Nine months after its parent company started selling online ads for some of its newspapers on a private exchange, USA Today is following suit.The nation’s second-largest print newspaper has launched a private marketplace, powered by Admeld, to sell the majority of its unsold online ad inventory in a more controlled environment.
via USA Today Bids to Boost Digital With Private Ad Exchange | Digital – Advertising Age.
The portal trio alliance between AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft that was being explored in September is now official, the companies said during a phone-in press conference.
The deal involves putting portions of their unsold inventory through through their own respective networks. The idea may seem a bit redundant, considering that all three already have massive reach—plus, if this is inventory they can’t sell on their own, why create a larger pool? Still, with Google and Facebook cutting into the portals’ traditional hold on display, this may be an imperfect answer to a challenging problem for all three.
via AOL, Microsoft And Yahoo Are Officially Ad Sales Allies | paidContent.
The top line figure that will certainly raise some eyebrows – and almost certain guffaws from RTB nay sayers – is that 44% of publishers are now selling their online display inventory via real-time bidding. This number suggests that there is enough liquidity in the premium dynamic marketplace than was first thought. Publishers it would seem are looking to the automated channel to increase yield – and it seems to be a strategy that is paying off. The publishers interviewed saw a 20% revenue lift in 2011 due to RTB.
via Rubicon Project Report Now Showing Big Percentage Of Publishers Selling Via RTB | ExchangeWire.com.