Catalyst S+F :: A San Francisco based marketing capital firm

I wanted to draw your attention to something that was published on iMedia Connection this AM. Penned by Dave Yovanno of Mediaplex, it describes a new vendor neutral tool that they developed to help marketers get a better understanding of the Display industry, the classes of vendors, who does what, etc. I won’t paraphrase the article, but do read it. It points out some of the communications issues of our industry, and the tool itself is very helpful as a starting place for understanding which end is up in Display.

The other reason I like the tool so much is that I know that Dave developed it in conjunction with Justin Fibich, a former Catalysta and now a rising sales star at “The Plex.” I have no economic connection to Mediaplex, so don’t think this a self serving shill.

But I do think it says something about them that they developed a vendor neutral tool just to help further understanding of the Display space among marketers and agencies. Yes, yes, they do benefit when Display gets more attention. But anything that helps take some of the absurd complexity out of this ridiculously overcomplicated industry is a real public service in my book.

I also envy them a little their ability to simplify the morass of solutions into such a simple illustration. While I flatter myself that I know a ton about Display, I could NEVER have created such an elegant, succinct, eminently helpful tool.

Viral Vid: Alex and Liam do Wal*Mart

Catalyst S+F — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:00:04 +0000

Industry Links for 05032012

Catalyst S+F — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:00:04 +0000

Hello all, playing with format for the next few days…trying to experiment with organization and themes.

Industry Links for 05032012

LEADING COMPANIES

New Facebook custom action links Timeline feature will be great for brands

Brands question FB ad efficacy

Consumer Reports parent CU calls out FB privacy in full page print ads

Check out Zynga’s new brand pitch for Draw Something!

YouTube commits $200Mil in support of new premium channels

START-UPS

Curated shopping site OpenSky hits 1.5M members

Evernote gets $70M MORE at $1B valuation

LifeStreet nabs $66M

RESEARCH

Check out this Nielsen research about changing video consumption habits and what platforms are growing in importance

SLANDER AND SCUTTLE

Is Kindle Fire like Christmas fruit cake?

Me likey intriguing but possibly totally incorrect rumors: Arianna wants to buy back HuffPo from AOL

Industry Links for 05042012

Catalyst S+F — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:49:36 +0000

LEADING COMPANIES

It’s not TV, it’s Zuck TV: Check out FB’s IPO roadshow video

LinkedIn buying SlideShare for $119M

Ouch: Groupon stock dips into single digits

Vibrant launches contextual photo ad product Lightbox

STARTUPS

Mom power! Pinterest rises to #3 soc net

Badoo hits 150M users!

Hootsuite raising $50M at $500M valuation

Personalities-from-photos startup Tidepool raises $1.5M

BRANDS AND AGENCIES

Banking on a new agency: B of A moves to WPP

RESEARCH

Great Pew report on teens and video is here

SLANDER AND SCUTTLE

Yahoo CEO in hot water because of resume lie – said he had a CS degree but he doesn’t. Resignation rumored

Not All Inventory Was Created Equal (Mediapost 5.2.12)

Cory Treffiletti — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:18:00 +0000

We’re heading into a phase of the online ad business that’s clearly based on the concept that not all inventory was created equal. The fervor around the viewable ads issue, coupled with the rapid development of Data Management Platforms (DMP) which make marketers smarter about how they spend their money, leads us to a situation where placement, audience and performance of creative can influence the value of the inventory that’s available. That means changes are in store for the media buying community.

To date, most online ad pricing has been one dimensional, and tied either to context or a basic set of data parameters, but the issues mentioned above are becoming hot buttons and leading us towards new opportunities. These include dynamic pricing, upfront markets and a changing perception of the landscape for supply and demand of online inventory.

It’s inevitable that there will become a finite supply of premium, higher quality inventory for advertisers as more advertisers become smarter. The potential resolve on the viewable ads issue means more marketers will be competing for a smaller set of inventory, whether it be contextual, audience-based or more likely a combination of both. Conversely, the market for junk inventory will drop. This creates a situation where demand and supply lead to a fluctuating marketplace, more like financial markets. This could lead to realistic upfront markets finally being established in the online space, which have not previously been required. In the past, there was the perception of limitless supply for premium inventory, but that’s simply not the case. The best sites and the best placements are being bought in advance, and that’s going to happen more often.

The other factor that leads to this situation is the increased use of DMP’s by marketers. As more marketers become intelligent about the ways they spend their money, they could end up competing for the same inventory, or at least similar customers. Right now, the use of a DMP is a competitive advantage for a marketer, but it will become table stakes in the next 12-18 months, and the result is the long tail of media will be become more valuable, and the “extra-long” tail will be devalued as more marketers squeeze value out of the top 50% of available inventory online.

The other factor that gets overlooked is performance. If the interaction rates and engagement rates don’t increase in online ads, then only the most visible, more premium inventory will be considered valuable. The long and extra-long tail of inventory will see no value at all. Regardless of whether they price on performance or not, you can’t squeeze blood from a stone. If the inventory can’t drive performance with poor creative, then the advertisers will place the blame on the inventory, unfortunately rather than taking the blame for poor creative, and they’ll focus their dollars on only the top notch placements and audience. It won’t be far, but it will be a fact.

So the fact is not all inventory is created equal, and the immediate future for media buying is going to be changing quickly. Upfronts may become a necessity. A futures and secondary spot market may soon become a reality. The perception that there is a finite supply for premium inventory will become commonplace, and prices may indeed begin to increase.

Do you agree?