Pontiac Intelligence

Great to have such thoughtful and innovative partners as Rain the Growth Agency, David Nyurenberg, and Chalice AI! We pride ourselves on challenging the industry norms and opening the inventory curtain wherever we can. The advertising space needs more transparency and we're here to provide as much transparency as we can! https://lnkd.in/ec5A2aj9

Been thinking about a theory called diffusion of innovations in the context of adtech. It basically says innovation first serves the early adopters before spreading to the rest of the population. In adtech though, it seems diffusion is limited, which I think hinders more robust innovations. For example: 1. Most adtech vendors cater to enterprise brands and large agencies because that’s where the money is. (I’ll collectively call them BigCos and the rest SmallCos.) 2. These vendors’ products are never really used by SmallCos due to the price tag. 3. So some innovation happens and is made available just for BigCos. I think the innovation in 3 could be much more significant if it served both BigCos and SmallCos. Why? Most folks working at BigCos care more about optics than impact because every dollar does not count for them, whereas SmallCos have no choice but to care about impact because every dollar counts. So when overindexed on serving BigCos, optics>impact. Just as Hubspot catered to SMBs and successfully competed against incumbents like Marketo/Eloqua in the MAP space and later against SFDC/Dynamics in the CRM space, I hope we see more products in adtech catering to SMBs to help fuel innovation. (FWIW, I’ve seen some diffusion happen in the DSP space, with companies like StackAdapt and Pontiac Intelligence serving SmallCos, kudos to them.)

IPs got a boost from Google just before Christmas and the industry breathed a sigh of relief. IPs are the most effective way to measure and target in CTV, and without them, the space would become challenging. See what Keith has to say about this under the radar move means.

One of the major highlights of the year for the Pontiac team was our Pontiac Summit in October. We brought together a fantastic group of speakers and got some really great perspectives on the industry. Here's a great perspective from Egbavwe Pela, MBA and David Nyurenberg on CTV performance metrics and the power of measurement in this growing channel.

If you don't have transparency into what you're buying, you don't have the control you need to be successful. Check out our perspective from Keith Gooberman #adtech #transparency

We built Pontiac Intelligence as a powerful tool that helps advertisers and agencies get more out of their media buys. It's important that buyers know how the platforms they are building are made and what actual technology they bring to the table. Otherwise, they'll be stuck spending fees on tools they may not need.

"The digital landscape is now packed with dubious inventory, fraudulent media properties and non-organic content – all of which ultimately work against brand goals rather than serve them. And thanks to automation and AI, it’s easier than ever to create junk sites." PREACH David Nyurenberg!! 👏👏👏 The industry has relied too long on "audience" as the filter for quality. The ongoing perspective of "It's not about where they see the ad, it's about who sees it" has driven the industry in the wrong direction. We need to focus on inventory quality. We need to offer tools that let buyers buy the inventory they want and view their delivery with full transparency. It's time to pay attention. Read the full, well-written AdExchanger article by David here: https://lnkd.in/eeH3MRbF

Andrew Casale said it well at the 2024 Pontiac Summit: cutting out MFA had a net positive effect on Index Exchange's marketplace. We've known forever that DSPs can't handle the total volume of supply coming at them from the supply side, so they throttle what they see. This means that different DSPs have different views on inventory and what they can provide to buyers. At Pontiac, we focus on super premium CTV with a layer of transparency that is unmatched. Watch the video with Keith Gooberman to learn more about how it all works:

The Pontiac Summit was a massive success and we are so happy to have welcomed over 200 industry colleagues and leaders. We're already planning the 2025 Summit, but here's a look at this past year's show!

Missed the Pontiac Summit last month? Attended and want to relive the exciting moments? We've posted the panels from the event on YouTube, so check them out: https://lnkd.in/deHgpH7E The panels include: - Our Welcome Remarks from Keith Gooberman - Buyer Strategy with Adam Heimlich, David Nyurenberg, Molly Visgilio, Alexander Groysman, and Egbavwe Pela, MBA - Fireside Chat with Andrew Casale - Publisher Perspectives with Heather Carver, Jana Meron, Jessie Gruber, and Richard Zeroth - Founding an AdTech Company with Mike Hauptman, Casey Saran, Luke Hills, and Jared Lake - AdTech Jeopardy with Ari Paparo, Marcus Pratt, Stephanie Layser, and James Hercher We loved hosting the event and we hope you enjoy watching it!