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Since Centro started, we’ve had one goal: improve the lives of the people behind the campaigns. That’s why we build media management software to help people reach their business goals better, faster and more frequently. Let’s eliminate unnecessary activity. Let’s improve collaboration between actual humans. Let’s offer greater insight, reduce screw-ups and help people connect successfully with audiences across all digital channels.
Interested in joining the Centro team? Check out our hottest tech openings of the week and apply today.
Senior Software Engineer, Rails – Chicago
Centro's technology team is building web applications for streamlining digital media planning. Come design and develop great software with us in an agile environment and make life better for all of our friends in the advertising industry. Our customers live in our apps eight hours a day, planning and executing complex advertising campaigns. We’re looking for someone with experience developing fast, modular web applications in a collaborative team environment to be the newest member of our growing band of talented engineers, product managers and designers.
Software Engineer, Backend – Toronto
This role will be responsible for building out new products while updating and expanding our existing offerings. Core functions include developing on and improving Centro’s highly scalable real-time bidding platform, which processes 30B+ auctions, each within milliseconds, every day. You will actively participate in our team and help drive innovation for new products and services. Our software engineers enjoy rolling up their sleeves and writing code.
Sr. Business Analyst, Centro Platform – Chicago
Help build the business analyst practice within Centro’s agile engineering organization. Collaborate with a strong, cross-functional team of engineers, testers, designers, and product managers to build an incredible product. You’ll be able to build strong business domain knowledge in digital advertising, campaign planning, and campaign execution. What’s more, you’ll be able to develop and create new capabilities, epics, and user stories that help grow Cento’s technological offerings.
This August, we are highlighting our corporate culture at Centro. With the recognition we’ve received from the likes of Ad Age, Crain’s, and Fortune, we wanted to give you an inside look at who we are as a company. And what better way to kick off the month than with a piece crafted by the mastermind behind our unique workplace philosophy? CEO, Shawn Riegsecker, discusses his thoughts on success, cultivating a winning organization, and above all, promoting the happiness and self-improvement of every individual within the company. Read more >>
This week, the IAB, in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers, released a study that looked at the programmatic advertising industry in 2014 in an attempt to size the market (by estimating revenue) and establish a benchmark for measuring future growth. The report looked at how dollars flow within the complex programmatic ecosystem, examined industry definitions like the word "programmatic" itself and interviewed dozens of companies in the space to gather data on challenges and opportunities. In total, the results were fascinating. Here are 5 key takeaways:
Back in 2013, programmatic (or automated) advertising made up only 23% of the display ad market, according to eMarketer. Back in October of 2014, eMarketer also estimated that programmatic was only 45% of the display ad market, but this new IAB data now shows that programmatic advertising made up 52% of the market last year, more than doubling its share of the market! While this pace of adoption is not surprising to programmatic advertising champions around the world, it is certainly quicker than most people expected, and a significant milestone for our industry.
According to the report, 70% of the inventory sold programmatically is of the "open auction" or public marketplace type, which is inventory that essentially anyone can bid on. This lion’s share makes sense because the open auction is really the only way to achieve the scale needed to properly execute audience-based campaigns. It's also the only programmatic buying method that fulfills the promise of complete automation and efficiency. That being said, there will be an expected shift to other forms of buying, such as private marketplaces and programmatic direct.
Ad tech vendors collected more revenue than publishers (55% vs. 45% respectively). There is a massive amount of fragmentation in the ad tech space. With more vendors, there are more fees in the overall value chain. Not to mention the fact that these fees are all over the map, ranging anywhere from 1% or less for ad servers, all the way to 50% or more for ad networks. With the growth of audience-centric buying (versus publisher-centric buying), publishers risk being marginalized in the programmatic world, while ad tech platforms rise in importance.
