A RubiCON?

Today is a worrying day for supply side platforms who aren’t thoroughly transparent about the percentage they take from their client’s media spend.

The Guardian is suing adtech giant Rubicon Project to recover undisclosed buyer fees, a landmark case that could start a domino effect through the entire SSP ecosystem.

The Guardian found the basis for this case with some laudably inventive detective work – approaching Rubicon as a customer, it bought its own inventory back from them, and was shocked at the difference in cost from it sold the same inventory. It found that in the most extreme case of Rubicon’s deductions, 70p in each pound was deducted between the inventory being sold and the money making its way back to the publisher.

The outcome of this case could have serious implications, not just for Rubicon, but almost everyone in the digital marketing industry: if the court finds in favour of the Guardian, it sets a precedent that could see every publisher looking at their relationship with SSP business and eyeing the court room.

The only SSPs with nothing to fear are those who have been disclosing their fees as a matter of course from Day One, and we’re happy to say that when you work with Geonative, you’re working with an agency that’s had transparency as a value from the beginning, so you know exactly where you’re money’s going and you can see the results.

See UK Business Insider for more on this story.