ExchangeWire round up some of the biggest stories in the European digital advertising space. In this week’s edition: Highest ad blocker rate in Germany; Tealium integrates new data sources; Brand safety features at Admetrics; Top DSPs and DMPs, according to Forrester; AppNexus and Unruly partner; Adyoulike and Integral Ad Science fight ad fraud; and Publicis Media Exchange with new CEO.

Ad blocking slowing down in Europe

According to eMarketer, than 43 million internet users in France, Germany, and the UK will be using ad blockers this year. Most ad blockers are being deployed in Germany, with 29% of German internet users using ad blockers in 2017, followed by France with 12.8%, and the UK with 11%.

But publishers may be consoled by the fact that the number of new users of ad-block technology is slowing down considerably in the UK, Germany, and France after strong growth had been recorded in previous years. eMarketer forecast an 8% new user uptake in Germany for 2017, decreasing to 7.4% in 2018. The UK and France display similarly slowing growth rates, with new user uptake of 10% this year and about 8% in 2018.

Interestingly, the number of users deploying ad blockers decreases with increasing user age, eMarketer finds. In France, Germany, and the UK, almost 50% of young adult users will use an ad blocker, whereas only about a quarter of adults between 45 and 54, and less than 20% of those aged 55 to 64 will do so.

Tealium Announce Data Integrations

Tealium open new data integration capabilities with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. The new solution will enable customers to stream big data into cloud computing platforms for further analysis and action, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. The new integrations allow customers to collect and transform data at its source, whether they be user devices or IoT, and facilitate real-time streaming of the collected data to their cloud-based platform of choice for further analysis.

Lindsay McEwan, VP & MD EMEA, Tealium

"Consumers have more power and choice than ever before, dictating how and when they interact with a brand. However, it means that marketers need to step up and ensure they put the customer at the centre of their strategies", Lindsay McEwan, VP and managing director EMEA, Tealium, tells ExchangeWire. "Consumer data and insights are at the heart of delivering personalised, relevant, and timely content, and our new product release will enable customers to more easily stream big data into cloud computing platforms for detailed analysis and action, ultimately providing a better customer experience."

"For organisations to implement big data strategies, it is essential to deliver a complete data set to IaaS platforms. But these platforms are unable to collect data from front-line user devices in a timely manner, which can limit the value of these strategies", explains Mike Anderson, founder and CTO, Tealium. "Organisations need choice and flexibility when it comes to which providers they use for their data-driven strategies. Tealium’s integration with all three major providers underscores our commitment to vendor neutrality."

Tealium’s Universal Data Hub supports all major content management platforms as well as mobile and IoT devices, such as iOS, Roku, Android, and Windows.

New brand safety features at Admetrics

Admetrics is bumping up their platform with new brand safety solutions. New ad verification components are complementing the company’s Ad Fraud Prevention and Viewability and Attention Tracking solutions with monitoring, verification, and ad execution capabilities that ensure display in brand-compliant environments.

Based on machine learning, the new Admetrics brand-safety solution identifies the context, meaning, and tone of the ad environment. Combined with predefined content categories and real-time response capabilities, Admetrics’ solution helps advertisers avoid exposing their brands to potentially harmful environments. Advertisers can tailor the solution to their needs, thanks to customised protection categories as well as with individual reporting thresholds.

Talking to ExchangeWire, Markus Repetschnig, CEO, admetrics says: "We are seeing that German advertisers are now keenly aware of how crucial it is to brand reputation to remove digital ads from pages with potentially harmful content. Programmatic buys are generally at higher risk of brand damage than direct deals are; but Ad Verification providers like us offer efficient solutions to that problem."

What are the biggest challenges right now, especially in regard to hate speech or fake news? "Those are sites or social networks with large amounts of user-generated content that operate as walled gardens", explains Repetschnig. "It remains to be seen how networks like Facebook or Twitter will be addressing this topic. They are certainly feeling a lot of pressure from the advertisers to make sure that their inventory is safe."

Forrester DSP & DMP Wave reports

The latest Forrester Wave reports evaluate DSP and DMP providers, identifying eleven leading companies in the space. Among the DSP category, MediaMath, DataXu, Turn, Rocket Fuel, Adobe, and The Trade Desk have been named as the leaders. According to the report, MediaMath, DataXu, Turn, Rocket Fuel, Adobe, and The Trade Desk are ahead of AOL, AppNexus, Google, and Adform as the only European company among the top 11.

