Village Gamer

IAB Canada has announced the formation of its new Real-Time Bidding (RTB) Committee along with the launch of its industry educational efforts with a new RTB Event on May 22, 2012. According to eMarketer, approximately 10 percent of Digital media ad impressions are already being bought via Real-Time Bidding within Ad Exchanges, but this figure is projected to ramp up to almost 30 percent by the end of 2015.

While basic Display (banner) advertising is currently the dominant format available through this ecosystem, increasing volumes of Rich Media, Video and Mobile inventory are being added on a daily basis. Real-Time Bidding environments promise Advertisers and their Agencies easier ways to find very specific audiences in both Online and Mobile environments, plus decreased waste in the media buying process; for Web Publishers, benefits include better control of and yield from unsold inventory, transparency into the actual demographic and behavioural make-up of their users, and a better understanding of Agency decision-making processes and priorities.

“South of the border, Real-Time Bidding has moved from the ideation stage to significant ad spend in just two short years,” says Paula Gignac, President, IAB Canada. “In Canada, however, while experimentation within the ecosystem is now underway, more education and development of Canadian talent is needed in order to assist all parties in capitalizing on its promises — and that’s where IAB Canada’s new RTB Committee will come into play.”

The group, who will be lead by Chair James Aitken, Managing Director North America, The Exchange Lab, will bring together veteran IAB Canada Publisher/Ad Network Member-companies including Google, Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo! and AOL; as well as similarly-established Agency Members including Media Contacts, Media Experts, OMD, Starcom Media Vest and Zenith Optimedia; plus, a host of new IAB Canada Members including Acuity, MediaMath and Pubmatic, who are all already working within the space either in Canada or across the globe.

Aitken comes to his role as IAB Canada’s RTB Chair with extensive experience in the space, having led IAB UK’s Ad Networks Committee for three years. Aitken is intent on bringing the advantages of data-driven media buying to the fore-front of the Canadian ad industry in order to provide confidence in how the tactic can be used both to serve more relevant ads to Consumers, and also drive more ROI for all parties concerned.

“Real-Time Bidding will have a transformative effect on both media buying and selling in Canada,” says Aitken. “The goal of IAB Canada’s new RTB Committee is to make sure that that effect is as positive as possible, by giving Canadian companies information on both the changing landscape of companies providing services and opportunities in this area, and the shifting mechanics involved in implementing RTB for maximum gain.”