For many years now, I’ve been working on a publisher product, Direct Media Exchange and acting as a publisher advocate for Right Media working to help maintain the Internet as an open, transparent and evolving ecosystem.

That’s why I was glad to see that the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced a new effort to broaden the coalition of publishers on the web who are shaping industry standards. I encourage all publishers to check out this opportunity to join this important organization (and get some nice membership benefits along the way!)

As the 4^th of July draws near, we find ourselves preparing yet again for a day of exciting, somewhat wholesome, good American fun. You might be planning a picnic or a barbeque, or getting out of town, or waiting to be invited to a party, or planning a nice night in with the family. Here in Eugene we have great firework shows at the local baseball stadium, we’re stocking up on PBR (not only is it delicious but the cans are red, white and blue) and some of us are making the pilgrimage north to the great state of Washington where a seedy store called Blackjack’s sells fireworks that aren’t legal in Oregon.

Beyond all the festivities, though, there is one major topic that I know each one of us really reflects on this time of year: Frequency Capping.

Here are some tips from the Direct Media Exchange team:

Cam says: “Make sure to cap! It helps increase your fill rate from outside third-party networks. It stops sending them the impressions that they would normally send to default. And don’t forget to stick a feather in your frequency cap!”

Joe says: “Find out when your impressions are defaulting and set them appropriately— don’t just put caps on arbitrarily. Adjust your frequency caps and see how your fill rate is affected. For example, if your cap is set at 3 per 24 hours, and you’re still getting defaults, you should adjust the cap to 2 per 24 hours. If you’re getting no defaults, you should raise the daily number.”

Chuck says: “Use the reporting tools in your 3rd party accounts to determine several pricing points based on frequency, then use DMX frequency capping to create multiple placements at those price points. For example: rather than 1 placement capped at 5 per user per day set at $.20 eCPM, you might have a placement at 1 per user per day at $.60 eCPM, another at $.20 eCPM at 2 per user per day, and a third at $.10 at 2 per user per day to more accurately reflect the pricing at your third party.”

I say: “This might take some practice, because frequency capping is an art, not a science. The DMX forum is a great place to go for community support, and remember that the DMX team is always here for you too.”

We’ve all gotten past another Winter–more or less–and Spring Equinox and the Easter holiday is already over. Like the seasons, change is a constant in the world of online advertising–so it’s smart to be open to it. With that, here are some quick changes you can make to “Spring Clean” your Direct Media Exchange account:

1) Update those 3rd party placements! The eCPMs of your ad partners change from day to day, but we give you the option to control them. Compare your ad partners eCPMs and the current bids you’ve set for them in the ‘Manage’ tab, then reset them to the eCPMs you see in your ad partner’s accounts. Also, feel free to read more about other strategies like Frequency Capping and Geotargetting in our Direct Media Exchange support center (account needed).

2) Review your Media Guard settings. If you originally throttled back on the types of creatives you allow on your site, re-examine these. Remember that the more creatives that are available, the more opportunity you have to have other’s ad campaigns run on your sites–which brings more opportunity to generate revenue. For more information on this, check out the DMX ‘Community’ Tab, where you’ll see forums and FAQs on Media Guard and ad filtering strategies.

3) Link! Hey, did you know that from time to time we add new ad networks to our family of DMX internal networks? Your inventory may be just the right fit for them! Visit the ‘Link’ tab in DMX and see who’s new on the block; read their descriptions and try out a new network or two.

Here’s to your revenue blooming in 2008, on Direct Media Exchange.

So imagine that you’ve got a smoking hot web idea. You create your website…then users show. Once you’ve got a healthy amount of traffic to your site, the next thing you could do is submit your new website to different advertising partners to be part of their programs. Then you can generate some revenue from your hard-earned, organically grown traffic.

But then the reality of the approval process sets in. Sometimes you’re accepted. Sometimes you wait forever–and then get accepted. And sometimes you’re just outright denied.

People like to think they’ll always be approved by the partner they’re applying to, but there’s always ‘content guidelines’. How do you make it easier on yourself (and the approvers)?

Well, I don’t know everyone’s rules and regulations regarding approvals, but I do know the best approaches for getting your Direct Media Exchange account approved quickly.

Why People Get Denied

The most common reasons that our approval team denies a site that would otherwise be OK is: (more…)

Yesterday marked the completion of our third breakfast series, appropriately titled “Eggs and Exchanges,” and our second training class for both potential and existing customers. It was an exciting time for both Right Media employees and clients alike as we connected with business partners, met new people, and learned more about our product in our offices here in NYC.

Wendi Sturgis, our Client Services Director, started off the day with a conversation about the growth of the Exchange and the exciting future of Apex (Yahoo’s new advertising technology platform currently under development), while everyone enjoyed their breakfast. Clients and Right Media employees were given the chance to mingle for a couple of hours before the training session began, encouraging the relationships and community we strive for on the Exchange.

After breakfast, training began and covered three topics: Passing Age and Gender Data, Remarketing, and the Sales Enablement Program. Jacob Ross and Jeanne Hwang kicked off with an overview of the Professional Services Group, a team that provides consulting services and advanced Exchange-enabled solutions based on specific client objectives and needs. The Age and Gender training focused on the benefits of Age and Gender passing and how to utilize it in the Exchange while Remarketing, presented by Andreas Vagelatos, focused on utilizing segment pixels to remarket campaigns to particular audiences. Jacob Ross then went on to discuss the Sales Enablement Program, which provides opportunities for revenue growth by enabling sales teams with tools and strategies to succeed in selling the Exchange.

If you would like to access the presentations from this valuable event, please check them out in the Community Forums, located under the “Community Tab” in Yield Manager. If you have any questions about the material, or would like to explore some of the topics introduced in these trainings, please feel free to contact your Account Manager.

And to answer that age old question, the Eggs came first and they were delicious! See you at the next breakfast.