I am in London this week, and just met with an exec for a large digital agency here.  (I’m keeping my source anonymous.) “I’m going over to DoubleClick offices right now to show them this article” she (or he) said. “It’s spot on.”  Like I, she (or he) had received a few forwards of the same content, basically that Google is wrecking Doubleclick.

Google Killing Doubleclick? Click for video clip.

(Hearing your competitor dismissed in a lovely British accent is truly a wonderful experience, thanks __________.)

Here is the article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/unhappy-client-says-google-is-killing-doubleclick-2010-2

The perspective of the agency exec with whom I met was an interesting one, and one which rang true:

 ”As an industry, we are driving down ad serving rates, so what do you expect?” On one level, she (or he) is right – with falling CPMs, ad serving revenue in general will not support the same levels of service that clients have gotten used to.

I will admit to a bit of gloating, but those in glass houses, etc etc… In a sense, this is true of all providers.

I believe that by allowing for integrations between Atlas and MS  Sharepoint and other enterprise assets, by inviting media speciality partners to the ATPA program, and by creating synergies between Atlas and media procurement, Microsoft has created a business into which we can invest (vs. “killing it”). The smaller ad servers are likely going to hurt the worst, as they may  have no other credible revenue streams with which to confront the ad serving rate decline.

There is a clear responsibility for ad serving companies like DCLK and Atlas (where I work) to continue evolving the business model.  I also believe there is a responsibility on behalf of agencies and advertiser to understand how they can become more strategic partners. 

Some of the most interesting conversations of my career – including the one a few hours ago with said agency lead –  have happened over the past few months with partners who are interested exploring relationships which go beyond counting clicks and conversions in a user interface.

I would invite those from  industry analysts, agencies, advertisers, ad servers, and other providers to weigh in with their comments – my guess is that this can be a hot topic with many opposing points of view. Please comment below.

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