Changing ad servers. Those three words are enough to strike fear into the hearts of every ad operations person on the publisher side. For those of us who have had to experience the non-stop work involved in routine operations, the best of all possible worlds is when you don't have to think about your ad server at all. When you contemplate that change, you have to think about it a lot and for a long time thereafter.
On the supplier side, this scenario presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Companies are often tempted to stay with their current solutions simply to avoid the pain of switching. The larger the company, the greater the pain. So "conquest" over an incumbent supplier becomes more difficult. The opportunity for vendors is to become highly engaged and committed to taking as much of the burden off their customers as possible.
This column will discuss why companies change ad servers and what happens when they do. Unlike my last column ("Here's Looking at your Future, Kid") it will be straightforward and sober. However, to illustrate the extent to which changing systems affects one's life inside and outside of business, this article ends with a downward spiral into the surreal. No fair looking ahead.
There are three basic reasons why companies change ad servers:
Merger: When companies merge, they combine content, people and systems. As the media part of our business heats up, this will become a more frequent occurrence. You might get lucky when two entities combine and wind up sharing the same ad server. More often than not, you have to choose between two disparate systems. Why bother? Because if you are considering selling sites as a package, or representing them with a single sales force, you will need a single ad serving system to provide meaningful reports to advertisers and to manage and optimize ad inventory. There is some upside in this: you can use the selection process to leverage a better price break from your selected vendor.
Change of Management: Sometimes all you need is a new management team to throw things into the chaos of an ad serving review. They're called "change agents" for a reason. And it's possible that they have a specific point of view on the quality of ad servers and their functionality that they feel are important to the business. Or, maybe they just went to the same college with the CEO of ad server "X." I think all of us have learned to cringe when new management asks the question "Could I see our current ad serving contract?" or "What are we paying per year with our current ad server." Then it's time to fasten your operations seat belt -- it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Pricing: A couple of years ago, this might have been reason #1 for changing. There was a huge gap in CPM pricing. Recently, there has been severe downward pressure on ad serving CPMs and so the gap has narrowed. You might expect to pay a couple of cents more for a "marquee" name provider, but your ability to negotiate is much better now than in the past.
Reliability: If your current ad server has screwed up more than a couple of times in the last year -- with significant outages, it's time to consider a change. But again, in recent years, this has become less of an issue as the technology behind the systems has improved along with reliability. If you host your own local ad server (as opposed to an ASP solution), the first place to look for problems is in your own organization and their ability to support the local model. (In succeeding columns I'll cover the pluses and minuses of local versus ASP solutions).
What about features?
Undoubtedly, some of my friends and colleagues on the supplier side will read this and say "What about features? We do what no other ad server does, and our new X feature will increase revenue significantly for our customers." However, the past has shown that new features will not usually compensate for pain of switching, which is why ousting the incumbent has always been difficult. Many companies have used the cliché "the devil you know is better than the one you don't." However, as mentioned above, increased levels of service will make switching an easier choice. I believe that new features have to be significant in order to accelerate change in ad serving systems. To date, they have been incremental. What could move that bar? A truly integrated platform for serving video ads ("Video and Media Operations"). An integrated contract management solution. An inventory management system that doesn't force a publisher to rely on their own spreadsheets.
What to expect when you change
Here are just some of the action items you need to consider when you change ad servers:
- Migrating current customers and campaigns to the new system. If you're lucky, your new provider will help transfer data files from the old system to the new
- Integrating any current in-house inventory management systems with the new ad server
- Integrating any contract management and financial systems with the new ad server
- A clear commitment from senior management to clear the decks of all other projects during this window of transition
- A clear commitment and formal project plan from your engineering staff to make the switch
- Communicating the changes to both sales staff and the customers themselves.
- Training existing operations staff on the new ad serving application
- A designated project manager in your own group
How does it affect you?
I've lived through several ad serving changeovers -- sometimes from only a peripheral standpoint, admiring and respecting the people who actually effected the change, sometimes in the trenches. Regardless, you can't help but remember the effort involved.
How much of an impact does this make on those involved in operations? I actually had a very weird dream last night that somehow managed to involve ad serving. In the dream, I was having a conversation with Steve Finley, the outfielder with the Los Angeles Angels about the ad serving options for a start up he was managing in his spare time. (What?!) I was looking a list of vendors he prepared for review -- and about 50 more I hadn't heard of. Where did they all come from? Sweat was forming on my brow. Then, I was interrupted by Colin Powell (hey, it's a dream) who said our car was outside and Zbigniew Brzezinski was waiting for us so we better get going. We got in the car, Colin tried to drop me off at my house in suburban New Jersey, but the driveway was blocked by a herd of angry deer.
"Changing ad servers" in the same dream with Major League Baseball, American foreign policy and hostile wildlife?
It's all relative.
Doug Wintz began his interactive career with Prodigy in 1988. During that time, he pioneered the sales and development of online applications for automotive clients Toyota, Ford and Autobytel, brokerage firm DLJ Direct and grocers Dominick's and D'Agostino. He led the development of one of the first online ad networks for Softbank, managed sales/operations for gamesite Uproar and recently served as VP of Digital Media Solutions for Lycos. Doug is currently founder and principal of DMW MediaWorks, a consultancy in interactive media and operations, with long-term clients that include the market leaders in online health, broadcast television, behavioral targeting and custom publishing.
