In four years, ‘most online media in Asia will be traded automatically’
In just four years, the majority of online media in Asia will be traded automatically by computer systems, an expert in the field has predicted.
The statement was made today at a programmatic trading event by Rick Mulia, VP of media and advertising solutions for online travel site Wego.
His comments were echoed by Matt Harty, APAC GM of Omnicom Media Group’s trading desk Accuen, who said that programmatic buying would soon “revolutionise” the way out of home advertising is traded too.
However, their statements come at an uneasy time for programmatic buying, which has been blighted by controversy in the US over a perceived lack of transparency.
A number of global advertisers including Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark have pulled spend from agency trading desks in the US because they fear that they are being overcharged.
Mediabrands announced the roll-out of its agency trading desk Cadreon across Asia at the start of this month with a statement that it “does not arbitrage” – the practice of buying media and reselling it at a profit to clients without disclosing the original cost. Mediabrands’ statement was seen as a thinly veiled barb at rival Xaxis, WPP’s trading desk, which has been accused of arbitrage.
Mulia was speaking at an event organised by TVN and TubeMogul today, which included TVN founder and MD Peter Ostick, TubeMogul director Phu Truong and Michael Smith of Spuul.
Robin,
ReplyWith all due respect, Mediabrands’ statement is in no way a “thinly veiled barb at rival Xaxis.” The fact that we do not arbitrage is something Mediabrands has maintained throughout and from the time Cadreon was launched in the US and later in other parts of the world. It is a proprietary buying technology that has been developed using the agency’s infrastructure capabilities. The simple differentiating factor is that it employs an audience-based model and not inventory-based model across all digital media. It is not in any way an attack on our competitors.
Cheers
Hi Maddie,
Fair point, I see where you’re coming from.
However, I do think that a press release that states “we do not arbitrage” is seen by your competitors as hinting that they might.
Cheers,
ReplyRobin – Mumbrella
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