The Washington Post (TWP) has launched a new ad tech platform aimed at helping publishers counter the loss in online revenue to major platforms Google and Facebook.
The platform, known as Zeus Prime, is a self-service ad-buying interface that’s being positioned to other newspapers as part of TWP’s Arc Publishing platform, giving them an alternative to the dominance of Google and Facebook, which control around 60% of US online ad revenues.
“Through Zeus Prime, buyers will be able to easily execute an ad campaign by creating an ad format in a single click and targeting across a marketplace of trusted publishers,” stated Jarrod Dicker, VP for commercial technology at TWP.
Zeus Prime is the latest in the line of ad tech services being offered by TWP since Bezos bought the daily as a personal investment. The US publisher is providing publishers with an alternative solution to monetise from online ads, freeing them from dependence on the larger tech platforms.
“There has always been a rally cry to build an ecosystem that pulls everything together, but oftentimes ends in a stumble due to the fact that performance is just easier and cheaper on platforms at scale. However, this time it’s different,” Dicker said.
While the debate around the digital marketing power of Facebook, Google and also Amazon continues to rumble, it is apparent that publishers are moving on to other sources of revenue.
Earlier in July, Marketing Town CEO Ken Leren argued that marketers need to stop relying on the duopoly, and instead begin innovating and providing services customers want to come back to directly.
TWP’s ad-tech suite is a prime example of the emerging ideas publishers are executing to get the most out of the digital marketing landscape dominated by the duopoly.