33Across Blog | Programmatic News & Trends

What was the buzz around the office last week? The side effects of Ads.txt, reform in measuring the effectiveness of programmatic advertising, and Facebook focuses more on local news.

1. Ads.txt and pricing models  

By now, more than half of the world’s websites which sell programmatic ads have adopted ads.txt. Launched by the IAB in an effort to combat fraud, the adoption of Ads.txt has increased the confidence that brands have in their ads which in return has marketers thinking of new ways to leverage their data. AdExchanger explains how a pricing model shift could be coming for ad tech which could include the fusion of lower prices, data licensing, and cost-of-media models. 

What’s life in sales without a little competition? Our Director of Programmatic Sales Kevin Haslam knows this all too well. As a former NFL offensive tackle for teams including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders, Kevin brings his competitive edge to the 33Across Demand Team. Check out how Kevin motivates himself in the gym while also drawing from his experiences as a professional athlete.

What was the buzz around the office last week? The rise of CPM costs, users getting Spotify's premium service for free, and the use of programmatic to boost influencer campaigns.

1. The good news about increased CPM costs  

The price of CPMs have gone up, and this is a good thing. After analyzing the ad prices of a variety of platforms, eMarketer reports that programmatic ad prices for desktop display have risen over the past 12 months. While this is not an indication of any particular benchmarks, the analysis signifies the importance of audience and data to marketers. 

What was the buzz around the office last week? How blockchain technology could increase ad tech ROI, Pinterest refers more traffic back to publishers, and what to look out for regarding tech's next acquisition.  

1. How blockchain could increase ad tech revenue  

Blockchain, the popular technology of securing digital transactions, could revolutionize the way marketers and advertisers track ROI within ad tech. Through the verification of clicks as well as IP addresses, blockchain has the potential to reduce ad fraud. The technology could also assist marketers with targeting the consumer journey in a post-GDPR era. AdWeek suggests that once blockchain improves its offerings, ad tech monetization could drastically increase.

The best products are a result of a team who knows project management well. Alison Connard, our Director of Product Management is no exception to this rule. Bringing a wealth of experience, Alison works closely with a number of teams including our Engineering and Marketing teams to ensure that 33Across’ product offerings are competitive and commercialized successfully. For this edition of Friday Fives, Alison gives us insight on how she got into product management, the skills needed for the role, and where her last vacation was.

What was the buzz around the office last week? The metrics we use and how we use them matters, Buzzfeed opens its doors to programmatic, and a common banner could be fradulent.  

1. Creating metrics that matter  

In the world of ad tech, data and analytics play a major role in monetization. Constantly surrounded by metrics, it’s up to the industry to ensure that metrics are meaningful. Just because something is measured does not mean that it is relevant. AdExchanger explains how factors including response quality, long-term effects, and context matter more than a hashtag alone.

What was the buzz around the office last week? How brands will handle GDPR, programmatic advertising goes mainstream, and Amazon increasing their original content spend by $1 billion.  

1. Brands prepare GDPR strategies  

General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR will likely affect the way marketers manage targeting campaigns throughout Europe. Going into effect in May, this EU-based regulation will give users the power to authorize whether or not brands can leverage their only data. In a recent survey of UK internet users, 60% said that GDPR would make them question how their data is used while a third of respondents revealed they would exercise their exclusion rights when GDPR goes live. According to eMarketer, if users follow through with restricting their personal data, brands will start to rely more on contextual targeting.

Welcome to Friday! This week we’re featuring a member of our incredible sales team, Alex Ratajczyk. Recently promoted to Channel Sales Director, Alex is responsible for servicing our demand side platforms. He’s been with 33Across for over four years and a lot has changed within the industry since his start. Check out his thoughts on how programmatic advertising has changed, awesome qualities within great salespeople, and his skills behind the camera.

What was the buzz around the office last week? Brands doing more of their own programmatic, good news about Better Ads, and balancing short-term and long-term for publishers.  

1. Brands taking control of programmatic  

Brands are taking their programmatic efforts in-house. A recent survey by the ANA revealed that 25% of brands are choosing to do more programmatic buying. Prompted by worries of fraud and brand safety, some brands are taking complete control of where their ads show up. Data also plays a major part, brands want to see their customer data used more dynamically. Instead of going completely in-house, The Drum recommends that marketers seek a collaborative hybrid arrangement with agencies.

Welcome to Friday! As with most tech companies, our engineers play a major role in our company's success. One of our Senior Software Engineers Aparna Hegde, is no exception to that rule. Serving as a member of our high-performing engineering team, Aparna is responsible keeping 33Across’ technology at its very best. Learn more about her including why she decided to become an engineer, how a non-technical person can learn engineering, and what her favorite weekend day is!