Author Archives: markpilip

Purple Cow – where’s the beef ?

Posted on Wednesday, 26 July 2017 10:05 am by markpilip

Originally posted on Marketing Science:
There is a small, nay large, industry that makes claims like: “consumer behaviour has changed radically” “marketing doesn’t work anymore” And yet then presents nothing more than a repackaging of the orthodoxy. For example, Seth…

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Do your DSP(s) have any rebate agreements with ad exchanges or anybody else? If not, great! Is that explicitly laid out in the contracts you have with them, and do you have full audit rights? And if not, why not? … Continue reading →

Posted on Thursday, 20 July 2017 7:07 am by markpilip | Comments Off on DSP Transparency

Print out a page with your ad on it. Put it on the whiteboard and give your buying team a marker and ask them to draw out exactly how that particular ad showed up on that particular website and why. By that, I mean all the names of the ad tech and martech players involved. No looking anything up. Continue reading →

Posted on Wednesday, 19 July 2017 12:41 pm by markpilip | Comments Off on More on Ads.txt

Before You Worry About Match Rates…

Posted on Wednesday, 19 July 2017 9:12 am by markpilip

But before you get bogged down in match rate discussions, the more important strategic work needs to have been done up front. Never delve into tactics without understanding the mission and the strategy to accomplish the mission. Continue reading →

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Digital Media: As Memorable as Kenny G?

Posted on Monday, 17 July 2017 9:07 am by markpilip

The smooth jazz radio format wasn’t as popular as thought. When Arbitron changed from paper diaries to portable people meters (PPM) about ten years ago, broadcasters learned that people didn’t do what the paper diaries said they did. With good … Continue reading →

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Nobody’s Talking About This ads.txt Problem

Posted on Monday, 10 July 2017 9:16 am by markpilip

As a media buyer, I find myself scratching my head about the IAB’s ads.txt initiative. It’s a good thing, of course. Knowing that somebody selling advertising inventory to you is actually authorized to sell that impression to you is important. … Continue reading →

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We all think we know what an auction is. We conjure up the sound of the gavel falling to the high bidder and the horses being led away into the winner’s transporters. In theory, programmatic auctions for digital advertising should … Continue reading →

Posted on Friday, 30 June 2017 3:05 pm by markpilip | Comments Off on When Auctions Aren’t Auctions

Your Mission and Vision are Lousy

Posted on Friday, 30 June 2017 7:40 am by markpilip

I was talking about company mission and vision statements with Paresh Shah, a good and smart friend of mine. During the discussion, he gave me a simple rule to see if your mission was good or not: “Write out the … Continue reading →

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Worst Ad Ever?

Posted on Tuesday, 27 June 2017 9:13 am by markpilip

Who writes an ad without a headline? David Ogilvy said that when you have written your headline, you have spent 75% of your money. Continue reading →

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Decent Direct Mail

Posted on Tuesday, 13 June 2017 7:20 am by markpilip

Every once in a while you get direct response that’s properly targeted. It restores my faith in humanity, even if the direct mail piece isn’t technically the best I’ve ever seen. Continue reading →

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