Ascendant Network

Genuinely never had so much fun being a part of any industry panel or discussion. Qaiser Bachani and Claire Hennah provided strong insights, were candid, and delivered real value as participants. Thanks to Ascendant Network, Brad Berens, Ph.D. and Susan MacDermid for creating such a fantastic environment that makes these conversations easy and valuable.

Recap from a fantastic time at Ascendant Network RMNe this week: On retailers: The need for the organization and the mentality within to change is what most holds retailers back. Much of this is covered in our RMN whitepaper (link: https://lnkd.in/gtiwpjrm) but a few new themes emerged: 1. A major reason offsite is not more mature is because it's perceived as "lower margin" than onsite or in-store. This is like only going to ATMs that give $100 bills because $20s just aren't worth as much. You can withdraw $200 from either one! 2. You either have a marketplace or you make less money for your RMN. Amazon makes $50B largely b/c of its marketplace. Walmart is buoyed by its marketplace. Understood that marketplaces don't *belong* on all retailers' sites, but it's a helluva way to make money. 3. Slightly back to offsite - retailers aren't seeing that all offsite co-branded spend is added share of voice in market for the retailer, which has statistically proven to lead to higher market share as (we've actually proven this on our own!) Brands: 1. In the US and UK/EU brands say they want standards. In The UK/EU they're willing to actually live w standards that are created whereas in the U.S. brands say they want standards but typically are turned off by them once they realize the standards don't neatly fit into their own existing frameworks. 2. Brands treat negotiation and spending with RMNs as a standoff - it feels like this is even moreso with RMNs than with Google or Meta. Yet, as someone mentioned this week, RMNs are the only media seller whose objectives are *fully* aligned with the brand. No other ad platform or publisher's interests are even largely aligned! There's a better way. 3. It's MMM or die, and RMNs aren't in the MMM yet. The brands that are first to figure out how to nuance their MMM to include RMN *and* go deeper on tactics within and across RMNs will gain a significant advantage for a period of time. As always, an absolutely fantastic event.