Despite providing obstacles, there are good reasons to keep a walled garden. In this piece, Chris Bennett, MD Europe, Pixability, argues in favour of walled gardens and lists the benefits of buying from them.

Those established in the digital media industry will be well aware that walled gardens are very much back on the agenda. It's a phrase that harks back to the early days of AOL – but now rolls up the ad tech goliaths of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and a newly polished AOL within the Verizon garden.

Walled gardens may not be unanimously popular among advertisers, but the sophistication of their video advertising offering is undoubtedly growing. Google recently limited YouTube ad buying, moving its gold standard premium inventory from its open DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX) to its private platforms — DoubleClick Bid Manager and Adwords. Rumours abound that Facebook is soon to follow suit with its own DSP, bringing the company one step closer to providing a full-stack ad tech offering.

The argument against walled gardens is rife with confusion, certain only of its opposition. Advertisers are unsure of how to deploy content across each platform, how campaign goals should differ, and how to accurately compare the results. Chief objections include the perception that inventory will be restricted and ad buying will be placed under tighter controls. But is encouraging more selective ad buying and a greater understanding of premium inventory really a bad thing?

To keep up with the direction video advertising is certainly heading, advertisers must smarten up about the opportunities presented by each platform, especially if reaching the younger, cord-cutting audience is a priority. Smart advertisers will be open to the possibility that the grass in a walled garden could actually be greener.

Better data foundations

The prospect of conducting an advertising campaign across multiple walled gardens – each with its own ad formats and metrics – might seem daunting, but in reality leads to greater targeting accuracy. The expectations of the online audience are more complex than those of a TV audience, which means advertisers must base campaigns on accurate, data-driven insights to make an engaging connection.

Walled gardens provide unique access to high-quality, second-party audience data that enables advertisers to build targeted, impactful campaigns. Google and Facebook are among the few companies in possession of the holy grail of digital advertising insight: near-perfect, cross-device user data. Now that mobile has overtaken desktop as the device of choice for consumers, a strong understanding of multi-screen activity is essential. While the rest of the industry relies on limited cookie-based tracking or unreliable statistical approaches for device matching, walled gardens offer an accurate view of user identity and interests across devices that can significantly enhance the success of cross-screen advertising campaigns.

Focusing on the user experience

Google’s decision to remove YouTube ads from its open exchange has the potential to improve the user experience on YouTube. In the exchange, YouTube ads were only available in a non-skippable, 15-second pre-roll format. This ‘dumbed-down’ inventory was usually just another element of a broad campaign, with little consideration given to the disruption caused to a user’s online content consumption. Google’s premium product, TrueView (30-second skippable pre-roll, search, and display units) is available in its AdWords and DBM platform. Far less intrusive and much more flexible, TrueView ads give users the choice of whether to engage with ads or not; plus, an advertiser is only charged when the user chooses to watch the ad.

Google and Facebook are also committed to enhancing the user experience on mobile, with both platforms in a state of constant development. Earlier this year, Google released its mobile-friendly search algorithm designed to rank sites optimised for mobile higher than non mobile-ready sites. Facebook announced updates to its Pages that make it easier for mobile users to connect with businesses. The same cannot be said for the open web, where 73% of mobile users encounter websites that take too long to load, and desktop-orientated ad units are still the predominant focus of ad campaigns.

Enhancing the deal for advertisers

Heavily criticised as a step backwards in digital trading, walled gardens are actually pushing industry innovation forward by consolidating unique inventory access. Google recently developed interactive overlay cards and shopping ads for YouTube that enable users to interact with ads in a more engaging way. Offering high-quality products in a smaller marketplace could encourage adoption, enhancing the progression and impact of online advertising. Facebook recently released a premium ‘full-view’ buying option for its inventory, allowing advertisers to pay only when the entire ad unit is viewable for consumers. If Facebook does unveil its own DSP next year, this viewability assurance will bolster the appeal of its private offering, potentially prompting competitors to improve the value of their own buying options, and thereby raising transparency standards across the industry.

With consumer attention increasingly difficult to capture, advertisers need to consider their data sources carefully, and ensure ads are accurately targeted. By operating within premium marketplaces and resisting demand-side commoditisation, Facebook and YouTube are working to give advertisers the tools required to enhance the impact of video advertising and the ROI of video ad campaigns. They may present more complicated buying spaces, but walled gardens are progressive and valuable platforms that enable advertisers to enhance the viewer experience, and engage with consumers in a more impactful, cost-effective way.