of UK media owners revealed that programmatic is considered the most important factor to running a successful business in the future.
The study, ‘What UK Media Owners Say‘, was published by Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) in June and surveyed the opinions of senior level executives from across UK media companies.
The findings revealed that 62% of respondents felt programmatic is “the most important to future business success”, with content marketing close behind, gaining 61% of opinion.
However, another study, conducted by ISBA, the body that represents UK advertisers, revealed that most UK advertisers remain uncertain about real-time advertising – with one third not sure how much of their online campaigns even involve automation.
The survey, run in collaboration with real-time advertising specialists Infectious Media, shows that 38% of advertisers are ‘not very aware’ of the different providers of programmatic ad buying services and 96% intend to learn more.
Despite the concerns, a recent IAB UK study claimed the share of ads bought through programmatic technologies is estimated to grow from 47% in 2014 to up to (60-75%) of total UK digital display advertising by 2017.
Commenting on the announcement, Chris Dobson, executive chairman of The Exchange Lab said: “AOL’s move is indicative of the pace of change running through digital media and is one of the first of many.
“As confidence grows around yield, brand and data safety and the scalable efficiency of programmatic trading you can expect many more publishers to follow suit.
“The next phase of programmatic growth will be fuelled by the addition of premium inventory and brand targeted campaigns. Soon the industry’s numerous tech solutions will be tested and many will fail that test – the inevitable and needed industry clean up will begin in earnest.”
