Digital News South Africa

Google's CPP programme to help publishers online

During October 2015, over 100 companies around the world were invited to apply to join the Google global programme to become a Certified Publishing Partner (CPP). At the end of a rigorous selection process, South African based AddSuite, part of the Ole! Media Group was one of only five companies in EMEA.
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AddSuite's Greg Mason was in New York for the launch of the CPP programme and confirms that this announcement and fundamental shift in how Google will operate, changes the publishing landscape. It now means that publishers using any or all of Google's publishing offerings - Google AdSense, DoubleClick AdExchange and DoubleClick for Publishers - have access to 29 trusted and certified partners globally.

Benefits

    • Far better one on one support for all publishers opting to use these products

    • Access to well trained and Google certified partners - for the first time publishers will be dealing with people who have the latest product knowledge and who know what to do with it
    • There is a louder voice for publishers to have their feedback heard - the CPP can aggregate challenges/shortfalls and things that should be changed within the Google framework as one loud strong voice instead of for example, multiple individual voices potentially getting lost in the void
    • From a business perspective this programme will streamline the communication and services between Google and its publishers

    • From a revenue viewpoint, the CPP can better advise on the best approach for each particular publisher

"However, the success of the programme will also come down to how well the individual publisher is prepared to adapt its approach and work with Google and its chosen CPP, as to how revenues and benefits will accrue," commented Tim Legg, CEO of AddSuite.

Google conference - key trends, insights

In addition to the announcement of this programme, the Google conference covered key trends that will also have an impact on the online publishing and advertising industry globally, such as:

    • Google Contributor - putting the user in charge of the online experience and paying for uninterrupted content (this has been launched in the US and is on its way to Africa);• Viewability - A massive trend and one that will certainly affect online publishers and digital ad agencies alike

Mason reported on Google's observations that savvy ad agencies are demanding their online ads have 'immediate viewability' by web users and browsers. There are a host of criteria and parameters to make this happen and Google has now given AddSuite an exclusive inside track on how to achieve this, particularly in Africa. One of the consequences of this approach though, is that the CPM rate will be driven up, as the advertising inventory itself diminishes.

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