33Across Blog | Programmatic News & Trends

What was the buzz around the office last week? Google wants to control your creative, redefining the definition of programmatic, and big programmatic plans for Netflix.  

1. Google offers to control ad creative  

Publishers can now give Google the power to control the creative direction of their online ads. In an effort to create ad units that perform on any given page, Google AdSense will scan web pages for the best placements. The technology even suggests the best font and style according to the feed. This is just another change from AdSense, MediaPost offers more of what we can expect from the platform in 2018.

What a year 2017 has been; we grew, learned, and had lots of fun.

Google announced that as of February 15th, 2018, Chrome will stop showing ads that don’t meet certain standards for quality.  Bad news if you’re using ads that deliver subpar experiences. Good news if you’re using 33Across since our ads are compliant with the Better Ads Standards.

What was the buzz around the office last week? The benefits and possibilities of header bidding, how first-price auctions work, and how independent agencies keep programmatic advertising going.  

1. What the future holds for header bidding  

Header bidding has revolutionized the way that programmatic advertising functions. Before the technology, only certain buyers had access to inventory while having no idea of what they were buying. With header bidding, transparency has been given within the ad tech ecosystem, allowing publishers to offer all of their inventory to buyers. eMarketer sat down with eBay’s director of product management to get his insights on the future of header bidding.

As a publisher monetization company, our Publisher Acquisition team is committed to ensuring a smooth on-boarding process as well as manage all of our publisher relationships. For this edition of Friday Fives we’re featuring Lauren Hollinger, Director of Publisher Acquisition. Read more to learn about Lauren’s take on the Facebook/Google Duopoly, challenges for publishers, and of course the most fun she’s had recently.

What are the top three things that publishers are looking for in 2018? 
With regards to brand safety, publishers are looking for accountability from buyers. They're also looking to expand and improve their video monetization strategy, and to also remove ad clutter while increasing revenue.

What was the buzz around the office last week? Improving the quality of private marketplaces, The New York Times creates custom flex units, and what will happen with net neutrality.  

1. The future of private marketplaces  

Private marketplaces (PMPs) have had a place in programmatic advertising for quite some time. Both advertisers and publishers enjoy PMPs because of their custom benefits and transparency opportunities. As ad tech evolves, PMPs need to evolve as well. Automating the share of information between supply-side platforms and DSPs could improve the quality of PMPs, AdExchanger explains more.

As we grow as a company, we want to increase our community and charity efforts. As we we enter the season of giving, we decided that this was the perfect time to launch Karma33, a group of 33Across employees focused on community service.

What was the buzz around the office last week? How publishers can serve quality inventory, Snapchat takes a big hit, and Facebook allows publishers to monetize.  

1. How publishers can win with low supply  

With publishers moving towards private marketplaces, there is a shortage of quality supply within ad tech. To create better inventory, there are a number of things publishers can do to self-regulate. First, publishers can adhere to ads.txt get rid of bad actors and domain spoofing. Publishers can also react to video inventory, while it’s low in supply it’s what users want to consume. AdExchanger explains how striking the right balance between time and platform is the best interest of both publishers and advertisers.

Cheers to the weekend! For this edition of Friday Fives we’re chatting with Adam Kadet, our Senior Director of Demand Development. Check out how Adam serves his clients and what he thinks brands are looking for in Q4. He also dishes on the future of ad tech, which buzzwords should retire, and which weekend day he considers to be the best.

What was the buzz around the office last week? Adblock Plus strengthens on Facebook, Pandora invests more in programmatic, and Rubicon Project eliminates fees.  

1. New moves by Adblock Plus  

Adblock Plus is making strides once again on Facebook. Since September, the ad-blocking software company has been able to keep sponsored posts and even commercials from appearing for users who take advantage of the technology. As of right now. Adblock Plus only works on desktop which is good news for Facebook, AdAge explains more.