One of the best parts of this job is going to Admonsters events. Not only is the programming great, but so is the quality of attendees. From my perspective, we learn more at these events than almost any other, and it gives our team a chance to truly immerse ourselves in the publisher perspective. This week’s event in Memphis was no exception, and over a few days of listening, a few interesting themes emerged.

First, it became clear that ad ops and yield management professionals across the industry are taking proactive steps to help their organizations get back to doing business directly with clients. Those that seem to be having the most success are the companies that approach the problem holistically. Though sell side technologies are critical, they always work best when part of a larger and more comprehensive organizational strategy. We also heard about the challenges of getting internal buy-in for these types of strategies, and how the process can be helped by data and thought leadership that shows how RTB and SSP technologies can increase revenues and opportunities.

Another key theme that emerged was the increasing importance for transparency into how buyers are using RTB. Publishers are understandably interested in analyzing the bidding and winning patterns of specific buyers. We’ve put a great deal of work into adding these types of features and look forward to talking more about them on this blog.

For my keynote discussion in Memphis, my goal was to spark as many conversations about the above issues as possible. I talked mainly about the tech innovations we’ve seen in the last year -- the development of private exchanges, of mobile RTB, and on the increased spending we’re seeing in online RTB.

I also shared some video highlights from the Admeld Partner Forum in February that shed light on the types of conversations we’ve been having at events like these. Publishing executives from CBS, FOX News, Weather Channel, IDG and from Hill Holiday and Accuen Media on the advertiser side, all support the fact that these technologies are not just a nice to have, but a need to have for companies who wish to remain competitive. See the highlight reel below: