Alex Spurzem is the Head of Search & Screen Trading at PHD Australia. Here he discusses the exchange strategy for both PHD and OMD across the APAC region, the growth of the exchange marketplace, and the evolving sell-side trading strategies of local publishers.

Could you give an overview on the PHD and OMD exchange strategy in Australia and across APAC?  Are you likely to setup your own Ad Trading Desk – or partner with a DSP?

PHD and OMD currently partner with Brandscreen in Australia. At PHD we’ve created a trading desk that combines RTB display with search and performance display and going forward we’ll probably follow a lot of the steps of Accuen, our US trading desk.

What impact is the rise of ad exchanges having on Australian publishers?  Are the big 5 Australian publishers making inventory available to ad exchanges?

I believe the impact is one of forced evolution. The big ones in Australia are quite sales force driven but why not leverage Ad Exchanges to manage sales cost and unsold inventory? I think if anything the challenge for publishers is to find the right mix of sales channels.

 As the exchange ecosystem evolves, what will be the impact on the agency model?  Will APAC agencies have to become more tech and data focused?

Absolutely. Agencies will become a lot more data driven. Consumer behavioural data is the most important topic in the context of real time buying. This is what makes the difference between buying cheap impressions and well-targeted campaigns at scale. Inevitably this includes being more data savvy and being able to handle audience data and client data.

How will agencies plug the skills shortage gap in this new area of display?

The interesting thing here is the kinds of backgrounds and personalities required. For an entry level position for example we’re now looking at candidates with a background in mathematics, finance, or computer science. We find that the typical communication degree is not necessarily the best fit. One of the key roles evolving in this space may be a real time trading expert across search and display, possibly even specialised on certain verticals. This is a lot closer to disciplines such as stock trading than the traditional media agency executive job.  

Are your clients actually aware of ad exchanges? Do they see the benefit of real-time audience buying?

Yes, the idea of buying the right eyeballs instead of sites that might attract the right eyeballs makes a lot of sense to clients. And while public audience data is not as strong yet in Australia using private audience data works well.

How evolved is the ad network space in Australia and the APAC region?  Are we likely to see agencies and advertisers move to RTB and automated buying – and disintermediate existing ad networks and intermediaries?

I think we’re less than a year behind the US where Ad Exchange inventory and display advertising dollars on DSPs have grown exponentially. Ad networks I believe need to worry if their business is solely based on buying inventory in bulk and re-selling it. If there’s a value add in terms of technology, niche targeting, or even audience data then there are plenty of opportunities for ad networks.

Are you using third party data in any of your media buys?  Do you see the data market growing this year?

We use BlueKai data for many of our campaigns. Data is the most important ingredient to audience buying and I would certainly expect a lot of growth in terms of publicly available audience data this year.

Where will PHD and OMD’s growth areas be over the next 6-12 months?

The opportunity for PHD and OMD is privately managed audience data. Maintaining and leveraging a good data management platform will be the key to great campaigns. Soon we may cross reference client CRM data and use predictive models to serve the impressions with the highest value. In this context we’ll have to ask the question of how much more visibility (from an audience perspective) we’ll get if we combine data assets across agencies.