Forrester Wave report on DMPs

“Many of the limitations that advertisers currently face stem from point solutions that fail to communicate or walled gardens that lock-in data. We’ve leveraged our extensive development resources, long-term track record in the industry, and expertise to build world-class point solutions that yield even greater benefit when deployed side-by-side as a full stack. We believe these results affirm that the creation of a global enterprise-friendly platform that’s open and flexible is now a very real option for global advertisers”, says Jochen Schlosser, chief strategy officer, Adform.

Forrester concludes that data, inventory, and machine learning are the key differentiators in a competitive space where people-based data, nonstandard system access, and flexible and transparent machine learning will determine market leaders.

For the DMP ranking, Forrester names Salesforce, Adobe, MediaMath, Neustar, and Oracle as the top providers, with Nielsen, Lotame, KBM Group, Adform, and Turn strong competitors.

AppNexus & Unruly team up for open-source prebid for outstream video

Video ad tech company Unruly and AppNexus are updating their already existing cooperation on header bidding with new solutions to support prebid.js. The mutual support facilitates publishers to auction outstream video inventory through direct, transparent transactions .

"By combining the transparency of header bidding with user-friendly formats like outstream, publishers are able to tackle some of their biggest challenges head on", explains Unruly’s EVP, Global Business Development, Kenneth Suh. "With the launch of the first open-source header bidding solution for outstream, publishers should feel confident that they’re providing the best user experience while maximising their revenue potential."

"Header bidding for outstream inventory is good for the video ecosystem", adds Eric Hoffert, SVP Video Technology, AppNexus. "It drives the video liquidity marketers need, empowers publishers of all kinds with full visibility and control over the video monetization of their inventory, and offers an engaging, user friendly experience. This results in a virtuous cycle that powers a vibrant open video internet."

Unruly’s outstream formats run on any publishing platform, while AppNexus outstream formats support HTML5 and VPAID 2.0. The two solutions can be combined in real-time auctions to maximise revenue and opportunity for publishers.

The Unruly and AppNexus’ adapters are now available in beta on prebid.org while additional video demand adapters are expected to become available in the second half of 2017.

Adyoulike integrate with Integral Ad Science for ad fraud prevention

Fighting the loss of revenues due to ad fraud, native advertising platform Adyoulike are teaming up with Integral Ad Science. Integrating the anti-fraud technology from IAS, Adyoulike hope to protect their advertisers from illegal bot activity, fraudulent URLs, and other page-level fraud. The IAS technology protects ads from being placed on fraudulent properties and bot-driven traffic, while the Adyoulike’s AI-driven technology is responsible for identifying relevant placement opportunities based on content and sentiment.

"Bringing IAS technology into our solution is a big move for us, enabling our platform to better combat two of the biggest challenges to our industry: ad fatigue and ad fraud", says Francis Turner, US general manager ad CRO, Adyoulike. "With the built-in assurance that you're getting real traffic from real people, and the knowledge that every ad appears where it is contextually relevant, we feel we've now got the safest platform as well as the most effective way to advertising."

According to the World Federation of Advertisers fraudulent activities will cost the industry approximately USD$50bn (£39bn) worldwide by 2025.

New CEO for Publicis Media Exchange UK

Chris Williams, CEO, Publicis Media Exchange

Publics Media Exchange UK gets a new boss. The investment arm of Publicis Media will be headed up by Chris Williams as CEO.

In his new role, Williams will be responsible for Publics Media’s trading and investment portfolio. He reports to Amanda Morrissey, Publics Media CEO and is slated to start in his new role later this month. Williams previously worked as global president at Magna, IPG’s strategic media investment and intelligence unit.

Chris Williams comments: “I am thrilled to be joining Publicis Media and helping the UK team advance their innovative vision and strategy, which is delivering momentum with a string of impressive client wins as they bring their tenets of trust, talent, and transformation to life. The agencies and their client portfolios are world class and I can’t wait to get started in successfully driving performance for those clients via a PMX offering that is fuelled by data and technology.”