Media Ad Concepts

Personalization concepts:

There are many categories of web personalization including

1. Behavioral
2. Contextual
3. Technical
4. Historic data
5. Collaboratively filtered

There are several camps in defining and executing web personalization. A few broad methods for web personalization may include:

1. Implicit
2. Explicit
3. Hybrid

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Media Ads Concepts

1. Ad inventory: The number of ad spaces available with the publisher. If a publisher has 100 spots, where s/he can display the ads then 100 is ad inventory.
1. It is valued in terms of the site traffic or ad views that can be delivered to the advertiser.
2. It is calculated in number of page impressions. If site A has 100 impressions/day and site B has 1000 impressions/day then site B can ask for more money from advertiser because site B can reach to many websites. 
2. An ad value can be calculated as page impressions X average number of ads on your website pages Although above formula is simplest of all. 
1. Moreover, it can be calculated by the location of the ad. Ads displayed at the top of the webpage demands for more money since it is the prime stop as compared to ads displayed at the bottom. 
3. Fill Rate: It shows how much of your ad space has been rented out and how much of it is empty. Higher the fill rate better are the chances since it means your website is in high demand.
4. Revenue: A website’s revenue can be calculated by number of leads or actions are performed after clicking on the ad or after cpm(cost per 1000 impressions)

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Metrics Concepts:

Here is the summary of articles on Product Metrics. Article: Only Metric that counts

Summary: 

1. Are people using the product? Once you find that out, find out:
   1. Why do they use your product? 
   2. How frequently? 
   3. What key actions they perform while using it? 
2. Answers to above questions will tell you who are core users, who:
1. Come directly
2. Return weekly/monthly
3. Share it with others
3. Reference:
1. https://news.greylock.com/the-only-metric-that-matters-now-with-fancy-slides-232474cf414c

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Ad Ecosystem:

This section will explain you the basics architecture of ad ecosystem. Definitions of different components and how those components work together to render ads:

Publisher:

1. Runs online business or websites that has user traffic.

Ad Network:

1. Aggregator of publisher ad inventory that is packaged by contextual channels, audience types or buying options(CPC, CPA, CPM). This inventory is sold. 
2. It is an entity/company/organization that connects advertisers to websites.

2.     It enables to deliver ads to consumers, perform targeting, tracking, and reporting of impressions.

3.     Inventory of online ads include:

a.     Blogs

b.     Rss feed

c.      Web pages

d.     Mobile pages

e.     Instant messages

f.      Mobile apps

g.     Adware Emails

h.     Other media

4.     A publisher(new york times) can integrate with an ad network. Ad network can then display certain ads

5.     Large publisher sells remnant(not sold = 10-60%) inventory through ad networks. Smaller ones sell everything through the ad networks.

6.     Large ad networks include:

a.     Search engines

b.     Media companies

c.      Tech vendors

Seller Side Platform:

1. Platform for publishers to manage ad inventory and enables routing to different ad exchanges

Ad Exchange:

1. Enables buying and selling of Media ads from multiple ad networks.A marketplace for buying and selling of ads. Ad inventory is auctioned to advertisers/agencies.
2. Handles Real time Bidding for publisher that includes:
3. -       Purchases inventory at individual impression level
4. -       Bidding in real time(milliseconds)
5. Ensures that publishers can maximize value of their inventory.
6. Ensure that advertisers purchase individual impressions at fair price.            

DSP:

1. Platform that enables media and audience buying for advertisers in real time on ad exchanges    
2. Evaluates and bids on each individual impression through RTB based on available user data.
3. Takes care of RTB for advertisers.
4. Centralized campaign management, reporting, optimization to meet advertiser’s objective.

RTB process:

1. Publisher puts the available inventory on the ad exchange
2. Ad exchange holds auction for each impression
3. DSP receives the bid from advertisers.
4. DSP evaluates the impression and calculate bid amount based on its value to advertiser. 
5. Ads from winning bid are shown on the publisher’s site.

Advertiser:

1. Spends on marketing to grow their business.

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More resources:

1. 5 things ad tech product managers should consider when planning their company's future
1. NOTES:
1. While contacting SSPs lot of information like user browsers, location, etc can be collected from requests & processed auctions.
2. User information can be collected via the DMP. They will have services that will provide you user information via cookie syncing services.
3. Consider inventory types like TVs or VRs where ad can be served in future. Product requirements should take care of such things. 
4. Consider use of machine learning algorithms to generate metrics that will help describe if correct data is collected and if right metrics are generate. 
5. TODO: Look at new video ads protocol
6. Make the product flexible to allow for change in trends
7. Cost of scale: Don't let technology costs kill the when scaling comes into picture.  
2. Confessions of an adtech product manager

Notes from a product conference

Recently I attended a product conference and here are my findings from several sessions that I attended. The sessions that I attended included:

1. Networking & how to build visibility

2. Relation building

3. Communication components

Below mentioned are the sections and the bits of advice that we got. This blog is in no way a complete picture of my experience but remnants of what I learnt throughout the session. And it gives some tips that experienced Product managers would love to share with new Product managers. So read on! 

