Attracting tens of thousands of sellers spread across a breadth of disciplines, the ad tech industry is a scary place for a brand or agency to roam.
Sarah Lawson Johnston, MD at ad tech group Mediaocean, believes her own industry has been guilty of making things too complicated for buyers, and is demanding a change in tact.
She tells PerformanceIN the current situation has played very much into the hands of certain suppliers who are using the complexity as leverage for their own offering.
“It’s so complicated: we’re our own worst enemies because we make it more complicated than it needs to be. A lot of tech companies want to make it more complicated because then they can add their bit into the mix,” she comments.
A solution may be around the corner, though, in the form of better communication between those looking for tech and inventory and the companies that can supply it.
“For me, it’s about ‘how can we make the buyer and seller communicate better?’
“How does the advertiser understand what they’re getting, by channel? Everybody wants to get return on investment; you don’t want to put stuff out there and not know who’s watching it. Has it actually been watched by a real person?”
You can view Sarah’s full interview with PerformanceIN below.