The SSP in the Shadows

The world of on-line advert shopping for could be fairly opaque. For a lot of advertisers, the trail an advert impression takes is murky—customary studies usually don’t reveal which, or what number of, exchanges and supply-side platforms (SSPs) dealt with the stock alongside the best way.An ADWEEK investigation discovered that media patrons at WPP, IPG, Dentsu, Havas, a number of independents, and one Fortune 500 model unknowingly purchased advertisements by means of Publicis Groupe’s Epsilon SSP through reseller provide paths. So whereas they thought they have been shopping for by means of a given SSP, like Magnite or PubMatic, the bought stock had handed by means of Epsilon SSP. Because of this {dollars} and information have been in some instances despatched to Publicis, a direct competitor. Every resold impression not solely provides charges but additionally exposes bidstream information to the SSP, revealing who the advertiser is, how a lot they’re bidding, what audiences they’re concentrating on, and extra. Programmatic consultants defined that such information may give Publicis useful intel to win new enterprise. Publicis denies utilizing this information to realize a aggressive benefit. On this episode of Adspeak, ADWEEK staffers are joined by Arielle Garcia, chief working officer of adtech watchdog Test My Advertisements, and an nameless media purchaser. Collectively, they unpack how reselling works within the programmatic ecosystem, the story of how some advertisers discovered they’d unknowingly purchased advert area through Publicis’ Epsilon SSP, and why some are involved that Publicis’ position within the trade constitutes a battle of curiosity. Tune in now.