It seems quite appropriate that we’re holding this summer’s US Publisher Forum in Boston, where the spirit of baseball streams through the streets and gutters. Accordingly, the best metaphor to describe the theme of this event is “stepping up to the plate” – as Hill Holiday’s Adam Cahill will explain in his opening keynote, opportunities for ops professionals to lead are appearing all over the ecosystem, especially in agency-publisher relationships.
However, as I learned last weekend when I went to the batting cages for the first time ever in Astoria, Queens, walking in and swinging for the stars is the wrong way to go about it – the blood blister on my ring finger and my incredibly sore forearms can attest to that. Nope, I should have stretched and taken (a lot of) practice swings beforehand.
Oh, I hear your heads rattling as they shake – Gavin, this is all about ad ops! We live and breathe this stuff – we’re always prepared! Sure, tell me that again when your brains are spimming in confusion because you don’t have enough background on viewable impressions to keep up with the presentation.
Fortunately, I’m here to stretch you out, get you warmed up for the big series ahead. And even if you’re not attending, the information below can help give you some insight into the key issues for publishers at the moment.
Now You See It
To prepare you for “Lifting the Veil on Viewable Impressions” by Kate Maxwell, Ad Ops Manager for Gawker, the fine folks at Operative, who are sponsoring the Sunday night reception at the PubForum, have compiled this handy-dandy list of articles on the subject – you’ll notice some fine specimens from AdMonsters included. If you’re looking for something a little more high-level (and a tad condescending), here’s a Bloomberg Businessweek marvelling that viewable impressions is even an issue.
On the standards side of the equation, you best be up to snuff with the IAB, 4A’s and ANA joint 3MS initiative, including the five steps to viewable impression enlightenment and FAQs. Tog dogs in all three of those groups have also tried to clear up some common misconceptions over at MediaPost. Also, check out this interesting piece on Moat, the company Gawker worked with to bring viewable impressions to life.
Down With DMP?
Before her session detailing opening up the possibilities of your data management platform, Seeking Alpha’s Mia Nolan has assembled a list of required reading from the likes of AdExchanger, iMedia Connection, Ad Ops Insider and Adotas – oh, and a lengthy piece by yours truly dissecting the inner workings of Turn’s DMP.
The makings of a Leader
For some added context before hearing Thomson Reuter’s Vikram Somaya speak on Wednesday morning, you should read the bylines he wrote for AdMonsters regarding his decision to move from a career in third-party ad tech startups to a rather daunting position in the middle of a massive publisher. The first piece is a tender analysis of what inspired him to make the leap, while the second details his expectations vs. reality. Also, if you attended OPS Markets in April of this year or have a paid membership, check out his presentation, “Data Beyond Display: DSP as OS.”
DNT Primer
We hope you’re not biting your fingernails too hard in anticipation of the IAB’s presentation on the Do Not Track initiative – Chris Mejia is hoping to debunk myths while offering an insider’s look into the development of DNT. Be sure to read the AdMonsters coverage surrounding our DNT Meetup with the W3C back in May, pre- and post-meeting. We also took a hard look at Microsoft’s decision to make DNT default on its IE10 browser. And if you want to get into the nitty gritty, check out the W3C Tracking Protection Working Group’s draft guidelines on the DNT mechanism and compliance.
Startups Are Our Friends!
Coming back to Hill Holiday’s Adam Cahill, the keynote speaker plans to chat a bit about agencies’ (sometimes reluctant) embrace of developing technologies. Hill Holiday has really put itself out there with Project Beacon (no, not the disastrous Facebook-advertiser partnership), an alliance with key adtech startups such as Cognitive Match, ChoiceStream and more. Here’s a two minute video that will give you a better idea of the goals and scope.
Project Management + Ad Server Migrations
One of reasons the Monster.com team has opened up about its massive double ad server migration is because they had an AdMonster on their side. As the ops team will tell you, AdMonsters Professional Services’ Brian Lineweaver became an essential asset via his project management expertise. Brian has shared some of his project management knowledge before through bylines criticizing the “kiddie soccer” school of management. Also… Have you been pondering whether it’s time to switch up the ol’ ad server? Brian details the signals that a change is in order.
So you feel pumped? Psyched? Ready to knock one out of the park? Wicked – see you in Boston!