1. Books to read:

1. Art of negotiation

2. Influence the psychology of Persusasion by Robert R Cioldini

2. To stay motivated use this motto

1. OMT: One more thing, One more time

3. For promotion

1. Act the role

2. Train your juniors

3. Invest in yourself

4. Step up & say yes if possible

5. Be an infinite learner

6. Even if you are 60% ready, go and ask for promotion.

7. Be a leader everyday if not then yearly once.

4. Importance of networking:

1. 85% of job reqs are filled by networking.

5. For every communication have:

1. Objectives

2. Key Results

6. For vision start defining the narratives by asking these questions:

1. What are the problems?

2. What are the opportunities?

7. While execution: 

1. Ensure customer satisfaction curve while implementation of the product.

8. How to build Visibility:

1. Look at the industry

2. Have a connection in Sales

3. Balance between execution & strategy

4. Work on relationship building

5. Build your Linkedin Public Profile by starting to like & comment.

Power of enthusiasm

Enthusiasm moves the world - By Aurthur Balfour

Don't you think that this is true? Have you ever encountered a school kid, who is very enthusiastic about an upcoming sports day? An employee who is keen to give that presentation to the client. A team leader, who is looking forward to releasing the product to the public. Do you know what is common in all the situations? Enthusiasm!! Yes it is Enthusiasm. 

There are millions of incidents when we have encountered successful people. They all are beaming with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm inspires them to work harder and longer. It inspires them to produce better results. It inspires them to deliver high quality results. It is very important to be enthusiastic about life events be it work related or personal. Personally I have seen the differences in the results of my projects, which I am enthusiastic about. If I am excited about a project usually the results are positive. Positive results in turn inspires me to go an extra mile to achieve more. More inspiration I get, the more challenges I am willing to take. I will cite a few incidences of my friends, who delivered exceptional results when they were enthusiastic about the project.

A friend of mine working on a very important work project. She was excited about the project right from the start. Excitement filled her with enthusiasm. She managed to keep a positive thinking her friend throughout the project and delivered good results. This gave here a chance to outshine and show her exceptional qualities. Because of this project's results she was made the leader of upcoming important projects. This filled her with more enthusiasm. They managed to deliver good results in every milestone of the project, which gave her more inspiration. Off course there were hiccups during the process but enthusiasm and positivity remained her best friends. After looking at her success I couldn't help but ask her how she kept her eyes on the goal throughout all these projects. She answered 'Enthusiasm and Positive thinking were key contributors to her success'. On that day I learned that it is important to do any work with enthusiasm so that we can get inspiration to move forward.

Another friend of mine was overweight and she needed to shed 20 pounds to achieve her target weight. She considered it as a fun project and created a plan to lose extra pounds. Most important of all she started the project with enthusiasm and positive thinking. Within 3 months of dedication and hard work, she achieved the results. She used to walk for 3 miles daily and used to take stairs wherever necessary. She cut down on sugar and oily foods. With 3 months of persistence, she achieved her normal weight. Upon discussing her success she told me that she started this weight loss project with great enthusiasm. She didn't complain and made sure she made positive thinking her habit. Losing 2 pounds initially helped her with the inspiration she needed. She told herself 'If I can lose 2 pounds, I can easily lose 20 pounds within a couple of months'. Finally you all know the result that she lost the weight and has continued to maintain it.

Last but not the least. Another friend of mine was suffering from depression because he failed in 4 courses. In next semester, he had 6 additional courses making it a total of 10 courses for a semester. This is a huge number for one semester. He initially felt sad that he did clear all the courses at once. Instead of staying depressed, he paired up with his friends who flunked in the same subjects. He studied with them and formed a study group. These actions created enthusiasm amongst him and his friends. He too started the courses on a highly positive note. Eventually he was able to finish the coursework well ahead of exams. During examination it was a matter of revising the important stuff and appearing for the exam. The result: He cleared all 10 subjects in one go. From next semester onwards he just had to take care of his usual 5 to 6 courses. Upon discussing with him the strategy of his great success. He revealed that he remained excited throughout the semester about all 10 courses. And successfully clearing midterms of all courses gave him the inspiration he needed to clear the final exams.

So it is greatly important to feel enthusiastic about anything in life. This helps us to achieve the results we need and inspires us to take greater challenges in life. So if you find yourself in a tough situation, don't let it take you down. Tackle it with enthusiasm and eventually you will get the inspiration and result you need. Stay positive and enthusiasm will follow.

