DoubleClick Unveils Online Marketplace

DoubleClick Advertising Exchange to Provide Unparalleled Control, Visibility to the World’s Leading Buyers and Sellers of Digital Advertising

DoubleClick Inc., the premier provider of digital advertising technology and services, today unveiled its proprietary DoubleClick Advertising Exchange service, a dynamic online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of online display advertising for maximum return and efficiency.

To sustain the tremendous growth of their online advertising programs and increase operational efficiencies, buyers and sellers are looking for new methods to generate additional revenue that complement existing methods. Sellers find that existing channels often do not maximize overall yield, and that they are being left with significant volumes of unsold inventory. A recent study conducted by Forrester Research, Inc. shows that 25 percent of online advertising inventory is never sold. Another 15 percent is sold off as “remnant” and even more is undersold. In addition, buyers struggle to find the most efficient way to access and selectively target the inventory they want, at the right price.

The DoubleClick Advertising Exchange service solves both problems by providing advertisers, agencies, publishers and ad networks with a dynamic marketplace where they can buy and sell online display advertising – impression by impression – with greater efficiency, transparency and control.

“The marketplace concept is gaining traction among buyers and sellers,” said David Rosenblatt, CEO of DoubleClick. “The fundamental value proposition for customers is that we are the only company that combines the management of premium and non-premium inventory into one, fully integrated platform that delivers maximum yield across sales channels.”

With more than 1,500 of the world’s top publisher, advertiser, agency and advertising networks as clients, DoubleClick is ideally positioned to bring together the critical mass of buyers and sellers, technology, and industry expertise necessary to make an advertising exchange a success. The DoubleClick Advertising Exchange service is currently in limited testing with a select group of buyers and sellers in the United States. The marketplace is expected to go “live” in the third quarter and will be available globally by the end of 2007.

Using the new platform, publishers and other sellers make specific inventory available for purchase. Sellers define a minimum bid value – or “reserve price” – for the inventory and specify rules to restrict certain advertisers, formats and content. In parallel, buyers specify the inventory they wish to purchase, and the associated bid value for that inventory. They can also specify a rule to dynamically control the bid so that the bid price is automatically adjusted in line with inventory performance.

The DoubleClick Advertising Exchange service has the unique ability to dynamically optimize price for publisher inventory between traditional sales channels and ads sold through the exchange to generate the highest return for every impression.

DoubleClick simplifies the invoicing and payment process for sellers by reconciling all transactions and making payments to the seller, regardless of the number of trading partners.

The DoubleClick Advertising Exchange service is built to meet clients’ needs today, while anticipating their future needs. It can be easily adapted to support new and emerging technologies such as video, in-game and future forms of digital advertising.

Key features of the DoubleClick Advertising Exchange service include:
Dynamic Allocation: For sellers, DoubleClick Advertising Exchange automatically determines how to generate the highest return for every impression by dynamically allocating to the highest paying sales channel.
Dynamic Selection: DoubleClick Advertising Exchange allows buyers to target and purchase only the inventory they desire, without the need to buy impressions they may not need.
Seamless Integration: DoubleClick Advertising Exchange is tightly integrated with DoubleClick’s existing DART® ad management platform, enabling yield maximization across sales channels for sellers, as well as leveraging features of the DART service for Advertisers such as Spotlight tags and audience targeting for buyers.
Clearing Mechanism: DoubleClick Advertising Exchange provides a single billing and payment point for all transactions, greatly reducing complexity and financial risk. Buyers submit and sellers receive a single payment for all impressions sold, regardless of the number of buyers.
Controls and Visibility: Sellers benefit from complete control over how and to whom impressions are sold, what ads are run and at what price. Buyers can use a range of targeting features to improve campaign performance in real time, including tools that enable them to continuously test, measure and modify characteristics like frequency, reach and location.

“Some sellers end up with as much as 80 percent of their online inventory unsold, yet there are buyers out there that can’t get inventory to meet their advertising needs. It’s like an airline that flies planes with four out of every five seats empty while potential passengers are being turned away at the ticket counter,” said Michael Rubenstein, vice president and general manager of DoubleClick Advertising Exchange business unit. “For sellers, DoubleClick Advertising Exchange means more seats get filled, while buyers get to choose the exact flight and seat they want.”

About DoubleClick

DoubleClick provides technology and services that empower marketers, agencies and web publishers to work together successfully and profit from their digital marketing investments. Our focus on innovation, reliability, and insight enables clients to improve productivity and results.

Since 1996, DoubleClick has empowered the original thinkers and leaders in the digital advertising industry to deliver on the promise of the rich possibilities of our medium. Today, the company’s DART and Performics divisions power the online advertising marketplace. Tomorrow, we will continue to enable clients to profit from opportunities across all digital advertising channels as consumers worldwide embrace them.

DoubleClick has global headquarters in New York City and maintains 17 offices around the world to serve its more than 1,500 clients.
Contacts

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Elizabeth Crosta, 415-596-9585
elizabeth.crosta@ogilvypr.com