Facebook de-lists big-name partners
Facebook has implemented a new partner program for third-party ad technology providers, for which many of its previous preferred partners, such as AOL, Chango and Rocket Fuel, do not qualify.
Although many of these providers still have limited access to Facebook inventory, they have — at least temporarily — lost the envied status that comes with being one of Facebook’s preferred tech partners.
Facebook announced in October that it would be replacing the Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) program with a new system called “Facebook Marketing Partners,” which certifies preferred third-party providers in nine different specialty categories such as ad technology, audience data, community management and FBX retargeting.
The new certifications come with a number of requirements that partners must meet. Although partners were advised of the new requirements prior to the Partners changeover last week, at least 15 of Facebook’s previous PMDs did not meet the requirements in time, and are no longer listed as preferred partners in Facebook’s newly redesigned online directory.
The changes were first identified when AdExchanger reported Thursday that the number of companies certified on FBX had been reduced from more than 25 to 12. The de-listing appears to extend beyond FBX, since many of the partners that were dropped from FBX are not listed under any of the nine categories and do not have badges on the directory site. Sources told Marketing that the directory is fully up-to-date, and any partner not listed has not qualified as a Facebook Marketing Partner.
Importantly, non-preferred partners will still have access to Facebook inventory and many of the site’s new targeting and data features. This is a major change from the PMD system, where only preferred partners could work with Facebook ads.
Sources said that non-partners will be able to integrate with various components of the API that will allow them to perform real-time targeted buying and other common online marketing functions, so that they can work toward meeting the requirements for certification. The features and inventory that they can access will be restricted on a case-by-case basis.
It appears that with the new Marketing Partners program, Facebook is creating two tiers of partners — a hand-picked, well-publicized group of top platforms, and everyone else.
Platforms seeking re-certification
Previously listed PMDs that are no longer listed include Google’s DoubleClick, AOL’s Advertising.com, Chango, DataXu, Dstillery, myThings, Netmining, Quantcast, Rocket Fuel, Struq, and [x+1].
Marketing reached out to a number of the platforms on the list, and several responded that they still had access to Facebook inventory. Some said they were in negotiations to be re-certified under the new partner framework, for varying specialty categories.
Adobe, which was de-listed from the FBX exchange but is still certified for ad technology and community management, said it would be seeking re-certification on FBX. “[Adobe has] been an early ad tech collaborator with Facebook and have since launched unique cross-channel features, such as the ability to conduct search retargeting on Facebook,” a company statement said. “We will continue to work closely with our customers to extend the reach of their programmatic exchange buys to include Facebook Exchange (FBX) via Adobe Media Optimizer so we can be recertified for FBX under the new Facebook Marketing Partner program.”
Rocket Fuel and Chango responded that FBX no longer suited their needs, and they would be migrating to other API-based integrations. FBX has always been highly focused on desktop retargeting, rather than being an exchange where buyers can bid on a broad range of Facebook inventory. Over the past year, FBX has become even more narrowly focused on product-level retargeting for desktop display ads only. Other methods of retargeting are available without going through FBX, while sought-after premium ad units like in-feed video and mobile are not available on FBX at all.
“Rocket Fuel is migrating from FBX to the API because it is more aligned with giving our customers access to a wider range of ad units and specifically, access to the 1.19 billion people who access Facebook via mobile devices monthly,” CMO Eric Porres said, in a statement. “We believe the Facebook API solution is where the broadest inventory (mobile, video) and most robust first-party data sources are available, not FBX. Both mobile and video ad buying are growth areas for our business, and campaign elements we feel are important to offer clients. Our API development is already underway and, once completed and verified, we anticipate being listed as an Ad Technology Marketing Partner with Facebook.”
Each of the nine new categories has unique requirements that must be met for certification. They are intended to ensure that partners’ objectives and technical specifications align with Facebook’s, sources said.
However, an anonymous source who was identified as working for one of the de-listed platforms, told AdExchanger that mandatory minimum spend requirements had been implemented for FBX, and that was the primary reason their platform was not seeking re-certification.
Notable preferred partners that remain certified as Marketing Partners include MediaMath, Turn, Criteo, AppNexus and Amobee (Adconion).
