MediaMath is a multi-channel demand-side platform (DSP) that helps brands and agencies buy advertising, including DOOH, across all digital touchpoints. Mel Stott talked with MediaMath’s Lewis Rothkopf, GM, Supply about the platform’s digital out-of-home ( DOOH ) advertising capabilities.
What does MediaMath do in digital out-of-home?
We have built an independent, omni-channel, integrated DSP where our clients can easily run and manage their marketing campaigns across all channels in one platform.
MediaMath saw early on that out-of-home is one of the channels its advertisers were thinking about. They wanted to buy out-of-home similarly to how they buy digital, with the idea that they could run, manage, and compare different media channels in one place, for more efficiency.
What other media can advertisers buy through your platform?
We work across multiple screens (desktop, laptops, mobile, TV, and OOH), while also accepting different creative types (display, video, and audio). We run formats that are in-banner, in-feed, native, social, and high-impact, full-screen placements, giving our clients the option to customize their overall strategy to best meet their targeting parameters.
MediaMath demand-side (DSP) DOOH buying platform
What sets you apart from other DSPs working in the DOOH space?
We were just named a Leader in the Gartner 2018 Magic Quadrant for Ad Tech, and we believe our strengths include our transparent approach, our product vision and our rapidly expanding AI capabilities.
We run across multiple mediums and channels, but more importantly, we are transparent with our clients and we are guided by an outcomes-oriented, “consumer-first” approach.
Our vision is to deliver marketing everyone loves—that’s marketers, agencies, publishers, consumers, and everyone in between. Our platform is directed at driving outcomes, utilizing our Brain algorithm to optimize toward true business-aligned KPIs.
Our work with IBM in the AI space is strengthening these optimization capabilities, enabling marketers to use more actionable data to make decisions. Our products are built for privacy by design, to respect and protect consumers’ data, including an open approach to identity, made possible by a global deterministic user graph.
Can you tell us about some of the brands you’ve worked with in digital out-of-home, and what you did for them?
We have worked with a variety of brands and advertisers. We see the best adoption with brands who understand that the branding effect achieved by DOOH ads helps the sales conversions delivered by the online media.
Over 70 campaigns MediaMath ran this year included DOOH, and more are set to launch before 2019.
I can’t give out specific names just yet, but we will be at the DPAA Video Everywhere Summit on October 30th to talk about it more in person. We will also be presenting during NY Digital Signage Week at the Broadsign Customer Summit and the DailyDOOH Investor’s Conference, where we will discuss more about our partnerships.
How were the DOOH campaigns bought: by planned impressions; by screen locations, screen types, audience demographics? Or any other parameters?
Campaigns were bought in a variety of ways depending on the media owner, but most were bought based on planned impressions, locations, and screen types.
What was the effectiveness of those DOOH campaigns? How was the effectiveness measured?
Each campaign was measured differently, but the majority were measured against a brand awareness KPI, so getting the reach was the most important factor. Impression delivery against the targeted parameters was key to comparing this to their other digital buys.
Do you have any repeat advertisers for the DOOH channel?
Yes, our largest spenders in DOOH are repeat customers.
How many DOOH screens and in what markets, venue/location types does your platform offer?
We offer a huge variety of DOOH screens from large billboards/spectaculars to screens in elevators through supply partners such as Place Exchange, VIOOH, and Rubicon, around the world. We are continuously integrating more media owners to expand our reach, as the demand for our services grows.
Your company says that it’s known for its pioneering work around transparency. Please tell us about that.
MediaMath prides ourselves in providing full transparency into and control over the media-buying process for clients in all areas— costs, data, and tactics.
We were among the first companies to give marketers a completely self-service offering. We then introduced tools for clients to manage their own media and data supply chain directly.
We’ve also un-bundled our platform fees through modular pricing and our software fees through modular software APIs.
In short, it means that we have broken up our platform fees to be transparent: buyers know exactly what the pricing is for everything. It’s not a black box. In addition, our software is broken up to be used on an ad-hoc basis, so you don’t have to pay one fee for things you may not use. You can pick and choose what you are paying for and getting.
From a larger industry standpoint, we helped design and create the IAB EU’s Transparency and Consent Framework in the lead-up to the GDPR that came into effect in May. Now we offer publishers and marketers new tools to provide transparency into the digital advertising ecosystem.
These tools include our impression forecaster, fraud monitoring, and detailed reporting into what inventory was bought. We also have a new solution called Enriched Identity to give an overall picture of a particular audience so marketers have a better understanding of who they are actually reaching with their campaigns.
Why did you join DPAA?
We joined the DPAA because we believed in the mission the organization is trying to achieve: bringing people together to help build up a new, emerging channel. We are excited to be a part of this effort and foster a community that we are sure will grow in the coming years.
To learn more about MediaMath, visit: https://www.mediamath.com/