People tend to talk (and write) about what they’re passionate about.
We are no different. You may have noticed this while reading our blog over the past year.
In case you missed out on the conversation, we’ve compiled some of our most popular advertising technology posts from 2015, including two info-graphics and several articles featured in other publications.
As you can see, we’re passionate about Ad Tech!
Why Cookie Alternatives are Vital for the Future of Mobile Advertising
As mobile internet usage has risen dramatically in recent years, so has the amount of advertisers who are focusing on mobile advertising. In fact, eMarketer estimates that between 2015 and 2019, mobile advertising will grow by a whopping $37.15 billion. For this reason, digital advertisers are increasingly interested in how to optimize their ad campaigns and target consumers more effectively.
However, because mobile web browsers use webview to display online content, it is much more difficult to track users with cookies. Fortunately, there are several alternatives.
In this article, we explore the advantages and disadvantages of:
Client/Device Identifier
Universal Login Tracking
Device Fingerprint
Statistical ID
HTML5 Cookie Tracking
Take a closer look at the various alternatives to cookies.
Read the full article
What is a Data Management Platform (DMP) and How Does it Work?
The more than 1.5 billion people who use the Internet every day serve as a massive audience for advertisers.
Thanks to first-, second-, and third-party user data available, it is possible to form a highly precise profile of potential customers, which can then be used to greatly optimize advertising and marketing campaigns.
Unfortunately, these enormous amounts of data are useless without a platform to collect, store, analyze, and utilize them.
This is where a Data Management Platform (DMP) comes in. Working in conjunction with Demand-Side Platforms (DSP) as well as Ad Exchanges, Supply-Side Platforms (SSP), and other advertising technology platforms, a DMP forms a critical part of the complex online advertising-technology ecosystem.
Understanding their capabilities and uses is critical for advertisers and marketers who want to capitalize on the revenue-generating potential of the Internet landscape.
Not sure how a DMP works and what it can do?
Learn more
How Does Real-Time Bidding Work?
Online display ads are everywhere. We see them every time we load a page and often we are surprised at how relevant they are to us and our interests.
Little do we realize that this phenomenon is due to a process called real-time bidding. Thanks to the integration of a number of different programmatic platforms (DSP, SSP, Ad Exchange) an online publisher can put ad space up for auction and get it sold, and also draw and display the winning ad, all in about 100 milliseconds – the amount of time it takes to load a web page.
This lightning-fast process is one of the keys to the success of online ad campaigns and will play a vital role in the continued growth of the ad tech landscape.
Want to closer look at the Real-Time Bidding process and find out how it works?
Read the full article
The Truth About Online Privacy: How Your Data is Collected, Shared, and Sold
It’s no secret that internet users leave a long trail of data behind them as they browse the web.
Because of the potential for massive revenue, the tracking, collecting, and analyzing of this data is of paramount importance to many people, online display advertisers most of all. This creates a great deal of controversy among privacy advocates as well as individuals, which is why it is essential to have a clear picture of how your data is tracked, what technologies are used, and what tools you have at your disposal to “track the trackers.”
Take an in-depth look at online privacy.
Learn more
What is a Demand-Side Platform (DSP)?
Supply-Side Platforms. Ad exchanges. Real-time bidding.
These are just some of the elements that make up the ad tech ecosystem. Another key part is a Demand-Side Platform (DSP). As media buyers search for appropriate places to put their ads, and ad exchanges look to sell their inventory, a DSP serves as sort of stockbroker to bring the two sides together.
But to fully understand the usefulness of a DSP, it is necessary to see exactly how they facilitate the media-buying process.
Find out more
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Native Advertising
Not many people are interested in looking at display ads online anymore. Much less clicking on one.
This painful truth has forced online ad publishers to turn to other forms of advertising to keep revenue up. One solution is native advertising, in which ads are shown in such a way as to follow the form and function of the medium they are displayed in. Because of the variety of channels through which users interact with online content, the possibilities for native ads are quite diverse and they have proven to be very successful.
But this form of advertising has raised some serious questions about ethics and the line between journalism and advertising. For this reason, it is likely to remain a hot topic – and so very much talked-about for some time to come.
Get a greater understanding of the different kinds of native advertising and the issues connected with it.
Read the full article
What is Cookie Syncing and How Does it Work?
Most people like cookies. The kind you eat anyway.
Fewer are enamored with the kind used to track Internet users’ actions and preferences, although they often don’t realize how useful they are in making their online experience better.
And while they may arouse some controversy, cookies are an integral part of driving the revenue of the online advertising industry, which has the effect of making large portions of online content free to users.
Their effectiveness would be greatly reduced if it weren’t for the process of cookie syncing, in which first-, second-, and third-party cookies are aligned across several platforms to create a more precise user profile and allow for a more personalized user experience.
Interested in seeing exactly how cookie syncing works in real life?
Find out more
Why a Lack of Transparency is Killing the Potential of Programmatic Buying
Technological advancements have greatly enhanced the process of buying online advertising space. Thanks to programmatic buying, advertisers have been able to streamline and automate their campaigns.
