How Publishers Squeeze Value from Ad Auction Data

Bid requests contain lead generation tips

An interview with:
Erik Requidan
Vice President, Sales and Programmatic Strategy
Intermarkets

The vast amount of data that pumps through programmatic pipes can overwhelm publishers, but those willing to sift through the weeds may find some hidden lead generation gems. Erik Requidan, vice president of sales and programmatic strategy at Intermarkets, spoke with eMarketer’s Ross Benes about how publishers can use their programmatic auction data to strike deals with advertisers.

eMarketer:

What do publishers overlook when it comes to programmatic ad selling?

Erik Requidan:

It really helps that publishers put their best opportunities in front of advertisers by going out and finding who is buying their inventory consistently through programmatic pipes.

eMarketer:

How is this accomplished?

Erik Requidan:

It all starts with the data you have. Basically, publishers sit on a bunch of data that they don’t really do anything with. But that data can inform them on who they should be spending time with.

eMarketer:

Can you elaborate?

Erik Requidan:

You have a lot of legacy sellers going out there with the mindset, "Hey, I’m going to call up this agency because I worked with them last year, and I hope they’re interested in me now." But there are things occurring within auction-level data that people should pay more attention to. The transaction data is different than hoping and guessing.

People pay attention to the winner. But what about all of those other people bidding? Just because someone didn’t win an auction doesn’t mean that they’re not interested in doing business with you.

I’ve heard people say, "Who cares what's going on in the open market place?" But you should absolutely care what's happening in the open marketplace because that's typically where a buyer will prospect at a cheap price to find stuff. Then from there, publishers can elevate it into a premium.

eMarketer:

Are you referring to moving buyers from open exchanges to the private marketplaces, where ad rates are higher?

Erik Requidan:

Yes, I was referring to private deals and deal IDs. But there are so many people who don’t have the fundamentals down.

eMarketer:

How else are publishers not making full use of the data at their disposal?

Erik Requidan:

There is a ton of data in bids that didn’t win. Let’s say you’re selling a Picasso painting, and the bids start at $5 million. And then a few people bid $7 million and $8 million, but they eventually lose to someone who bid $9 million.

People pay attention to the winner. But what about all of those other people bidding? Just because someone didn’t win an auction doesn’t mean that they’re not interested in doing business with you. And if you’re a publisher who is constantly selling inventory, after you strike a big deal with an advertiser, you can’t just always go back to the same buyer with your next big deal because they might not have the budget for it. But you got information that shows who is interested in you, even though they might not have cleared the last auction. A lot of that data gets lost or thrown out, but there’s a lot of value associated with it.

Interview conducted on April 2, 2018

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