appnexus
KPEX’S PRIMARY PROGRAMMATIC PARTNER APPNEXUS ON TRUST, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK AND GDPR.
For the past 18 months or so, global concerns around transparency and privacy have gathered pace. Where is the industry at with rebuilding trust and transparency?
We’re cautiously optimistic. Many companies are only just starting to take ownership of the situation so there is still a way to go for industrywide transparency. But greater transparency leads to a healthier advertising ecosystem. By creating an open, real-time marketplace for digital advertising, we can give more marketers greater access to their audiences, put more money in the hands of high-quality publishers, and give users a more positive, relevant digital ad experience.
Do you think some of the responsibility for transparency lies with clients?
Absolutely. We believe that responsibility for programmatic transparency lies as much with marketers as it does with technology providers. Currently, few marketers truly know how much of their campaign dollars reach quality publishers and how much is absorbed by the various middlemen in the supply chain. Marketers should be asking the tough questions of their technology providers, demanding to know which partners they work with, and what their margins are. They should decline to work for those who don’t or can’t provide sufficient answers. This will go a long way to achieving transparency, and we are all for it.
What is the biggest challenge facing clients now?
Our clients continue to be concerned about the growing share of dollars that the duopoly of Google and Facebook continues to take. There is definitely frustration that there isn’t a level playing field for independent publishers, and it’s not in the duopoly’s interests to make things any easier. In my conversations with some of New Zealand’s leading publishers and advertisers, it’s clear that the market seeks a platform alternative to Google – one that doesn’t compete with its clients and is committed to breaking down walls, rather than putting them up.
What about GDPR and its impact in this market and on the ad tech business?
Having spoken to a number of local advertisers and publishers, many are of the opinion that GDPR doesn’t really apply to them given it’s a European regulatory policy. But this couldn’t be further from the truth, as it impacts any business that engages with users located in the EU. For example, if you’re a New Zealand publisher with a news site that has users in the UK or France, you need to act. Appnexus has been working with trade organisations like IAB Europe to create industry-wide solutions to handle transparency, notice, and consent requirements. Our company has also made technology investments to increase data minimisation, reviewed our documentation, records of processing and processes, our security measures, and our mechanisms to facilitate international transfers, and ensured compliance with other requirements of the regulation, including the appointment of a data protection officer. These changes set us up for maximum flexibility to implement the strictest interpretation of GDPR and eprivacy, as it relates to data our clients ask us to share with third-parties, while also allowing us maximum flexibility to pivot quickly if we need to.
What is Appnexus doing to ensure high inventory quality and how do people know they can trust you?
In late 2017, we were appointed as the primary monetisation platform for KPEX, which was designed to bring premium publishers together to offer scale, transparency, and revenue optimisation all in brand safe, premium environments for advertisers. We are involved in similar exchanges in Australia (APEX), Singapore (SMX), France (Audience Square) and globally with The Pangaea Alliance. When executed well, publisher coalitions are a proven way for publishers to create a competitive advantage. Appnexus also invests significant resources to take on bad actors in the ecosystem, particularly with regards to invalid traffic, domain spoofing and unauthorised re-selling, in addition to having some of the most far-reaching prohibitions against hate speech and fake news. We also supported the IAB’S global Ads.txt initiative from the start. In these ways and more, we’re working very hard at staying ahead of the bad actors and maintaining the trustworthiness and transparency of our marketplace.
What does Appnexus want to be best known for in market?
We want to be known as the most trusted and transparent marketplace for quality digital advertising. A key differentiator of Appnexus is the deep, strategic partnerships we forge with our clients. We integrate with their teams to truly understand their business goals, develop strategic partnership plans, and collaborate on execution. We work tirelessly to help our clients achieve sustained differentiation, innovation, and success.