Rumors surrounding the death of the banner ad have been largely exaggerated. According to the IAB, banner ads account for approximately 80% of overall programmatic revenue. This is not surprising, especially given the history and standardization of the formats, and the simplicity with which they can be created. There is an expected shift towards other formats like mobile and video, but adoption is currently hindered for many reasons. In video, premium inventory is scarce, and so most of it is transacted via non-programmatic direct deals. For mobile, buyers are still waiting for more mature cross-device targeting and measurement.
For starters, there is a lack of agreement over definitions, especially for private marketplace and direct buying types. There is also a lack of ability from many vendors to differentiate revenue from various programmatic buying types in their reporting. There is also a lack of standardization and transparency around viewable and fraudulent impressions, which relates to concerns about quality inventory available via programmatic advertising. Additionally, many believe that the fragmentation is hindering the industry’s ultimate growth -- too many vendors exist.
Despite these challenges, programmatic advertising adoption continues to skyrocket. According to the report:
"Programmatic has become a strong contributor to Internet advertising revenue. The potential for growth is clear, but demystifying the programmatic landscape is critical to reach this potential."
In addition to demystifying the landscape, several other issues need to be addressed. First, while understanding the landscape is important, understanding programmatic buying tech itself is just as important for media buyers and campaign analysts. Furthermore, advertiser trust needs to be fostered by addressing fraud, viewability, and brand safety. Technology also needs to mature so there is more confidence in cross-device targeting and measurement. And lastly, with so much fragmentation in the ecosystem, consolidation will help drive operational efficiencies and more confidence in the overall value chain.
Learn more about Programmatic Advertising with Centro.
If you’re in retail, it’s time to pack up your beach chairs and break out those Christmas lights, because retailers are already gearing up for the 2015 holiday shopping season. With holiday retail sales expected to hit $877.46 billion in 2015, and consumers projected to spend 10.1% of retail spending online by 2020, millions of dollars are at stake in-store and online for retailers this season. To ensure you’re capturing your holiday consumers (and some of your competitors’, too!), we’ve packaged up five key retail trends for 2015 and included advice on how to get everything you want this holiday season. The complete package consists of:
Unwrap the entire package to learn how to make the most of your holiday retail campaigns. The good news is – you don’t have to wait until Christmas! And in the meantime, here’s a little stocking stuffer of trends and tips to help get you started:
TREND #1: Marketers partake in a funnel-less world:
Holiday Tip: Focus on the moments that matter most – connect with consumers in the right place, at exactly the right time in order to attract and retain loyal customers into the future and beyond.
TREND #2: Retail disruptors create opportunity:
Holiday Tip: With disruptors such as social media and mobile currently defying retail norms, utilize custom storytelling and hyperlocal targeting to ensure your brand is top-of-mind in key shopping and decision-making moments.
TREND #3: Customer attention is down and brand competition is up:
Holiday Tip: To connect with consumers on a more personal level, develop plans specific to reaching different audiences with tailored messaging versus a one-size-fits-all approach.
TREND #4: Hyperlocal targeting is imperative to reaching consumers:
Holiday Tip: As local media continues to remain a valued commodity, think and execute creatively in order to reach different users across various markets and channels – wherever they are in the world.
TREND #5: It’s only July, but the holiday season starts now:
Holiday Tip: With 29% of consumers starting their holiday shopping before Halloween, now is the time to start making those holiday strategy lists and checking them twice!
Now that we’ve nailed down the basics, it’s time to map out your digital strategy now to maximize your holiday dollars later. So if you'd like to know more about these 2015 retail trends, our strategic insights team can provide a comprehensive presentation on the stats and data behind these trends, complete with detailed advice on how to thrive this holiday season. Reach out to your Centro representative today!
Read More on Crain's Chicago Business
"Following its $30 million round from May, the company said it planned 'to acquire businesses that help it grow and diversify what it can do for the middle of the media-buying marketplace.' That’s exactly what they have done. And now the company projects it will manage nearly $400 million in digital ad spend this year."
Today, Centro (centro.net), a provider of enterprise-class software for digital advertising, acquired GraphScience (www.graphscience.com), a technology developer that helps marketers harness customers’ social media data to dynamically create and optimize, in real-time and at scale, thousands of personalized ads on Facebook.
