Note: this post was originally published on July 17th, 2018. Blog timestamps are misleading due to site migration.
In today’s adtech landscape, where everyone is beating the drum on transparency and self-service, there are still vendors out there with sizable businesses that operate as fully managed services. But this model has undeniably been on the downswing. Why? And does this mean that the future of the industry will be dominated by self-service? That’s what many pundits predict. But I want to present an analogy that points to an alternative future.
Fully managed models have a compelling value proposition: they sell the end result vs. the means to get there. They sell performance vs. self-service. They sell Uber vs. driving yourself. What’s fascinating is that while the ride-sharing industry is exploding as an alternative to renting or buying cars, the adtech industry is moving in the opposite direction, towards self-service.
While many of the pros and cons of both approaches in each respective industry look similar (i.e. cost, convenience), there are some interesting differences:
The common theme in every point above is that transportation is much simpler than adtech. And as a result of this simplicity, there is greater transparency and trust between consumers and providers. That doesn’t exist in the adtech space, where there is a ton of complication, and as a result, confusion and mistrust between buyers and sellers. Which is why the industries are driving (ha!) in opposite directions. In adtech, marketers want the keys to the car because they don’t fully trust the car or the driver.
This makes me think – as adtech continues to consolidate (which will lead to simplification) and the industry continues to put more energy and resources into tools that will grow marketer trust, will the pendulum swing back the other way? Will marketers eventually feel confident enough in fully managed models to reap their benefits? I can see it happening.
After all, it is a lot easier to get in an Uber than it is to drive yourself there.