GroupM today has announced that it is launching a new unified programmatic marketplace, another initiative from the media buyer to build direct links with supply-side platforms (SSPs).
The GroupM Premium Marketplace, which will provide buyers with direct access to inventory from SSPs Pubmatic and Magnite, will support connected TV, video, and display inventory. GroupM says the new marketplace “will increase media buying transparency and efficiency”.
A lack of transparency in the supply chain has been a recurring theme in the industry. In 2020, trade group ISBA released a study into the programmatic supply chain. It found that only fifty percent of an advertiser’s spend goes to publishers, and 15 percent, the ‘unknown delta’, ends up in unknown hands.
GroupM says that this announcement signals a furthering of its “one voice” trading
philosophy. Through the marketplace, GroupM will centrally manage its media investment, which the company says will enable it to create competitive bidding advantages.
Simplifying the supply chain
Large agencies like GroupM forging direct links with specific supply partners in this way is one way to bring more clarity. It provides increased transparency as to where spend is being directed, and simplifies the complicated web of sellers and resellers.
GroupM has previously announced deals to funnel more spend through preferred SSPs, striking agreements with PubMatic, SpotX (now part of Magnite), and Index Exchange. The launch of this new marketplace marks a continuation of that strategy.
“Today’s programmatic ecosystem has become incredibly complex and inefficient, and clients are rightly concerned about transparency and accountability across the digital and programmatic supply chain,” said Andrew Meaden, GroupM’s global head of investment.
Other measures introduced by the industry to crackdown on the ‘unknown delta’ include work by the ‘Cross Industry Programmatic Taskforce’ convened by ISBA. Yesterday, the taskforce unveiled its first work, a strategy for achieving financial audit transparency for programmatic advertising.
But as well as industry-wide efforts, moves like this from large agencies like GroupM are important in improving transparency in the programmatic supply chain.
Pubmatic, who are partnering with GroupM on the initiative, said that it will benefit both the buy and sell-side.
“This partnership helps advertisers and publishers build a comprehensive media strategy for the safe, data-driven advertising of the future,” said Emma Newman, chief revenue officer EMEA at pubmatic, “While buyers benefit from one centralised, easily accessible interface for high-quality supply that would provide a diverse inventory landscape for GroupM clients, publishers gain better inventory monetisation from exposure to new clients within the GroupM portfolio.”
Magnite’s chief revenue officer Sean Buckley said that the new marketplace is part of the journey towards simplifying the workflow between the bu and sell-sell.
“This partnership is indicative of how modern agencies are transforming media planning and execution, with GroupM leading the way on innovation, we are excited to roll up our sleeves and collaborate with the GroupM team to make advertising more efficient and effective,” he said, “This is another major milestone in streamlining the workflow between the buy and sell side, while continuing to scale digital media investment for the independent internet.”
The marketplace has already been launched in North America and EMEA, with GroupM saying that it will roll the marketplace out to other markets later in 2022.
