There’s been a lot of coverage around the re-launch of the DoubleClick Exchange. Much of it has been misinformed and typically hackneyed. But some Industry commentators have done a great job on providing an overview of the new trading opportunities for agencies, publishers and ad networks.

In the months leading up to the unveiling of Google’s new and improved platform, commentary and analysis around ad exchanges has been dominated by the buy-side traders.

Agencies have owned the debate: countless op-ed pieces have appeared on industry blogs and news sites, like MediaPost, Adexchanger, Clickz and AdAge, about how agencies - with their own data and buying platforms - are leveraging the ad exchanges to maximise campaign performance.

Little has been written about how publishers might benefit from trading on these new platforms: the trade media has been bereft of any real analysis on the publisher’s place in the new world of automated ad trading.

The general feeling among European publishers and the press was that exchanges drove CPM pricing into the gutter. Assigning this channel proper resource was seen as a waste of money. And because of this, publishers have so far failed to realise the earning potential.

In recent weeks there has been a change in attitude among media commentators and some forward-thinking publishers. Blog posts by the likes of X+1’s Ted Shegalis and CPM Advisors CEO Rob Leathern on how best a publisher can trade and increase ad exchange revenues have pushed on the debate for the sell-side.

The new DoubleClick Exchange is helping too. Offering more control and more buyers, Google’s trading platform is giving publishers the opportunity to generate more revenue from their unsold inventory.

But will publishers take full advantage? Will they hire specialists to manage this growing sales channel? Let’s say publishers assign proper resource, what will the new sell-side traders actually do?

The PT (Publisher Trader) would probably sit between ad ops and the direct sales team. Their first major task would be to seek out value on the exchanges. By analysing regular reports from the different platforms, an assessment can be made on what type of impressions a publisher needs to sell more of and what floor price that needs to be set. Identifying buying trends in the numbers will be crucial in maximising revenues from ad exchange trades.

Managing relationships with buyers will also be important. Meeting with traders and assessing how the “buy-side” prices inventory on the exchanges will help in putting together a successful exchange strategy. In addition to this, the PT will need to foster strong working relationships with ad exchange vendors so that trading efficiencies are achieved.

Traders will work closely with ad ops and the direct sales team. The PT needs to be aware of any ongoing pitches to agencies so that sales channel conflict can be avoided. Given that most exchange buys are DR-focused it should not be a problem, but communication is key to maintaining premium ad revenue.

The PT will work with ad ops and sales to vet creative coming from the exchange. They will also have to maintain the controls on the multiple platforms, such as floor pricing, trading partners and advertising.

Protecting the brand will be crucial area of the role: offensive and “bargain-bin” advertising could damage the publisher’s brand, and put off some advertisers from spending budget on premium ad space.

A small number of progressive European publishers are beginning to hire PTs or Channel Managers, but expect to see the exchange specialist position become more prevalent on the sell-side in the coming twelve months as publishers look to trade unsold inventory on the ad exchanges.