The Trade Desk's Nordics GM, Magnus Johansson Interview
To welcome in 2022, we spoke to Magnus Johansson, General Manager for the Nordics at the Trade Desk, a leading global demand-side platform (DSP) and one of the great success stories of ad tech:
What is your view on the state of the advertising market right now, across the Nordics?
The past few years have seen a huge acceleration in the shift towards digital advertising - a change that shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, a recent Group M report suggests that digital advertising accounted for almost two-thirds of global advertising revenues in 2021. Over time, nearly all of the advertising pie will be digital and most of that will be transacted programmatically.
Programmatic allows advertisers to be more precise, data-driven and able to measure against specific goals, all the time providing ad content that is more relevant, helpful and interesting to the consumer - it’s a win-win. This means the market is in a really exciting place, and in the Nordics particularly.
Is there any specific reason why TTD choose to launch in the Nordics at this particular time?
Building The Trade Desk’s presence globally has been a key priority since our inception. As our founder Jeff Green says, we are a global company that happens to come from Ventura, California. Currently, roughly two thirds of the global advertising market is outside of North America. And we see this playing out on our platform - in Q3 this year, our international growth once again outpaced the growth seen in the US, and this is a trend we expect to see continuing over the long term. We have been working with Nordic agencies and brands for many years and this is the next phase of our growth in the region. By having a presence on the ground and servicing clients locally, we can strengthen our relationships and provide a better service in the Nordic region.
What is your take on the opportunities and challenges around CTV in the Nordics right now?
CTV has topped the list of the fastest growing advertising channel for some time now. It’s not surprising, when you consider it combines the impact of sound and video with the precision and relevance of digital. And it’s where growing numbers of consumers can be found - no longer wanting to be tied down by linear schedules, the ability to watch a wide variety of quality content, on demand has proven hugely popular across all markets. More and more broadcasters are shifting their focus to digital, which means an increasingly developed set of tools for marketers to use to optimise their CTV campaigns.
There is still work to be done around measurement as current offerings are fragmented. Developing accurate and transparent metrics is the key to truly proving the power of CTV. Even though there is a limited amount of CTV inventory accessible in the region at the moment, we expect that to grow in 2022, since the demand is there.
What is your take on the whole IDFA/3rd party cookies and future of ID debate? Will there be one solution, in your opinion, or many?
There’s been so much discussion around the future of identity, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important. And that’s the question of how we preserve the future of the open internet? The quid pro quo of the internet is to have free access to interesting and helpful content, in exchange for relevant advertising. Any identity solution needs to support this balance, while giving consumers better control over their data and how it is used in the process.
Many of the issues the identity landscape has previously faced have stemmed from fragmentation. Coming together as an industry and collaborating on a solution that works for, and benefits, all parties is key. Unified ID 2.0 is the solution that started with The Trade Desk but now belongs to the whole internet. It is open source, being used by many companies across the globe and is independently operated. And we believe it creates a better internet with higher standards for consumer privacy than anything possible with cookies.
If there is one area you think Nordic publishers should be focusing time and attention on right now, in order to build success for the future, what should it be?
This links to the previous question - identity should be at the top of every publishers’ priority list. Publishers hold the direct link to the consumer and therefore are a crucial part of the ecosystem. Their participation and involvement in new solutions is paramount. They should be working with an industry body, whether that be the IAB, INMA or any others – making sure they are up to speed on the subject while at the same time recognizing it is quickly evolving.
What we are discussing today could change tomorrow, so it’s never been more crucial to stay abreast of developments. Talking to partners, clients, key advertisers and competitors helps keep efforts collaborative. When the tide starts rising - whether it be towards a regulatory change or the development of a new tool - I’d advise getting involved as early as you can. Being part of the process ensures that what’s to come works as hard as possible for your businesses’ goals.