Below is an FAQ that provides more details about this news.
What is Centro’s core business?
Centro’s unified programmatic ad platform encompasses all digital channels and is projected to manage nearly $400 million in digital ad spend this year. Its acquisition of GraphScience is its next major development following a Series B $30 million round of financing in May. Centro works with advertisers and continues to consolidate digital advertising in one software stack -- first pioneering automated guaranteed media-buying technology, and then building a cross-channel real-time bidding (RTB) software solution. Now, Centro is expanding its product suite with GraphScience’s personalization and optimization engine for social ads.
Why did Centro acquire GraphScience?
Centro identified GraphScience as having one of the best ad optimization technologies for Facebook, one of the largest providers of effective display inventory. E-commerce and retail companies with hundreds of product lines and thousands of SKUs can generate creatives for each offering and predict which ads, combined with possibly thousands targeting parameters, will perform the best. The acquisition strengthens Centro’s offerings by adding robust social ad capabilities that have delivered superior ROI for brands. It will boost the Centro platform, one of the most comprehensive programmatic ad-buying solutions encompassing all digital channels.
What problem does GraphScience solve?
Although audience data on social media can help brands customize ads, it’s difficult for advertisers to discover, in real-time, which ad combinations will be more effective as campaigns progress at a very large scale. This challenge is magnified during competitive, high-volume shopping seasons such as back-to-school and holidays.
What are GraphScience’s products and solutions?
GraphScience provides an ad optimization platform that enables marketers to rapidly generate thousands of Facebook ad creatives and targeting parameters. It identifies high-performing combinations based on factors such as image, message, target audience, location and more.
The technology then quickly extracts actionable insights that predict which ad placements can meet and exceed pre-defined ROI goals, allowing marketers to tune spend immediately.
What are the financial terms of the acquisition?
Centro is not disclosing the financial terms of the acquisition.
What does this acquisition mean for the market?
Centro wants to unify the fragmented technology in the digital advertising ecosystem. The importance of social media to the marketing mix is growing, as social advertising reaches 30% of U.S. digital display ad spend this year (Forrester). Marketers need to maximize advertising effectiveness on Facebook and other social sites/applications while efficiently managing and executing all other forms of digital media. Accessing enhanced social media capabilities on Centro’s platform empowers advertisers to drive better performance for their digital campaigns, no matter the channel, device, ad unit or buying tactic.
What is the size of GraphScience?
GraphScience has been in business for more than three years and its technology is available as a software or managed service solution. GraphScience’s customers include large e-commerce and retail companies with hundreds of product lines and thousands of SKUs. All of GraphScience employees, including technology and client services staff have joined Centro as part of the acquisition.
Is Centro going to support GraphScience’s customers? How?
GraphScience’s service team members are now Centro employees and will continue to support current GraphScience customers. Centro will ensure that there is no disruption to current clients’ engagement with GraphScience. Furthermore, Centro’s national sales team will deliver the solution to 2,500 agency and advertiser customers in North America. Centro will also apply more software development resources for the GraphScience platform to expand its capabilities and reach on other major social media channels.
Who are GraphScience’s current customers?
In the past year, GraphScience has worked with more than 25 mid-sized and large brands in e-commerce and retail.
How are customers using GraphScience’s solutions?
Marketers can access GraphScience’s technology through a software license or as a managed service. The technology provides an ad engine that automates complex ad campaigns across multiple product lines, target parameters and marketing initiatives. The software platform generates thousands of ad creatives and targeting considerations, and then real-time performance analysis helps marketers act on decision-guiding insights that drive customer conversions.
How will the deal impact Centro’s customers?
The GraphScience technology is now part of Centro Social advertising solutions. By strengthening its offerings with robust social ad capabilities, Centro can provide customers with an automated direct ad-buying technology for Facebook that can seamlessly and effectively manage large campaigns. Over time, these capabilities will be expanded to other major social platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
How will the acquisition affect GraphScience’s management team, employees and offices?
