The Key to Ad Exchange Success? Living Breathing Humans.

In today’s complex digital advertising world, it can sometimes feel like there are too many cooks in the kitchen. But with digital strategists, digital planners, buyers, creatives, data scientists, and everyone in between, it is only natural to look for efficiencies within the vendors and agencies that service your brand. One role that seems to end up on the gauntlet is the account management person at your programmatic Exchange.

As Exchanges continue to evolve and AI technology gets stronger and smarter, it can be tempting to try to manage your campaigns without the support of a real person. And if you work with multiple DSPs and exchanges, having a human account person at each may feel redundant, but I argue that the benefits of this person far outweigh the cost.

Customer service is of the utmost importance from the perspective of Exchanges like Yieldmo’s Smart Exchange. Our powerful technology can drive meaningful results but without proper oversight and nimble action, you could be missing out on harnessing the true power of the Smart Exchange. That would be like buying a Ferrari but only taking it out during rush hour — an expensive investment with a lot of untapped power that will never be able to reach its full potential.

So why is it so important to work with a human inside your Exchange? Well first, since every Exchange works differently with different strengths and challenges, the account team can help you customize your optimization strategy to perform even more efficiently.

Each Exchange has their own differentiated value proposition. Some Exchanges focus on custom formats, others tout their exclusive partnerships both to supply and demand, while others may focus on custom integrations.

Your Exchange Sales Planner and AM team can craft custom RFPs and send proactive deal proposals with inventory and ad unit recommendations to meet the client’s specific KPIs. Additionally, the AM understands the Exchange’s new supply or changes in inventory.

Oftentimes Exchanges will come out with new features, deals, or new differentiated ad units; this is especially in the case of Yieldmo which offers frictionless high impact ad units and customized deals to meet your KPIs. Your AM will be able to bring these unique opportunities to you to potentially be a first to market or be able to offer something unique to your clients.

And finally, call me old fashioned, but there is still incredible value in having an account person who knows your name, business, and business objectives.

As not all exchanges are created equal, especially those with unique inventory, it’s important to have a strong customer service layer to provide deal and campaign recommendations.

Your account team will be able to provide back-end optimizations that are specific to the exchange to meet the campaign’s KPIs. They will also be able to provide specific bid guidance to ensure that you are bidding in the most optimal way.

As you continue to plan for the rest of 2022, we advise that you not only work with your DSP team for best practices and recommendations but also work with your exchange partners to maximize the performance and value of your private marketplaces.