The world of on-line advert shopping for may be fairly opaque. For a lot of advertisers, the trail an advert impression takes is murky—normal experiences typically don’t reveal which, or what number of, exchanges and supply-side platforms (SSPs) dealt with the stock alongside the best way.
An ADWEEK investigation discovered that media patrons at WPP, IPG, Dentsu, Havas, a number of independents, and one Fortune 500 model unknowingly purchased adverts by way of Publicis Groupe’s Epsilon SSP through reseller provide paths. So whereas they thought they have been shopping for by way of a given SSP, like Magnite or PubMatic, the bought stock had handed by way of Epsilon SSP. Which means {dollars} and knowledge have been in some circumstances despatched to Publicis, a direct competitor.
Every resold impression not solely provides charges but in addition exposes bidstream knowledge to the SSP, revealing who the advertiser is, how a lot they’re bidding, what audiences they’re focusing on, and extra. Programmatic consultants defined that such knowledge might give Publicis useful intel to win new enterprise. Publicis denies utilizing this knowledge to achieve a aggressive benefit.
On this episode of Adspeak, ADWEEK staffers are joined by Arielle Garcia, chief working officer of adtech watchdog Verify My Advertisements, and an nameless media purchaser. Collectively, they unpack how reselling works within the programmatic ecosystem, the story of how some advertisers discovered they’d unknowingly purchased advert house through Publicis’ Epsilon SSP, and why some are involved that Publicis’ function within the business constitutes a battle of curiosity.
Tune in now.
