Mail Metro Media shifts ad strategy toward PMPs and fewer ads as it unifies stack

"“We have definitely underinvested in our PMP business,” said Cook-Anderson. “This is an area where we have to invest because buyers really want to buy PMPs. There's a whole different set of budgets, different KPIs that can be activated here,” he said."

"“Fixing that ‘middle of the stack,’” he argues, is the clearest way to grow digital ad revenue (down 15% YoY last year to £148.3 million) prove more outcomes to agencies, and stop open-market decline from quietly eroding the model."

"“overwhelming majority” of Mail Metro's digital ad revenue, which was £148.3 million ($202.4 million) last year, still comes from direct deals rather than programmatic - a gap he now wants PMPs to start filling."

"Mail Metro Media is rewiring its commercial model around PMPs, first-party data, and a lighter ad load to build a more outcomes-driven business. The shift comes as publishers face ongoing volatility in open-market programmatic revenue and increasing pressure from buyers to prove performance."

Mail Metro Media is changing its commercial approach to rely more on private marketplace deals, first-party data, and a lighter ad load to create an outcomes-driven advertising business. Revenue has been volatile in open-market programmatic, while buyers increasingly demand proof of performance. Despite large digital ad revenue, most income still comes from direct deals rather than programmatic. The company aims to invest in the “middle of the stack” by strengthening PMPs and managed programmatic, targeting about 300% growth over three years. The goal is to improve outcomes for agencies, demonstrate performance using different KPIs, and slow open-market decline without damaging existing direct relationships.

Read at Digiday