mediascale

IAB OMSDK Explained with Joe Ranzenbach

The interview centers on the IAB Tech Lab Open Measurement Software Development Kit (OMSDK), a standard for ad verification. OMSDK originated with IAS and was subsequently adopted by IAB Tech Lab to provide a unified framework for running multiple verification tags via a single SDK. This reduces reliance on numerous proprietary SDKs, improving integration efficiency and user experience. The standard is expanding beyond mobile apps to web, video, and connected TV, supporting consistent measurement of ad viewability and fraud prevention across formats. Joe Ranzenbach discusses the development and broader impact of OMSDK, highlighting its role in enhancing ad quality, transparency, and ecosystem trust within the digital advertising landscape. Recorded May 2024, the discussion underscores OMSDK’s importance in consolidating measurement practices across platforms.

Verification at the Crossroads

The piece features Tony Katsur of the IAB Tech Lab interviewing Ari Paparo about the history of the VAST standard and offers a critique of the current ad-verification market. It notes that IAS and DoubleVerify have experienced notable stock declines, reflecting concerns about growth, margins, and platform exposure. The author argues that verification has become 'insurance' on digital advertising, mandating usage by agencies and brands, while acknowledging slower organic growth on open web and higher margins in walled gardens. It outlines three strategic options for a flattening market: diversify, cut costs, or sell more to existing customers; IAS has diversified via Publica, DV via SciBids. The piece introduces Nielsen's Four Rs framework—Reach, Receptivity, Recall, Reaction—and argues verifiers should address more of these Rs. It closes with opportunities to expand into new products such as brand safety, attention analytics, carbon measurement, and cross-platform measurement, while calling for transparency and accountability from verifiers.

Psychographic Targeting: Ads with Goosebumps Factor

At the OMR Festival, Mediascale's Wolfgang Bscheid argues that psychographic targeting should replace traditional sociodemographic milieus to reach customers with deeper relevance. He notes that, while algorithms and automation help quantify needs, marketers must first understand what truly matters to people. The talk promotes a 'Haus der Kommunikation' where planning, media and creative work in lockstep, and Mediascale claims a protected system to tailor ads to specific audiences. The piece traces the rise of psychography to 2016, when Cambridge Analytica’s methods allegedly helped mobilize voters for Donald Trump, raising concerns about data misuse but suggesting responsible, legal data use can unlock new targeting. It also discusses Big Five traits as an insufficient sole basis and highlights three core motives—power, achievement and affiliation—along with content preferences and media usage as essential inputs for relevant advertising. The goosebumps factor becomes a benchmark for successful psychographic work.