SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—As it continues to build out its programmatic solution, WideOrbit is finding that not enough advertisers are willing to pay extra for addressable and targeted television inventory. “We need to see more and more advertisers willing to pay premium for those CPM’s. We’re still not seeing that,” says VP of Business Development Armine Khan.
“The bulk of linear is still bought at a corporate level, so until those buying habits change we’re not going to see too much movement there,” Khan adds in this interview at Beet Retreat 2018.
WideOrbit has long provided the foundational piping for local TV broadcast transactions. After several acquisitions of digital assets, its programmatic solution now consists of four “flavors,” according to Khan. They are programmatic direct and private marketplace, which are “more akin to your traditional buying RFP’s” for guaranteed inventory that can be bought one year out.
“Then we have open marketplace and direct response, more akin to your open RTB protocol” in which spots can be purchased in real time anywhere from two to seven days out.
Meanwhile, on the demand side, WideOrbit engages with brands directly, “we do work with the DSPs, and we service our core SSP client needs in that we provide the channel for direct sold.”
Khan mentions WideOrbit’s 2017 partnership with Google, in which WideOrbit integrated with DoubleClick to allow ad buyers to buy broadcast TV spots from the same interface they use to secure digital display and video campaigns.
“We continue to see increased volume through that channel. We work with a number of DSP’s as well, and again we continue to see increased volumes coming through those demand channels,” says Khan.
To advance the convergence of digital and linear media, WideOrbit has developed different tool sets. “We are helping with the data and the targeting through our programmatic platforms. “Brands don’t necessarily always want to target a specific audience. They like the shotgun approach of linear. It helps with their brand building, and obviously it’s the safety that goes along with that as well.”
This video was produced in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the Beet.TV executive retreat. Please find more videos from the series on this page. The Beet Retreat was presented by NCC along with Amobee, Dish Media, Oath and Google.
