One Display Buyer’s Dream: Integrated RTB And Creative Optimization

One thing that has been top of mind for me lately is banner testing and optimization. There are plenty of solution providers out there, from the Point Rolls to the Teracents. Many of these companies provide excellent solutions for advertisers; my biggest gripe is that simple banner optimization is either part of a larger package or requires more technical chops (Javascript or Flash). There doesn’t appear to be a banner testing version of Optimizely.

A lot of my expertise is in the programmatic buying side of things. I’m a champion of flexible spend that can be optimized in real time. Making the flexible portion of any ad buy more efficient frees up incremental dollars for things like upper-funnel brand awareness. We can bid on impressions at the right time, targeting the right cookie, at the right price. But what if we could not only get those impressions, but also show the right creative -in real time?

What I want is a tool that can plug directly into a RTB interface (DSP, trade desk, etc.) and allow for creative testing and optimization. I can log into DFA and set up creative optimization within an ad rotation, but that is separate from the RTB process. Something easy to use and easy to implement would make my world a better place.

Let me be clear: there are a lot of great testing platforms that work in conjunction with many publishers, ad nets, and DSPs. I’m talking about creative optimization tied directly to a bid, a tool that can plug into a DSP and/or ad server. If there is already something like this in existence, please drop me a line in the comments below. I’d love to hear more about it.

So there you have it, dear programmer friends: a task at hand. Who’s got some insight?

- Sean Nowlin, Sr. Display Media Manager