Trojan horses

Paul McIntyre
By Paul McIntyre | 19 November 2014
 
Paul McIntyre, AdNews contributing editor

If the whispers are right in the digital underground, there’s serious tension fermenting between online publishers GroupM and GroupM rivals over Plista.

Who? Yeah, I know. The blistering pace in the digital sector is a minefield of moving parts but Plista is a German native content network which GroupM acquired globally this year and wants Australian online publishers to embed in their webpages.

Look at most Australian news sites and you’ll see two columns at the bottom called “Recommended” and “From Around the Web”. That’s Plista’s rival, Outbrain. GroupM wants Outbrain out and Plista plastered.

To keep things (relatively) simple, these operators recommend to users other stories and content from around the web that the algorithms figure is relevant for an individual. Brands pay Plista and Outbrain to amplify content through their publisher networks and publishers get paid when a user clicks on that content via an Outbrain or Plista story suggestion. It’s another form of native advertising, designed to be contextually relevant for an individual.

So far, so good, right? But here’s the rub. Most premium publishers in Australia already have an alliance with Outbrain and some suggest GroupM is applying its buying muscle to publishers to force them to use Plista. If they don’t comply, so the rumblings go, there might not be growth with publisher ‘x’ for 2015 from GroupM advertisers.

It doesn’t stop there. Rival media agency groups are telling publishers that if they use Plista they will cut their spend too because the agencies worry Plista gives visibility to GroupM about rival advertiser strategies and the ability to target those users with cookie drops elsewhere in the long tail of the web.

Theres more: publishers are worried that by allowing Plista on their audience network, it allows GroupM and its advertisers to create their own buckets of audiences, first found on premium publisher sites but which can then be targeted much more cheaply elsewhere.

Most publishers at this stage seem to want to stick with Outbrain as an independent operator; with what they say is better technology and a high standard of transparency that other players such as Taboola and Plista don’t have. That may or may not be true. As my 13-year-old is now fond of saying when I ask him about anything: “it’s complicated”.

For the record, GroupM’s investment boss, Danny Bass, is unmoved by the market grumblings. He argues premium publishers are losing digital revenues to new players such as Twitter and Facebook and the rest. “We are showing publishers how Plista gives them an opportunity for revenue growth,” he says. “If a media owner doesn’t want to play with Plista, that’s fine. But there has to be an acknowledgement that, if they are looking for significant growth – which they are – then we can show them ways twhat can come. It’s as clear as that. We are the only media agency group showing publishers new revenue opportunities.”

On the concerns of his rivals about user snooping, Bass says: “We don’t have the technology to do that, and if we did nor would we.”

It’s but the start of a new skirmish. Buckle up. 

Paul McIntyre is editor-in-chief of AdNews.

This editorial appeared in the 14 November issue of AdNews in print. You can subscribe to the print mag  here or get it on iPad here.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at paulmcintyre@yaffa.com.au

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