SAN JUAN, PR — Media companies and advertisers need a more direct connection with fewer technological intermediaries standing between them, according to Kathy Argyriou, head of Publisher Sales at Comcast-owned ad serving platform FreeWheel.
“Some of the trends that I think we’re going to continue seeing between buyers and sellers in the marketplace is that closer, easier connection,” Argyriou told Beet.TV’s David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat San Juan. “Right now, there is too much tech standing between them. We want to eliminate that.”
Supply path optimization remains critical
Argyriou highlighted the importance of supply path optimization based on recent research conducted by FreeWheel.
“We recently conducted a study across our agency community, and we found that 65% of our advertisers cite supply path optimization as the most important thing to be mindful of in the ad buying process,” she said. “I do anticipate SPO continuing to be something that’s going to play out this year.”
Universal Ads initiative
Comcast Advertising is addressing marketplace inefficiencies through its recently announced Universal Ads platform, which aims to lower barriers to entry for advertisers of all sizes.
“At CES, we announced a one-stop TV platform that brings top media companies together in a strategic partnership to simplify access to the premium video category,” Argyriou said. “This initiative is called Universal Ads. It’s powered by FreeWheel technology, and it allows advertisers of all shapes and sizes access to premium inventory from the biggest media companies of the world.”
The platform incorporates design elements inspired by social media interfaces to create a more intuitive experience. “We’re using different things like AI to make the user face very intuitive, similar to how buyers are used to using social media platforms,” she noted. “We’re basically taking a page out of our social video playbook and we are expecting it to grow further into streaming.”
Making streaming advertising easier
When asked about FreeWheel’s key differentiator, Argyriou pointed to the company’s focus on simplifying the streaming advertising process.
“FreeWheel is differentiating itself this year by making streaming advertising easy,” she said. “We are going to be doing this by simplifying and streamlining our technology stacks.”
The anticipated benefits extend to both sides of the marketplace. “For advertisers and marketers, this means that they’re going to have direct immediate access to the largest premium pool of streaming inventory to reach their audiences across scale,” Argyriou said. “And for supply partners, this means that we’re going to give them access to more and unique demand partners.”
She emphasized that the ultimate goal remains consistent: “At the end of the day, that goal is to bring those buyers and sellers as close as possible to maximize those working dollars for advertisers.”
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