Today it was announced that we’ve been acquired by Rubicon Project, and we’re incredibly excited to be a part of their team. By joining Rubicon Project, we’ll be a part of the first and only full-stack direct order solution for display, mobile and video advertising.

The future of media buying will be here sooner than ever.

Why We’re Joining Rubicon Project

Our mission statement to automate guaranteed advertising falls neatly within theirs: to automate the buying and selling of all advertising. Rubicon Project believes the industry is headed in the same direction as we do, and they want to build the same great products we do. Joining Rubicon Project increases our resources, letting us build those products faster and serve our clients even more effectively.

For a long time, both buyers and sellers having been looking for a consolidated advertising stack — one place where they can manage the many different types of transactions they execute in a given day. As noted above, this acquisition marks the creation of the first truly consolidated ‘full-stack’ solution. Buyers will soon be able to transact everything from granular, highly targeted auction buys to guaranteed, high-impact units, all in one place.

We’re thrilled to be a part of that.

What’s Next for iSocket

I was lucky to join iSocket’s incredible team last October, and I believe we have one of the best teams in the business. Rubicon Project is another incredible company that shares our values, our culture, and commitment to building great products. I know this is a place where the iSocket team and the iSocket vision can thrive.

To learn more about our direct order automation solutions for guaranteed and non-guaranteed campaigns, click here. To read the full press release, click here.

Richard Jalichandra
CEO, iSocket

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Strategic Partnership Adds Efficiency and Effectiveness to Media Buying Process

November 4, 2014 (CHICAGO) – Advertising agencies will soon be able to purchase premium, guaranteed inventory programmatically through a new partnership between leading media buying and selling software provider, STRATA, and the automated guaranteed platform, iSocket. The partnership will allow STRATA’s 1000+ media buying agencies to purchase premium direct inventory through iSocket efficiently and allow for a faster and more accurate ordering process from beginning to end, starting with the Request for Proposal (RFP).

The partnership will provide a unique electronic gateway between STRATA’s 1,000 plus agency buyers and iSocket’s premium publisher catalog, speeding up transactions of guaranteed media while decreasing costs and streamlining processes. STRATA has over $50 billion worth of electronic transactions flowing through its systems annually, while iSocket works with top premium web properties including Condé Nast, Forbes, and Reuters. iSocket’s sales automation and programmatic direct tools eliminate many of the errors and overhead costs that are common to the manual media sales process.

“This partnership allows agencies to have direct access to premium inventory from leading publishers, which adds convenience and accuracy,” said Joy Baer, STRATA President. “From RFP through invoicing, the digital buying process has been streamlined programmatically to help agencies eliminate unnecessary overhead. iSocket’s focus aligns with our goal to make media buying even more efficient for our agencies.”

“I’m very excited to be working with STRATA. They’re one of the most trusted names in media buying and selling and work with an impressive roster of independent agencies,” said Richard Jalichandra, CEO, iSocket. “One of iSocket’s core philosophies is a commitment to openness. We believe that to serve our clients to the best of our ability, we need to work seamlessly with the tools they already rely on. STRATA is one of those – their tools are a key component of so many media companies’ workflows. We know this partnership will help our clients get more out of our software and make both of our platforms stronger.”

About STRATA

STRATA is the only system provider that connects both media buyers and sellers. The custom solutions supplied by STRATA empower clients to sell and efficiently purchase all media types including cable, broadcast, newspaper, radio, outdoor and digital advertising mediums. On average, over $50 Billion in advertising dollars flow through STRATA systems per year. As the system of choice for over 1,000 agencies nationally, STRATA provides media technology that enables organizations to lead rather than react to industry developments. By transforming the way advertisements are placed and tracked, STRATA adds a new level of transparency to campaigns that is necessary in the ever-evolving media world. To learn more, visit http://stratag.com/
About iSocket

iSocket is a technology platform purpose-built to simplify the buying and selling of fixed price, premium, reserved inventory. iSocket For Publishers (iFP) sales automation and programmatic direct tools allow top publisher sales teams to focus on relationships and strategy, while iSocket For Advertisers (iFA) makes it easier for agencies, brands, and buying and planning platforms to execute orders of well-defined, guaranteed inventory directly with top publishers. Through automation, iSocket is able to eliminate many of the errors and overhead costs that plague the manual media sales process.

