With the launch of its new HBK Audience Media Platform, Toronto-Based advertising agency Henderson Bas Kohn has now joined the growing number of Canadian agencies implementing real-time ad “trading desks” for digital marketing.
Partnering with “sister company” Varick Media Management in the U.S. (both are MDC Partners-owned companies), HBK is using Varick’s technology to offer its Canadian clients a platform for online advertising buying on an impression level using real-time bidding technology.
According to Meir Vatagsky, director of media and analytics at HBK, this kind of capability is becoming increasingly important when it comes to pleasing clients in the digital advertising arena.
“Clients are becoming more demanding in getting better ROI results for their advertising efforts in the digital space,” he said. “A lot of the buying online has become a little vague in terms of who your audience is and which audience exactly is seeing your ad, and this platform would allow them to know exactly that information. Plus, it will help them achieve the cost efficiencies that would enable them to get the ROI required.”
Simply put, Vatagsky said the platform “casts a wide net throughout the web, working through all of the advertising exchanges with real-time bidding technology, which controls the cost and delivers ads in a much more cost-efficient way.” And in terms of the targeting capabilities, he said “it basically partners with data management platforms that have huge data warehouses about specific audiences, verticals and behavioural traits. And that’s how they’re able to target specific demographics and cater to client needs.”
This type of technology for online ad buying has been soaring in the U.S. over the past four years. “It’s playing a significant role in the display advertising market over there,” said Vatagsky, who notes that Varick has been using this technology for several years now. “Canada was kind of a late adopter to this trend.”
Indeed, real-time ad trading desks have only been a factor in the Canadian online ad space since late last year. Media agencies have been opening such services rapidly in Canada, but it’s still nowhere near the level of implementation that exists in the U.S.
Vatagsky expects that to change throughout 2012. “It is going to grow further this year [in Canada] as advertisers realize this gives them a lot better accuracy in terms of targeting specific audiences, and also getting much clearer insights into who your customers are.”
As an agency, HBK is best known as a creative digital shop, but it has been managing digital media for a number of its clients for several years. These include Capital One, Mercedes Benz, Maple Leaf Foods, CAA, Zipcar, The Weather Network and Porter Airlines.
Although HBK will be using VMM’s capabilities for the technology side of the platform, Vatagsky said the actual work involved will all be done in-house using existing staff at the moment. Then as the need grows, they will look into possibly adding staff.
