BOSTON — If data is “the new oil”, it pays not to spill any. But publishers are too readily emptying the can over to middlemen who are taking its value for themselves.

That’s according to one boss whose position at the top of a programmatic video ad platform has led him to conclude publishers need to keep hold of the liquid gold.

“We’re seeing a tremendous amount of data leakage,” says DashBid CEO Tom Herman, in this video interview with Beet.TV. “From a publisher perspective, when their data leaks, it provides the buy side more power in the sale transaction.

“We want to make sure publishers retain the data and the financial value of being able to help advertisers find the audience they want.

“When the data leaks out, it makes it easier for the DSPs and the agencies and people eon the other side of the transaction to add the value of the data analysis.

“Nobody should know a publisher’s audience better than that publisher.”

In its own words, DashBid is a “real-time, auction-based media selling platform designed and built specifically for programmatic video advertising”. Last month, it was named in Crain’s list of the 50 fastest-growing companies in New York.

We interviewed him last month at the Progress Partners Connect conference. Our coverage of the conference is sponsored by Simpli.fi. More videos from the series can be found on this page.