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Programmatic direct is rapidly growing segment of advertising, and according to a new eMarketer report, is poised to grow even more dramatically over the next two years:

Programmatic ads are purchased via two main methods: real-time bidding (RTB) and programmatic direct. Growth is currently driven by RTB—the auction-based approach to programmatic advertising in which digital display ads are transacted in real time, at the impression level.

However, eMarketer sees significant growth coming from programmatic direct, which will reach $8.57 billion in spending by 2016 to represent 42.0% of programmatic ad expenditure in the US.

We’ve known the market for programmatic direct is still relatively young, but this new report gives us a timeline for this new market’s maturation. The market has been slow to shift  because programmatic direct, specifically when it comes to reserved media, touches publishers’ primary source of revenue. With so much at stake, it’s not surprising that the top publishers have taken time to do their due diligence. Buyers, too, have long-standing buying systems in place, which need to be re-organized to allow them to take advantage of new programmatic guaranteed channels. Multi-billion dollar markets don’t move overnight.

That said, programmatic direct is here to stay. Why? Well, according to eMarketer programmatic direct channels offer the control buyers and sellers needed in order to fully embrace automation.

With respect to high-quality inventory, eMarketer analyst Lauren Fisher says, “[t]hose who do decide to turn to programmatic, however, are likely to do so via programmatic direct, where they can still secure inventory guarantees.” That’s not specific to publishers, either. As Fisher told MediaPost, ““[e]nthusiasm for more controlled, private programmatic setups like…programmatic direct echoed across all company types — publishers, agencies, brands, etc.”

The pipes are relatively new, but now that the groundwork has been laid, we can expect to see major growth beginning in 2015.

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New York, September 24, 2014. iSocket, the leader in programmatic direct and reserved media sales today announced a partnership with Wenner Media, LLC, publisher of Rolling Stone, Us Weekly and Men’s Journal.

iSocket’s publisher-facing tool, iSocket for Publishers (iFP), allows media sellers to streamline their reserved sales process by automating the 40-odd steps that go into executing a single reserved media deal. Agencies and brands can use iSocket’s buy-side tool, iSocket for Advertsers (iFA), to negotiate rates and purchase reserved media with a handful of clicks rather than dozens of steps.

“We see direct order automation as a key component of the reserved media sales business. It complements the programmatic segment of the business and will enhance efficiency on the traditional side,” said Michael Persaud, Director of Programmatic Advertising at Wenner Media.  “Automation can’t come fast enough.”

Automation is crucial for both the demand side and supply side to better utilize their talent and streamline their operations. Sellers can spend more time doing what they do best: selling, while buyers can use automation to facilitate more efficient planning and faster, simpler executions.

“We are pleased to be working with Wenner Media. Not only are they well-known and highly sought-after media brand, they are savvy and forward-thinking when it comes to automation,” said Steve Roach, VP of Publisher Sales at iSocket. “We are looking forward to developing this partnership further.”

About iSocket

iSocket (www.iSocket.com) is a technology platform purpose-built to simplify the buying and selling of fixed price, premium, reserved inventory. iSocket For Publishers (iFP) sales automation and programmatic direct tools allow top publisher sales teams to focus on relationships and strategy, while iSocket For Advertisers (iFA) makes it easier for agencies, brands, and buying and planning platforms to execute orders of well-defined, guaranteed inventory directly with top publishers. Through automation, iSocket is able to eliminate many of the errors and overhead costs that plague the manual media sales process

About Wenner Media

Wenner Media LLC, a privately held company headquartered in New York City, publishes Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, and Men’s Journal magazines. The company’s three titles attract more than 46 million readers each month in print, and 49 million gross monthly unique visitors to its websites, UsMagazine.com, RollingStone.com and MensJournal.com, and digital networks.

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On Friday September 12th, iSocket will be opening its doors for the third annual NewCo (previously called OpenCo.)

We’re inviting NewCo attendees into our SOMA offices to share our story (Attendance is free, but you have to sign up here to secure your spot, and register to visit iSocket here).

Here’s some background on NewCo:

The concept is simple but powerful: NewCo turns a traditional event inside out. Instead of filling a dark ballroom with “attendees” and having leaders lecture in a one-to-many style, NewCo occurs inside the world’s most innovative startups and high-growth companies.  Executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and future influencers get an up close and personal experience of each company in its native habitat. Once inside, participants have a wide range of experiences – from behind-the-scene tours of cutting-edge work environments to founders candidly sharing insights into their own entrepreneurial journey.

We participated in last year’s event here in San Francisco, and we’re very happy to be on board for a second year! We hope to see you there.

