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Why not outsource the complex ad work to a company that specializes in it? Why not use Google's DFP platform for instance?

by asaph 9y ago

RandomBK 9y ago
When building an advertising platform that can potentially compete with Google, it's best to not put your entire revenue stream under the control of Google.
- asaph 9y ago
  > Additionally, adding support for advertising at scale is a massively complex effort... My interpretation of the GP's comment is that the advertising platform is not the core business but rather a secondary concern. Focus on your core business and outsource the rest.
  - RandomBK 9y ago
    In that case, I agree with you that outsourcing is a good way to go. However, it should be stressed that the "core business" needs to be the core revenue generating portion of the business. I don't care if your company is dedicated towards making "the best photo sharing/social media/experience sharing platform for users". If at the end of the day your bills are being paid by advertisers, you're an advertising company and are in direct competition with Google.
rebeccaskinner 9y ago
Supply side platforms take a pretty big cut of the overall revenue, and are often very focused on existing formats like text and video. You’d be losing out on a huge chunk of advertising dollars both from the SSP cut as well as not getting optimal pricing because you’re bidding in the wrong market. Of course ideally the question would be “why not just have users pay you directly instead of relentlessly monetizing every bit of personal information you can squeeze out of them” but as an industry unfortunately it doesn’t seem like we’re there yet.
- asaph 9y ago
  An army of full time employees ain't cheap either. I imagine your ad business would have to be very large to justify the investment, especially if building & supporting an ad platform is not your core business.

Why not outsource the complex ad work to a company that specializes in it? Why not use Google's DFP platform for instance?

by asaph 9y ago

Why not outsource the complex ad work to a company that specializes in it? Why not use Google's DFP platform for instance?

RandomBK 9y ago

When building an advertising platform that can potentially compete with Google, it's best to not put your entire revenue stream under the control of Google.

asaph 9y ago
> Additionally, adding support for advertising at scale is a massively complex effort... My interpretation of the GP's comment is that the advertising platform is not the core business but rather a secondary concern. Focus on your core business and outsource the rest.
- RandomBK 9y ago
  In that case, I agree with you that outsourcing is a good way to go. However, it should be stressed that the "core business" needs to be the core revenue generating portion of the business. I don't care if your company is dedicated towards making "the best photo sharing/social media/experience sharing platform for users". If at the end of the day your bills are being paid by advertisers, you're an advertising company and are in direct competition with Google.

rebeccaskinner 9y ago

Supply side platforms take a pretty big cut of the overall revenue, and are often very focused on existing formats like text and video. You’d be losing out on a huge chunk of advertising dollars both from the SSP cut as well as not getting optimal pricing because you’re bidding in the wrong market. Of course ideally the question would be “why not just have users pay you directly instead of relentlessly monetizing every bit of personal information you can squeeze out of them” but as an industry unfortunately it doesn’t seem like we’re there yet.

asaph 9y ago
An army of full time employees ain't cheap either. I imagine your ad business would have to be very large to justify the investment, especially if building & supporting an ad platform is not your core business.