Collaboration is the key for the reader-first premium web
Opinion: Partner content
Both publishers and advertisers can work together to break old habits and find a new collaborative approach across the premium web, writes Ozone’s chief operating officer.
The case for creating a great user ad experience in the premium web is compelling, but it can only be sustainable if buyers and premium publishers adopt a collaborative approach that puts their mutual consumers at the centre of the online experience.
The challenges faced by both publishers and advertisers across the digital ad ecosystem are well documented. The widespread adoption of programmatic technologies by both sides, and the resulting disintermediation and loss of control over the supply chain, has had a significant impact on their mutual customers when it comes to their privacy, user experience and trust in advertising.
While it might feel like the race to the bottom has been run – and irrespective of which side of the table you sit at, there’s no shortage of opinions on what needs to change – taking coordinated steps towards a better future for premium ad-funded publishing still feels somewhat intangible. One approach to solve this might be to put the reader and their online experience at the heart of our thinking.
A good user experience is good for business
A central tenet that all parties tend to agree on is that a better user experience and enhanced privacy, will help the advertising sector regain some of the trust it’s lost in recent years. A better digital user experience requires a reduction in the number of ads on publishers’ pages, and a reduction in the amount of ad code that slows these pages down and leaks user data to unknown third parties.
Minimising ad clutter and optimising page performance benefits advertisers by ensuring their ads load faster, have greater attention, and perform more effectively — who wouldn’t want that? At Ozone, we label ad slots that negatively impact user experience without delivering positive revenue contribution as ‘excess ad ratio’ — failure to measure and reduce this can have a dilutive impact on overall monetisation.
Improving UX improves publisher economics
A user’s ad experience — and the correlation between ad clutter, supply duplication, data leakage events — also has a direct impact on publisher monetisation performance. By addressing these factors collectively, publishers and advertisers can optimise their strategies and maximise the potential returns for each. This alignment benefits both parties and helps create a more stable and prosperous ecosystem.
Optimising the supply chain
Another area where collaboration between publishers and advertisers is essential is in streamlining the ad supply chain. By reducing the number of routes to market for the same inventory, and optimising the remaining routes (a method called Demand Path Optimisation), publishers can reduce duplicate supply, leading to higher win rates for advertisers. Streamlining inventory and audience access has the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly thanks to more efficient routes of distribution, and thus reducing the overall carbon footprint of the supply chain.
Editorial matters
When it comes to value creation, a shift in mindset is required, aligning advertising metrics more closely with editorial metrics. This change enables publishers and advertisers to better understand the true impact of their campaigns and make more informed decisions. It also exposes dilutive tactics, such as the introduction of content recommendation links, which erode display yield and can lead to a loss of publisher traffic.
This does require a leap of faith; where publishers know they have too many ads on page, but where reductive measures are a foreign concept.
Similarly, marketers talk of the challenges posed by the open marketplace whilst enjoying the choice and perceived value that it delivers. By acknowledging these tactics, both publishers and advertisers can work together to break old habits and find a new collaborative — and mutually beneficial — approach across the premium web.
When it comes to resolving the challenges faced by publishers and advertisers in today’s digital landscape there can never be too much collaboration.
After all, what brings both sides together is the user; their mutual customers whose engagement and action will shape the success of their businesses. By focusing on enhancing the user experience, ensuring privacy, streamlining the ad supply chain, and redefining value creation metrics, both parties can work together to reap greater rewards, not only for themselves but for us all as readers too.
Danny Spears is chief operating officer at Ozone