When: Friday, September 12th, 9 AM

Where: iSocket. 2 Shaw Alley, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94105

Register to attend iSocket’s session here.

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According to a recent survey from AOL Platforms, a whopping 87% of brand and agency respondents plan to increase programmatic spending by at least 50% over the next six months. The unsurprisingly bullish survey included executives at 25 advertisers, 96 agencies and 56 publishers, and centered on programmatic buying of display, mobile and video.

It may, however, come as a surprise to some that display will be a crucial driver of this predicted programmatic growth. “I hear people talk about display being less important, and that is a myth that this survey debunks,” AOL Platforms CMO Allie Kline told AdExchanger. “Display is not only where the majority of money is spent, but also where the majority of increase will come from.”

Kline added that programmatic access to reserved inventory and premium formats accounts for the increased investment in display.

Transparency, Well-Defined Units, and Reserved Media

Automated guaranteed’s entry into the programmatic landscape is a key factor in that shift. For the first time, technology is enabling the automation of reserved inventory – by far the largest market segment of display advertising.

Previous challenges to programmatic expansion are familiar to most of us. In describing the same survey, Adweek noted that “[f]or agency and brand senior executives, the top three programmatic ad spending challenges are the quality of the inventory in these programs, transparency of the process and the technology used to…place the ads.”

That’s why automation of reserved media is such an important force here— transparency and quality are no longer issues. By enabling programmatic access to well-defined, high-quality ad units, publishers give buyers an opportunity to choose exactly what they’d like to buy, erasing any quality or transparency concerns.

Why now? Both buyers and sellers are motivated by economics – 76% of agencies and brands identified economic efficiency as a key benefit of programmatic buying, while publishers appear to be focused on ways to improve CPMs and strengthen their bottom lines.

The Sell-Side

The survey also explored publishers’ plans, need, fears, and confusion.

From AdExchanger:

“Publishers said their No. 2 challenge in the digital marketing ecosystem was education. Only half were confident in their understanding of programmatic.”

It’s not surprising that publishers lack confidence in their understanding of the options out there. The marketplace is crowded, with each vendor coming up with a different marketplace term—often for the same capabilities! One of the best resources is the IAB, a non-biased industry source whose mission isn’t to sell, but rather to educate. And for both publishers and advertisers, education is the first step.

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San Francisco (July 1, 2014)  iSocket, the leader in automation for guaranteed media buying and selling, today announced that former AppNexus executive Karl Bunch has joined the company as CTO. He will be responsible for overseeing the company’s product vision.

Mr. Bunch comes to iSocket from AppNexus (New York) where he served as VP of Product Management since January operating the business globally across numerous different regional markets. Before that, Mr. Bunch was President of The Rubidium Group, LLC a business consulting services company for almost 14 years. Earlier in his career he was Chief Solutions Officer at CPX Interactive, and SVP of Strategic Technology at Warner Music Group.

“We couldn’t be happier to have Karl join the iSocket team,” says Richard Jalichandra, CEO, iSocket. “iSocket’s mission is to build the best media automation in the business, and we do that by investing heavily in our products. Karl’s tech background, his start-up experience, and his product vision make him the perfect addition to our team.”

“As digital matures, automating the transactions that drive real value for both the buyer and the seller will be crucial,” says Mr. Bunch. “There’s this misconception that mastering automation will be simple, but in reality it’s a major challenge. iSocket has a significant head start here. I would compare them to SalesForce in its early days. I’m excited to help iSocket continue to lead the market and push the entire industry forward.”

Earlier this year, iSocket announced $5 million in new funding led by Time Warner Investments, with participation by Condé Nast. iSocket also recently announced partnerships with MediaMath and Kantar Media’s SRDS.com.

iSocket (www.iSocket.com) is a technology platform purpose-built to simplify the buying and selling of fixed price, premium, reserved inventory. iSocket For Publishers (iFP) sales automation and programmatic direct tools allow top publisher sales teams to focus on relationships and strategy, while iSocket For Advertisers (iFA) makes it easier for agencies, brands, and buying and planning platforms to execute orders of well-defined, guaranteed inventory directly with top publishers. Through automation, iSocket is able to eliminate many of the errors and overhead costs that plague the manual media sales process.

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eMarketer recently released a new report on the state of automation in guaranteed, direct media-buying: “Programmatic Guaranteed: Meaningful Momentum, Despite Murky Industry Definitions.”

