GroupM opens programmatic ad market as industry looks for pricing transparency

GroupM, the media investment arm of WPP, launched a programmatic marketplace that covers connected TV, online video and display ads, which it argues will bring more transparency to advertisers in the sometimes murky world of internet ads.

The GroupM Premium Marketplace, introduced on Thursday, was built to give advertisers access to publisher ad inventory online, “reducing opportunities for fraud and inventory misrepresentation in the media supply chain,” GroupM announced.

GroupM also brought in Magnite and PubMatic as partners, with the two sell-side platforms bringing ad inventory from publishers into the marketplace. The new offering streamlines the programmatic advertising process for brands and is meant to simplify the transactions, said Andrew Meaden, global head of investment for GroupM. 

“If you set up a clean system, whereby you bring in the publisher inventory yourself, and you control that technology, and you then allow full openness of that to the clients to be able to look into, then that ensures a much cleaner and more transparent way,” Meaden said.

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GroupM is looking to bolster its programmatic ad offering as the industry is changing and advertisers are demanding more transparency. Brands want to understand the pricing and fees associated with their ad buys online. The programmatic supply chain has been opaque in the past.

Meanwhile, organizations like the Association of National Advertisers have begun studying the programmatic supply chain to understand how much money goes to fees associated with agencies and tech partners.

The GroupM Premium Marketplace will offer flexible pricing models, allowing buyers to purchase media via all-inclusive, commission-based or SaaS-based options. The platform is available in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Africa, and is scheduled to roll out to other markets through 2022.

The new marketplace also unifies connected TV ads with display and digital video. “Through this marketplace, GroupM will centrally manage its media investment, creating competitive bidding advantages, best in market technology costs, and end-to-end supply chain transparency,” GroupM announced.

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