GraphScience’s employees will join Centro immediately in its San Francisco office. GraphScience CEO, Alicia Policinski, will serve as managing director, social, at Centro.
“The race is on for who can actually provide that single sign-on, media automation platform across all the different channels and vendors out there,” said Centro CEO Shawn Riegsecker.
GraphScience Empowers Companies to Personalize Social Ads and Optimize in Real-Time;
Centro to Combine Automated Guaranteed, RTB and Social Into One Programmatic Ad-Buying Platform
Chicago – July 23, 2015 – Centro (centro.net), a provider of enterprise-class software for digital advertising, today announced the acquisition of GraphScience (www.graphscience.com). GraphScience’s software, now available through Centro (www2.centro.net/social), helps marketers harness customers’ social media data to dynamically create and optimize, in real-time and at scale, thousands of personalized ads on Facebook. GraphScience’s customers include large e-commerce and retail companies with hundreds of product lines and thousands of SKUs. The acquisition strengthens Centro’s offerings by adding robust social ad capabilities that have delivered superior ROI for brands. It will boost the Centro platform, one of the most comprehensive programmatic ad-buying solutions encompassing all digital channels.
Centro’s technology platform is projected to manage nearly $400 million in digital ad spend this year, and its acquisition of GraphScience is its next major development following a Series B $30 million round of financing. Centro continues to consolidate digital advertising in one software stack -- first pioneering automated guaranteed media-buying technology, and then building a cross-channel real-time bidding (RTB) software solution. Now, Centro is expanding its product suite with GraphScience’s personalization and optimization engine for social ads. Centro recognizes the growing importance of social media to the marketing mix, as social media advertising spend reaches $8.334 billion in 2015 (“US Digital Markeing Forecast, 2014 To 2019,” Forrester Research, Inc., November 4, 2014). Centro’s unified software solutions help marketers maximize effectiveness on Facebook and other social sites while efficiently managing and executing all other forms of digital media.
“Centro is bringing together a unified platform that allows advertisers and agencies to solve one of the biggest problems in the industry -- fragmentation. The addition of GraphScience to our advertising software stack enables Centro to deliver a platform that automates the research, buying and execution of all digital inventory types,” said Shawn Riegsecker, CEO of Centro. “Accessing enhanced social media capabilities on our platform empowers our customers to drive better performance for their digital campaigns, no matter the channel, device, ad unit or buying tactic.”
GraphScience’s technology is available as a software license or managed service. It extracts insights from social audience data to predict which ad placements can meet ROI goals, enabling marketers to tune spend immediately. Although audience data on social media can help brands customize ads, it’s difficult for advertisers to discover, in real-time, which ad combinations will be more effective as campaigns progress at a very large scale. This challenge is magnified during competitive, high-volume shopping seasons such as back-to-school and holidays. GraphScience overcomes this challenge by identifying high performing combinations based on factors such as image, message, target audience, location and more. To boost adoption of the technology, Centro’s national sales team can deliver the solution to 2,500 customers in North America.
The entire GraphScience team will join Centro immediately, adding to the company’s more than 600 employees across North America. Centro is opening new positions in San Francisco to support development of its new social advertising solution, adding to the company’s existing 100 open opportunities (www2.centro.net/careers).
About Centro
Centro (centro.net) is creating a platform to make digital advertising easier. Its enterprise-class software centralizes, organizes and automates all digital media campaigns across all channels, accessing both guaranteed and biddable inventory, to achieve any objective. Our holistic approach gives marketers a single system of record to fulfill their research, planning, buying, optimization, reporting and reconciliation needs. Since 2001, Centro has successfully planned and executed more than 250,000 campaigns across all digital display platforms and ad format types. Headquartered in Chicago with 32 offices in North America, Centro has received numerous accolades for its commitment to employees and workplace culture.
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Contact:
Anthony Loredo
[email protected]
646-462-4888