But all is not as rosy as it might seem. The complex structure of the programmatic landscape – with DSPs, SSPs, Ad Exchanges and Ad Agencies all in the mix – means that each player is looking to get a slice of the profits. As a consequence, advertisers often do not have a clear picture of exactly how they are spending their money.
The resulting lack of transparency poses a serious threat to the future of programmatic media-buying and the ad tech industry as a whole.
Learn more about the problems and possibilites connected with programmatic buying.
Read more
Why Advertisers and Agencies Need to Tune In to Programmatic TV
From 2013 to 2015, the percentage of advertising money spent on digital programmatic ads nearly doubled.
This is just one of the many indications of programmatic’s increasing influence on the advertising industry. By analyzing data like demographics, geo-location and behavior history, the platforms used in programmatic media buying can link ads with their ideal target audience. This technology also has great potential for TV advertising.
With the rise of non-linear TV and DVRs, the challenges for TV advertisers to optimize their campaigns and produce more measureable results have led to the growth of addressable TV, and this is where programmatic ad buying can help.
Learn more about how programmatic works as well as the challenges involved in programmatic TV.
Learn more
How Real-Time Bidding Changed Online Display Advertising
Much has changed in the online advertising landscape since AT&T launched the first display ad in 1994. Now it’s difficult to even imagine browsing the Internet without seeing some form of ad – whether a pop-up, banner, or video.
As advertisers caught on to the potential of internet advertising and the number of sites offering ad space grew, the ad-buying process grew infinitely more complex. What was once a simple transaction between publisher and advertiser soon became a more drawn-out process. With the rise of ad networks and, later, ad-exchanges, things improved. What has really changed online advertising dramatically is real-time bidding.
Learn more about the complex history of online display advertising and the real-time bidding revolution.
Read the full article
The Colorful History of AdTech in Just 63 Slides
Understanding the present and planning for the future require a knowledge of the past.
That’s why it’s worth taking a look back at the checkered past of the Advertising Technology industry as we seek to peer into the future.
From the first wildly successful banner ad in 1994 to the explosion of pop-ups and their decimation in the wake of the dot-com bust in the late nineties, Ad Tech has seen rapid evolution on its path to becoming the complex ecosystem that it is today.
Clearcode’s CEO Maciej Zawadziński gives a complete run-down on Ad Tech’s colorful history in his SlideShare presentation.
See the presentation
How The Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Ad Exchange Works [Infographic]
One of the most complex pieces of technology to come on the Ad Tech scene in recent years is the Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Ad Exchange. Its advantages for both advertisers and publishers are clear, but for many, the process itself remains hard to grasp.
Our clear and simple infographic lays out RTB step-by-step. See for yourself!
Check out the infographic
The Top 12 Players in the Online Display Advertising Landscape [Infographic]
Advertising is all about what people see and what they read, but before a person ever lays eyes on it, an online display ad must journey a long way from advertiser and media agency to ad server and on to ad exchange by way of a DSP before finally being published.
Follow the journey for yourself!
See more
3 Key Areas Ad Agencies Need to Consider Before Renting or Building a DSP
Up until now, ad agencies have profited greatly from the online ad industry, but they are starting to take a serious hit from advertisers who bypass their services and use advanced programmatic solutions, such as real-time bidding (RTB), to cut costs and target their audience directly.
This is forcing agencies to ask themselves some hard questions. One particularly sticky issue involves how to move forward with their own programmatic offerings: is it more cost effective to continue renting a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) or should they build their own solution in order to compete with the increasing number of ad companies in the market?
ExchangeWire invited Clearcode’s CEO Maciej Zawadziński to analyze the options for ad agencies and outline the key factors to consider.
Read the full article
Ad Agencies vs Ad-Tech Companies – How Agencies Can Win the Battle
Can they get along?
The growing rivalry between ad tech companies and ad agencies provides a hot topic of discussion for those involved in the advertising technology industry. While ad tech companies may have taken the initiative, ad agencies still have lots of options.
Clearcode’s CEO Maciej Zawadziński proposes three approaches for ad agencies to consider in this piece for ProgrammaticInsider.
Read more
How Will the U.N.’s New Privacy Expert Affect the ad-tech and Digital Analytics Industries?
Scandals involving government surveillance programs, concerns about consumer data collection, and transparency issues in web analytics – these are some of the issues which prompted the U.N. to appoint a special privacy expert to oversee efforts to address these concerns.
This move at such a high level could have significant consequences for many people – web analytics companies and online ad exchanges in particular. Because of the massive amounts of user data that are used to personalize digital ads and online customer experiences, any new legislation proposed by the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur could throw a wrench in the works for many ad tech companies.
Explore this issue in greater depth with VentureBeat and Clearcode CEO Maciej Zawadziński.
Read the article
Stay Tuned For More
The coming year promises to see many more exciting developments in the tech world. You can look forward to more in-depth articles, analyses, and commentary on Ad Tech, Mar Tech, SaaS and Analytics here on our blog. Don’t miss out!
Want to get more insights into how Real-Time Bidding and Programmatic media-buying works? Download your copy of our free ebook!
The post Clearcode’s Most Popular Ad Tech Articles of 2015 appeared first on Clearcode - Enterprise-grade Software Development.