DPG Media will pull the plug on selling app ads in the open market

However, choosing the latter is key if they want to access DPP’s custom ad formats — which the publisher claims delivers the best performance.

“Our own demand sources have grown in those apps where there’s just little room for open markets to still run in,” said the publisher’s chief digital officer Stefan Havik.

He’s not the first publishing exec to take this direct-selling approach over ad tech joining the likes of Bloomberg Media, and he certainly won’t be the last. The benefits are undeniable, while the drawbacks for the likes of DPG are all too evident.

For one, relying on open auctions means partnering with ad tech companies to attract advertisers. This can drag down page load times, as the bidding process requires multiple data exchanges and ad placements to be loaded simultaneously. It results in a frustrating site, where sluggish pages not only deter readers but also jeopardize ad revenue. Especially when lower viewability rates and brief user sessions could limit ad effectiveness and revenue potential. 

While these concerns are widely acknowledged by other publishers, they remain theoretical for DPG since it hasn’t yet abandoned those auctions. Nonetheless, this shift is far from baseless; it’s rooted in a stark reality: the open market simply isn’t very profitable for DPG’s in-app advertising anymore. 

Notably, more than half (60%) of the money it makes from those apps comes from its own ad formats, which are bought via its ad manager. Yes, these ads are pricer — notably more than those in the open market — but they deliver performance. As Havik noted, advertisers are willing to bite the bullet and choose quality over cheaper alternatives.

He added: “We’re now at the point where the revenue is small enough for me to consider switching it off.”

The revenue is small enough that any losses immediately following this transition are expected to be offset by aggressive selling strategies, making this a low-risk move for the publisher. So low-risk, in fact, that the decision took a mere five minutes for execs to deliberate, according to Havik.

When it comes to ads in browsers, however, the situation is different. Advertisers aren’t yet buying enough through the DPG ad manager to justify a similar shift. But Havik believes that will change by 2026.

If that moment arrives, it would empower DPG’s ad tech to gain even greater leverage over independent ad tech middlemen in its local markets. No longer reliant on these intermediaries for ad sales. DPG would not only boost its profits by keeping more ad revenue for itself but also gain more control over the types of advertisers associated with its content.

Selling ads on its own terms has been a work in progress for DPG. It began several years ago with a data platform that consolidates all its audience data and serves as a privacy-compliant way for advertisers to overlay their own data. Last year, the publisher took another step by launching its ad manager. This ad-buying platform gives marketers access to a more stable version of its more widely available proprietary identifier, which forms the backbone of the deal ID they use to assemble campaigns on DPG’s premium ad inventory — commonly accessed via private marketplace deals. 

Put another way, publishers need leverage to be able to go it alone — something DPG has in spades in its local markets in Europe. Here, the publisher’s reach is comparable to the larger, ubiquitous platforms. For instance, it reaches more than nine out of time Flemish people who are over 15-years old daily across its 35 media brands. 

“Publishers don’t wake up one morning and decide to pull the plug on the open market,” said Alessandro De Zanche, founder of media consultancy ADZ Strategies. “It’s something a publisher works toward via a strategy. There are tech implications, costs and opportunities to consider as well as taking a position on identity and its value within your own ecosystem, especially when you have more than half of your audience logged in.”

Bloomberg certainly took a strategic approach when it made a similar move at the beginning of last year. Back then, the publisher stopped taking bids for display ads on its site and mobile app from the open market. It has had no regrets since, according to an Adexchanger report. However, it hasn’t completely ruled out a reversal in the future. For that to happen, big overhauls would be needed in how this form of programmatic advertising is conducted.