PALM SPRINGS, Calif \u2013 An \u201cembarrassment of riches\u201d in the adtech space is an understatement when it pertains to the melding of Yahoo and AOL under Verizon\u2019s Oath. This includes multiple demand-side platforms\u00a0 that Oath is \u201caggressively consolidating down\u201d to a single platform,\u201d says CRO John DeVine.<\/p>\n
As Oath sorts out the DSP solution, \u201cWe\u2019re very sincerely aligned with wanting to go from a Wild West to a real, trusted environment,\u201d DeVine says in this interview with Beet.TV at the Annual Leadership Meeting<\/a> of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. \u201cWe want to have an open platform and an open ecosystem where we bring technology that as an advertiser and as a brand builder you can trust.\u201d<\/p>\n Such an open system means advertisers can bring to the table their own data, validation and measurement so that \u201cwe\u2019re not grading our own homework so that you as an advertiser feel comfortable with the ROI, the results and the delivery of your message to our universe of users.\u201d<\/p>\n The unified DSP is based mostly on the BrightRoll code base \u201cbut it pulls in ad learn and other features of the ONE by AOL DSP,\u201d says DeVine. \u201cWe\u2019re cross-coding right now the features and functionality of both into the combined platform.\u201d<\/p>\n As The Drum has reported<\/a>, Oath hopes to have the unified DSP by the end of 2018, along with two ad exchanges\u2014one for video and the other for mobile.<\/p>\n According to DeVine, Oath is working on establishing \u201ca common interface, features and functionality\u201d between its Gemini native platform and the single DSP \u201cso advertisers have one plug-in, one place to go.\u201d<\/p>\n What Verizon has invested in with its separate acquisitions of AOL and Yahoo is growth. In addition to consolidating Oath\u2019s tech assets, \u201cWe also know that growth starts with our consumer relationship and so our energies are going very aggressively toward that consumer interface\u201d<\/p>\n Oath’s mobile-first regimen was bolstered in late 2017 with the addition of live-streaming NFL games, a five-year deal that Recode estimates<\/a> will cost Verizon more than $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the advertising side, we\u2019re going to continue to push on creative ad formats. We want ads to be great for consumers and advertisers,\u201d says DeVine.<\/p>\n