The video partnership
The sell and buy divide that exists in display simply isn’t applicable to TV and video, writes Videology’s Ryan Jamboretz – because both sides add value to each other
The world is simpler when everyone is divided. You know where you stand. So in this heavily politicised age we see the UK and the US clustered into Conservatives and Labour and Democrats and Republicans respectively.
In our industry, many would like to divide us into DSPs and SSPs; buy-side or sell-side; you’re either “with me or against me”.
That at least is the model that has evolved in digital display advertising. Each side battles the other and each holds its information tight. SSPs hope to empower the sellers with powerful data while DSPs hope to provide the buyers with unique insights. Each side seeks to bludgeon the other to get the best deal.
It’s an adversarial model in the strongest traditions of media negotiation.
Fortunately, such simplistic, binary thinking doesn’t work in video. It’s a totally different market and the divide simply isn’t applicable. Or perhaps I should say that, if it is applied, then the value that both broadcaster and brand get from video is reduced.
There are four reasons for this:
First, video and broadcast are traded very differently from display. Agencies and broadcasters have annual commitments to each other, partnerships that extend beyond simple spots and dots in a way that doesn’t happen in other digital spheres. Applying the rules from a disruptive digital industry to video would be naive at best.
Second, both broadcasters and agencies want partners who understand the other party and its technology. They want integration that is ‘native to native’ across the divide. This not only makes the transaction simple and direct, but also helps to slash the tech tax that can occur when an artificial chain of different intermediaries, each of whom takes a slice, is created.
Working together means more of the media pounds/euros/dollars makes it onto the screen, rewarding the content owner more fairly and maximising the impact for the brand.
Thirdly, broadcasters such as Sky, AT&T and Comcast have gold dust: first-party data. Their subscriber information enables agencies and advertisers to create more targeted and relevant advertising but also allows brands to better monetize their content.
Adding third-party data provides an even more rounded picture of consumers but first party is the bedrock on which true understanding is built. Broadcasters will only allow this data to be used in a safe place, with validated partners because it is their valued customers’ data who trust them to take care of it and it is their competitive edge against the likes of Google and Facebook.
Fourthly, broadcasters want independent, trusted technology partners and, frankly, have the power to insist that agencies comply. Broadcasters are well aware of the danger that Google and Facebook pose. As a result, they only want to work with people who can provide technology outside the duopoly as well as being separate from new rivals such as Amazon.
Working across the divide means they can manage and deploy their data in a safe and compliant way that allows advertisers and their agencies a chance to access it and enhance their campaigns.
All four factors highlight the fact that video would be less effective if an artificial divide was created between the buy and supply side. In fact, it takes close integration to ensure the full value of video is secured for both sides.
Video is the most powerful medium that we have. Originally it was only available on TV but now it’s accessible on multiple devices and at any time that suits the viewer.
Despite the multitude of media platforms now available for advertisers, video, across all its screens, remains the pre-eminent channel for delivering ROI and with the consistent application of technology and data, for both sellers and buyers, this advantage is only likely to increase.
But this advantage will only be fully realised when both sides of the supply/demand divide meet in the middle.
Ryan Jamboretz is chief commercial officer at Videology