Brandscreen demise a reminder there is no silver bullet in automation
The news Brandscreen has gone into administration proves we are still a long way from getting media automation right argues Matthew Hunt.
I was as surprised as anyone else to hear the news on Friday that one of Australia’s newest independent advertising technology companies, demand side platform (DSP) Brandscreen, had entered into administration.
As the MD of cross channel advertising platform Adconion, I have constantly been hearing that DSPs are meant to be the future of the industry. Exchange based ad trading has been delivering double-digit revenue growth and with aggressive leadership controverting all who challenged the strategy,the outward veneer certainly looked good.
Hunt
Maybe a new head-shot which didn’t show a massive smiling face next to a story about a company going bust, presumably with a knock-on of people losing their jobs, might have been a good idea.
To the writer ‘Unfortunate’… are you kidding? Have a look at all the shots of the other blog writers: they’re smiling. What’s wrong with trying to be/look happy? The writer of this blog provided some interesting observations, and you bag him because he smiles? I’m sure there is no gloating or self-enjoyment implied by Matthew (and I don’t know him) having a smiley mug shot. However, please, Unfortunate, take some time to take in some perspective and comment on the essence of what someone says, not associated trivia. In turn, I’m not attacking whoever you are, rather, just asking you to give more time and thought to someone’s writing efforts, before you press ‘send’. It’s 2014, and hopefully a great year, let’s not allow this site to be as aggressive as other industry sites. Happy New Year, Unfortunate.
Matthew…a little thing but please understand the difference between its and it’s.
You’ve used its three times in this sentence but only spelt it correctly once:
“And this is important because it allows a company to reinvest in its technology, it’s partners and it’s people.”
Other than that, a good article on DSPs.
Nice one Matt – good article, and I have to agree with Nic, let’s chill-out a little bit. I have known Matt Hunt for years, and he is a pretty smiley guy!
The proliferation of ATDs and absence of local data venders undoubtedly contributed to their demise.
This advertorial from Adconion misses the point that it’s a business – not a business model – that has failed. Turn announced an additional $80m round of funding this week – something you rarely get from private equity firms when you’re barking up the wrong tree – so this is down to survival of the fittest, nothing more. As this evolution plays out it will be interesting to watch the ad network versus the DSP. My money is on the extinction of the former.
Adconian are desperately trying to play catch-up in this space. The growing power of ATDs and the rise of ad-exchange models from Google and Facebook have seen their value diminish considerably. Ironically if they had’ve adopted some kind of independent DSP model and gone to market with it a couple of years ago, they might be sitting pretty right now. Maybe, they could have even partnered with Brandscreen!
@ Charles Darwin: The round Turn has raised is a proof point for this article! Only global scale can save DSPs as they operate in a low margin space. And only the strongest can survive (but you should know as the inventor of evolution). Technology is an enabler. You still need strong partners who understand audience buys.
Well said Matt, cannot agree more. It’s going to be an interesting year ahead for all of us.
Agree with some of the points but I think timing and content is a little self serving. Does the red lever product that’s in your picture still exist? Smart clip, Adconion’s video product has been closed down in most markets. Is that because your tech didn’t deliver? or adconion doesn’t have the talent? The programmatic industrial will continue to grow around the world, but like all industrial there will be some that don’t make it. In a weird way this is a good thing, as with failure we learn. (I mean no disrespect to the people who lost their jobs)
I would be more concerned about ad networks then DSP’s and alike. This new industrial is provide transparent to the market and they are innovating at a very fast rate which benefits the advertisers
@ charles darwin. Yes and no. My opinion is that all pure play DSP’s are under competitive pressure from agency trade desks to operate with lean pricing structures. This will only increase as DSPs move away from managed service models to pure self service models. I think this will encourage DSPs to evolve their model so they can make margins on the media they trade in return for providing publishers access to trading desk demand. Regarding Turn’s fund raising, I think this reinforces my point. They are looking to fund their expansion and global scale, which will allow for a sustainable, high volume business. This is great! Regarding ad network vs DSP extinction, I’m not sure this is the point. I’d like to reference the real Charles Darwin who said “it is not the strongest or the most intelligent that will survive, but those who can best manage change”. I think there will be winners and losers on both sides.
@captain hindsight: I’m not sure we’re playing catch up but we are certainly as committed as ever to our vision of connecting brands with audiences.
@John: The businesses you mention have been important acquisitions that moved our Australian business from a single channel display business in 2007 to the true cross channel business we have in 2014. On a single platform, under a single Adconion brand, we offer display, video, email and social channels which are accessible on all devices. We are proud of our technology and we are respectful of the other companies investing in ad tech that are driving innovation and opportunities within our industry.