Here’s a snippet from the report:

Known as “programmatic guaranteed” or “programmatic reserved” for the ability to secure upfront commitments to both price and amount of inventory, this branch of programmatic direct is gaining significant traction among publishers and media buyers looking to automate the often lengthy insertion order (IO) process and bring greater audience insight to their premium ad buys.

Why Are Publishers, Media Buyers Excited About “Programmatic Guaranteed”?

The traditional IO process is woefully outdated. In many instances, a single deal can take upwards of 40 steps to complete, and for many publishers, literally dozens of employees often touch a single IO. The process is extraordinarily costly for publishers, eating into profit margins and burdening sales and ad ops team.

The process isn’t easy for the buy-side either. eMarketer reports survey results indicating that, “[f]or media buyers engaging with dozens of publishers and platforms, the power to automate the IO process is important.”

It’s no wonder given the length and complexity of the process that both sides are looking for tools that can take a 40 step process down to about 10.

Industry Definitions Are Getting Closer

Those industry definitions, though admittedly murky as eMarketer suggests, are beginning to coalesce into solid standards. With ad tech terminology so often in flux, it’s hard to get a handle on what to call what, but this industry segment is typically termed automated guaranteed these days, per the current IAB standard.

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iSocket recently joined Digiday at both the Brand Summit in April and the Programmatic Summit in June.

Here’s our CEO, Richard Jalichandra, talking with Digiday editor Brian Morrissey about the future of automated guaranteed:

Digiday Dialog with iSocket from Digiday on Vimeo.

And here’s our VP of Product, Casey Saran, at the Programmatic Summit in May talking programmatic:

Digiday Dialog with iSocket Speaker: Casey Saran, vp of product, iSocket Moderator: Brian Morrissey, editor-in-chief, Digiday from Digiday on Vimeo.

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Two new ways to buy premium, reserved inventory using iSocket’s automated guaranteed technology stack

April 16, 2014. San Francisco, CA. iSocket, the leading provider of automated guaranteed advertising, today announced two new channel partners: Kantar Media and MediaMath. Both integrations will introduce a new way for buyers to discover reserved inventory from iSocket’s publisher partners.

Top tier publishers including Conde Nast, Forbes and Microsoft use iSocket for Publishers (iFP) to automate their guaranteed digital media sales. Publisher sales teams can use iFP’s automation tools to create and package orders, respond to RFPs and monitor campaigns, while agency and brand advertisers can buy media through iSocket for Advertisers (iFA), iSocket’s media-buying tool, and through iSocket’s channel partners, which now include MediaMath and Kantar Media.

About 15,000 planners and buyers from more than 1,000 U.S. agencies currently subscribe to Kantar Media’s SRDS.com planning platform. The new partnership with iSocket simplifies the buying process for these agencies, many of which are looking for ways to automate their media buys. SRDS.com will house information about what inventory is available for sale through iSocket, among other partners.

“Currently, thousands of brand planners from all the major U.S. agency holding companies use SRDS.com for their multimedia planning research,” says Dina Srinivasan, Managing Director of Emerging Media, Kantar Media SRDS. “Through this initiative and for the first time, we are giving this buy-side of the market the ability to find, select and then click-to-purchase premium guaranteed publisher inventory from partners like iSocket in our centralized planning platform.”

MediaMath is a leading technology platform that enables advertisers and their agencies to make more efficient, effective and profitable marketing decisions. Hundreds of brands and agencies use MediaMath’s TerminalOne Marketing Operating System to execute digital media strategies, data management, and analytics to drive results against branding and direct response goals. iSocket’s new partnership with MediaMath will allow MediaMath’s TerminalOne customers to buy premium inventory directly from iSocket publishers without ever leaving the TerminalOne interface.

“The introduction of Automated Guaranteed through partnerships like the one we have with iSocket addresses the industry demand for direct access to premium inventory, all while benefiting from the efficiency and scale that programmatic buying provides,” said Greg Williams, Co-Founder and SVP of OPEN Partnerships for MediaMath.  “This huge step forward is not only indication that the adoption of programmatic is only going to gain momentum, but also that we are dedicated to enabling the most seamless and effective workflow for marketers.”

“These two partnerships add tremendous value for iSocket’s publisher partners by getting them in front of additional premium buyers who are already working with Kantar Media and MediaMath,” said Richard Jalichandra, CEO, iSocket. “We’re thrilled to be announcing these two new channels for discovery.”

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