So much talk is focused on marketers – what do brands want, what do agencies need, how do we make advertisers happy, active and always moving forward?  The truth is the same things that matter to marketers also matter to publishers.

The media sales marketplace (also commonly known as business development) can be just as competitive as the agency sales marketplace.  Publishers are inundated with the same options: data partners, display networks, yield optimizers, content syndicators, ad-servers, reach extension partners, exchanges, rich-media providers…. It does not end!  I was at a recent conference and the publisher-centric crowd laughed out loud and in unison when the VP of Operations for a large news company on a panel said, “If I hear ‘it’s just a piece of javascript’ one more time!”  The video ad landscape viewed through the lens of a publisher resembles more of a Coachella festival than an opportunity – with the gates open wide for more and more newcomers and all the attendees bumping into each other and, to an outsider, all looking pretty much the same!

Here are four of the most common “buy-side” needs, seen through the eyes of publishers:

1. Seamless integration – Everyone needs their workflows to be easier. For publishers, it means limited points of contact, managing expectations on turnaround times, seeing them through the process with support and access to dedicated and experienced human resources.

2. Exceptional client service – This goes without saying, as publishers have businesses to run as well. To enable them it means – answering their phone calls, responding to their emails and not making them wait more than 24 hours for an answer as to why.

3. Brand safety – Believe it or not, this also means something to publishers. Do you think a financial publisher who spent 30 years building their brand wants their consumers to see flashy “punch the monkey” ads?  Or their cutting edge journalism adjacent to “congratulations, you are the millionth customer”?

4. Market insights – Publishers expect their tech partners to be experts too. The ecosystem is a complex place to do business and publishers need all the help they can get just to keep pace with demand-side trends.

At the end of the day advertisers and publishers are both brands – just on different ends of the spectrum.   They value who they are, what they do and what and they represent.

Good luck.

Susie Moore, Sales Director for Adap.tv

Tags: brand safety, coachella, ecosystem, insights, online video advertising, publisher