While European agencies continue to procrastinate about exchange trading and automated media buying, Efficient Frontier continues to raise the stakes in the display market. Yesterday it launched its own DSP to help clients buy ad inventory more effectively and efficiently. The DSP, which will be used for internal use only, will look to leverage client search data to inform display buys. The platform is integrated with Yahoo!’s Right Media and Google’s AdEx - but it's also likely that EF are speaking to the SSPs and the Orange Ad Market.

The new platform has an RTB component but it is not yet available in Europe, but should be coming online in the coming months. Asked if there were any European display spend running throught the DSP, EF informed ExchangeWire that a number of test camapigns were in progress. Nick Morley, General Manager Europe, had the following to say on how the new realease will effect Effieient Frontier's European business:

We are already in a position in Europe to support biddable display campaigns. We’re planning to do in Europe, what we’re already doing in the USA. We’re excited to be delivering the industry’s first fully integrated display and search marketing optimisation platform. We provide a platform that integrates biddable display with search marketing, allowing advertisers’ total campaigns to be more holistically optimised for greater ROI. We’ve integrated with the large advertising exchanges including Yahoo!’s Right Media and Google’s AdEx and additionally we’re utilising Google’s real-time bidding technology and API to improve results for clients. We expect to launch real time bidding in Europe in the coming months.

This is an interesting development. The search firms clearly see an opportunity to encourage clients to spend their display budget with them. If they can leverage search data as well as third-party data to return strong ROI then advertisers are going to give search firms like Efficient Frontier more budget. The only problem I foresee in Europe is the lamentable lack of decent through the automated channels. Publishers are still not convinced, but as the numbers of buyers migrate to this type of buying the more you're likely to see pubs slowly move in this direction. Here's the the press release in full:

London – April 28, 2010 -- Efficient Frontier, a leading online performance marketing company, today announced its entry into display advertising with a fully integrated display and search marketing optimisation platform. The new display offering includes real-time bidding capabilities, which is dynamic bidding at the impression level, as well as a proven portfolio approach to optimisation. The portfolio approach allows advertisers to leverage predictive modelling to forecast performance outcomes based on overall goals.

Efficient Frontier is the first company to provide a platform that integrates biddable display with search marketing, allowing advertisers’ total campaigns to be more holistically optimised for greater Return on Investment (ROI). The Efficient Frontier platform is integrated with the large advertising exchanges including Yahoo!’s Right Media and Google’s AdEx. Additionally, Efficient Frontier utilizes Google’s real-time bidding technology and application programming interface (API) to improve results for its clients.

"By adding display to our existing search campaign with Efficient Frontier, we have seen even more highly targeted leads to our online campaign,” said Stacey Doyne, External Marketing Manager, The Motley Fool. “Cross optimisation is the wave of the future and we are happy to be working with an industry leader in this area.”

Advertisers will have access to reporting that accurately captures, calculates, and attributes the value driven by both search and display advertising, a significant step forward in addressing one of the thorniest issues in online marketing. Additionally, marketers will be able to capitalise on Efficient Frontier’s well established portfolio optimisation approach now deployed for bidding across both search and display.

“The Efficient Frontier platform is a critical piece to our success as an agency with performance marketers,” said Justin Hind, COO, Downstream Marketing. “Our clients are thrilled that the power of Efficient Frontier’s proven solution in search engine marketing is now available in display.”

Efficient Frontier’s unified platform puts the buying controls for search and display in the hands of its customers. In addition to the powerful reports and optimisation, clients value the forecasting and simulations that provide visibility into future performance.

“The ad network landscape is rapidly evolving and we see our entry into the biddable display market as a perfect opportunity to help advertisers increase their campaigns’ reach and total effectiveness,” said David Karnstedt, President and CEO, Efficient Frontier. “We are the only player in the market today that optimises across both search and display and, for the first time, ties accurate attribution to direct action in bidding and buying.”