Take risks!

How many times have you heard this phrase ‘Take risks!’ ? If you have heard it at least twice till now then chances are high that you are living in your comfort zone. People around you want you to take some risks and grow emotionally. However, if you are one of those who take risks wherever you can then thumbs up for you. Just a word of caution to you ‘Take calculated risks’. The last thing you want to do is to lose it all because of uncalculated risks. Personally I have felt the heat of uncalculated risks. Never ever do it intentionally. For those, who are scared to take a small bit of risk; this article is for you.

 

Why are you afraid of taking risks? Fear? Well if fear is your answer then let me tell you this. People who take risks are as fearful as you. However, they still go ahead and take the calculated risk. If you are one of those who don’t want to step out of your comfort zone then think again. People who let go of opportunities(risks) usually are sad with their decisions if they really wanted to take that opportunity. If you have analyzed the situation and could live with the worst possible outcome then go ahead and take that risk. Let’s take a simple example; you are unhappy in your current job and what to switch the job. If you are unhappy then find a new job. Finding a new job is completely different from actually going there and working. What will you lose if you interview for that new job? Lose a couple of hours or days. And in return you would have practiced for interviews and ideally would have found another great job.

 

Let's say you did well in the interview, got the offer, and the new company is looking forward to your joining. Then you deciding about joining the new company is analyzing the risk. If the benefits of a new company outweigh the disadvantages of your current job then you can consider joining them. Actually joining them might be a little riskier since your experience can go in either way - good or bad. If you think about it in a positive manner then you at least have a job, which is probably paying you better than previous, and probably has better chances of learning and improvements. So take it as a challenge and stick to your solution. You will feel uncomfortable for a couple of months initially and if things go well(which usually do) then you will have a better experience. Your appetite for risk will increase. You will be able to take challenging projects at work, which will reflect in a good manner in your profile.

 

Risk taking and stepping out of your comfort zone helps you to grow as an individual. You are no longer having that boxed mentality. You are actually living the life you deserve. Studies have proven that people whose risk appetite is large are usually very successful. So if you have to taste tremendous success at least once in your life then be ready to take calculated risks.

 

Risk taking might not always have a positive outcome. Things can go wrong and you might get stressed. You might fail and not like the results. However, failing is a part of risk taking. If you are taking risk for the first time and you fail at it then you will not be very scared while taking risk for the second time. More risks you take, better are your chances of finding success quickly. You will be prone to risk taking. It's like building the stamina of risk taking ability.

 

Risk taking will help you tackle the uncertainty in a better manner. If you are taking more risks, chances are higher that you are venturing into an unknown territory. This increases your knowledge and helps you learn how to handle unknown situations. If you have a better capability of handling unknown things, you surely will take more risks increasing your chances of success.

 

So go ahead and take those risks. Make sure to do the calculations and be ready to live with the worst possible outcome if things go wrong. At the end you will be glad that you took those risks. Best of luck!

Stop talking and start taking action

Quit talking and began doing. - Walt Disney

You will see so many people talking about so many things but achieving none or very little. These are the most frustrated people. If you have to succeed at something then start taking action and do something about your goals. I personally have met so many people, who talk about the current situation and how unhappy they are. However, I have never seen many of them do something about changing their situation. If you are unhappy about a particular thing then take steps to change it. Find out if you have to work for it. If yes, create an action plan and start implementing it.

Here are some examples of how some people took action and improved their life:

A friend of mine was unhappy with how her manager was treating her. She informed her that she was not comfortable with her communication style. Her manager was taken aback for a while but she quickly improved her communication style. My friend was happier and it improved her life. Her manager is now happy with her work and encourages her to take more challenges.

Another friend of mine hates to go to work. She started working on some side projects in her spare time in evenings and on weekends. She used to paint on fabric and glass. Eventually, she had so many paintings that she started selling them to her friends and family. She still works but if for any reason she is out of work, she will be able to survive herself. Working at a job is an option for her now and not a necessity and she doesn’t feel frustrated. Her action oriented nature helped her to lead a happy life.

A very close friend of mine was not able to take care of her health due to high workload. She figured out why her work load was high. She tweaked her schedule a bit and achieved tremendous results. She could now finish all her work on time leaving her fresh in the evening for other personal tasks. She figured out that she is very active in the morning and used that time to do the critical tasks and in the afternoon she attended meetings, replied to emails, etc. This helped her balance mind intensive activities with non-intensive activities. Now she doesn’t get burnt out by doing only mind intensive activities all day long. Or doesn’t get bored because of non-mind intensive activities. Balance helped find her the solution. All she did was to create a plan and execute it. Action helped her find a balance.

If you read the above examples, you will realize that it is very important to take action and be mindful of what is bothering you and what is helping you. Eventually, it will help us achieve better results and be happy.