Knowledge Bridge

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//Peter Whitehead /November 28 / 2014

Australian papers launch online exchange for print ads

Australian newspaper publishers have joined forces to launch a private exchange to buy print advertising, in what is an industry first, reports The Newspaper Works.

The auction site, which is known as Bid on Print, began trading on 24 November with more than 140 newspaper titles available to media buyers.

Bid on Print is not a programmatic or real-time bidding exchange, like its digital ad counterparts – “instead, a publisher selects inventory, applies a floor price and then sets a timeframe in which the ad must be bought. Buyers then bid with the highest offer winning, or they can simply click a ‘Buy Now’ button.”

The exchange is designed to help publishers sell less valuable inventory and free up sales teams to focus on premium stock, explains mUmBRELLA.

“We are creating commercial efficiencies for both media agencies and publishers. Media agencies can bid and book a print advertisement with a click of the mouse,” Newspaper Works chief executive Mark Hollands said. “We have made the system as simple as possible to appeal to buyers and planners, and make the transaction quick and simple.

The site has been created by The Newspaper Works and Publisher’s Internationalé. It transacted more than AUD$350,000 (USD293,000) during pre-launch trials.

“Feedback from media agencies suggests we have reduced to just a few minutes what took them hours to do previously, especially for campaign-scale purchases,” Publisher’s Internationalé CEO Charlton D’Silva said. “Newspaper publishers see the benefit of helping to create efficiencies for agencies and have keenly supported the initiative.”

In contrast to programmatic trading, allowing publishers to fix a minimum price means that rates can’t be forced below a level they find acceptable .

 

Article by Peter Whitehead

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