Another successful dmexco experience for the PubGalaxy team.

dmexco 2015  – another successful experience for the PubGalaxy team      

(Source: dmexco.de)

Attending dmexco has become a tradition for PubGalaxy, this time with an expanded team of nine members from all our departments – Executive management, Sales, Business Development, Yield Management and PR. Our plan was to get a full impression of this grand event and all the exciting opportunities it represents for the different aspects of our business.

Here are some of the highlights of this year’s event for us:

As we spent most of our time in the three large expo halls, meeting with current and prospective clients and partners, we were mesmerized with the boldness and creativity of the exhibiting companies. The majority of sales stands were designed and executed with originality and taste, and offered а casual and comfortable atmosphere for business talks and meetings.

What’s in it for publishers?

Being the largest digital event organized in Europe, dmexco is a gravity centre for all sorts of companies related to the online publishing business – from SEO optimization and audience measurement to user data monetization and ad space monetization platforms. Attending dmexco presents a great occasion for networking and getting fresh ideas on how to expand your business and not miss out on great monetization opportunities.

From the seminars and talks given by the brightest minds of the industry, these were the topics which resonated with us the most:

Leveraging publishing data to solve fraud and improve viewability was addressed by Manny Puentes from Altitude Digital in a seminar. Speaking of viewability, he shared the notion of changing the definition of viewability, instead of improving the measurement for it. In other words, consider the impressions that are viewed rather than impressions that are rendered. In his opinion, fraud and viewability go hand in hand and the actions publishers can take to prevent fraud are: agree upon fraud definition, partner with trusted platforms, and understand analytics.

The issues of viewability were also addressed by InSkin Media in their seminar session, i.e. inconsistency with measuring, 35% of the served impression are not in view and viewability doesn’t work for non-standard ads, the way it is measured now.  Viewability is just one metric and we shouldn’t be too obsessed with it. We should look at the overall context of where an ad appears, i.e. are there are too many ads around, etc. In the end, we shouldn’t forget that viewability is gatekeeper for engagement, not the final result.

The role and impact of technology was elaborated on by David Shing from AOL in a debate session. While disruptive technology is viewed as something progressive, media is the sixth largest stress factor for people. So there is this love and hate relationship with technology. In his opinion, technology changes behaviour, but not needs. So what people need and aspire to, should be taken into account when designing a consumer strategy. We are facing a new breed of people, who need a purpose, who use technology as a tool, but also use their guts when making a decision about something. So technology should not disrupt, but rather create a fusion and harmony.

Ad Blocking as a catalyst for a game change was the theme of a Q&A session with Ben Barokas from SourcePoint, who shed some light on the reasons for ad blocking and the available options to tackle it. The advertising model is not working anymore for users and they have chosen ad blocking as a solution to improve their online experience. But this kills content and the publishers’ right to monetize their ad space. Users should be offered a fair choice of options – to use standard or customized advertising experience. So, publishers need to engage with their users and ask them how they are willing to pay for getting access to premium content, for example: to view selected ads in order to access content, to pay a subscription with ads-free experience, or to be denied content if they choose to block all advertising.

The new programmatic landscape was a dynamic discussion with four representatives of the industry. Header bidding was among the topics as some participants voiced out their preference for header bidding over daisy chain due to header bidding creating more competition for publishers’ quality inventory, although it certainly has its disadvantages. Participants shared their expectations for more programmatic direct and programmatic guaranteed deals to come, as these are a comfortable starting point for publishers to sell their space programmatically. Publishers, however, should not fear the open auctions, which offer more transparency and in many cases the inventory sold there, could surpass PMP rates.

After two days of exciting meetings and valuable talks, we look forward to next year’s dmexco in Cologne, Germany!