1. Who is Ted, and what do you do to make OpenX great?
I’m a passionate product guy who loves building end-to-end solutions for our clients and partners. I think my prior experience working at a variety of content / ad-tech companies such as Yahoo and Disney Interactive helps with providing a foundational understanding what users are trying to accomplish, and how OpenX can help. My team drives product innovation in two areas: data insights/reporting and programmatic direct. These areas are exciting because they offer numerous opportunities to bring new valuable data insights to bear for users, in general, and also for programmatic direct as a growing method of transacting on OpenX.
2. Can you share your thoughts on your area of expertise?
Many players within the ad tech industry have commented on the explosion of requests and associated data within the last 18 months due to increased access to supply. The reality is that the amount of meaningful data insights corresponding to the dramatic increase in raw data has not kept pace. This represents a big challenge for a lot of users that want to use data to make ‘smart’ decisions about discovery, signals, targeting, bidding, integrations, partners, etc. I’m fairly optimistic that the trend toward more open and transparent partnerships is going to enable a significant step towards better data-driven decisioning, and that our product roadmap will make OpenX a leader in this effort for exchange and programmatic direct.
3. What is next for your team and OpenX?
Generally, my team is dedicated to providing the best-in-class data insights and programmatic direct platform for our partners. Key elements of our purpose include making it easier for partners to find the most relevant opportunities on the OpenX marketplace for their objectives, and providing actionable guidance to improve performance. For example, providing discoverability of relevant audience and associated inventory is paramount to being a strong partner for our demand partners, whether it be through better self-serve availability tools, offering the highest-performing programmatic deals, and detailed insights on bid performance. OpenX and my team are laser-focused in product innovation that helps partners achieve their own business objectives and, in the process, provides end-to-end value within the overall marketplace.