RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA – In today’s crowded digital ecosystem, the definition of “premium” advertising hinges on far more than high-quality content. It’s about brand trust, a respectful ad experience and the relevance of the messages themselves, Will Doherty, svp of inventory development at The Trade Desk, said in an interview with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat LA.
Advertisers often overuse the word “premium,” but that the standard can be defined by three clear attributes: the inherent brand equity of the publisher, the quality of the ad experience, and the relevance of the advertising itself, Doherty said. Even the best content falters if the ad environment feels intrusive.
When all three elements are aligned, “they have a tremendous impact on the consumer’s perception of how premium the environment is,” he said.
Doherty framed today’s programmatic ecosystem as a “buyer’s market,” with more supply than demand. That imbalance, he argued, gives marketers the leverage to be far more selective about where they spend, and simultaneously pushes publishers to provide richer, more transparent signals to stand out.
“Buyers need more information,” he said. “They can be more discerning, and premium publishers can be more signal-rich.”
More valuable to marketers
Transparency, Doherty added, isn’t just philosophically good; it has measurable performance value. Detailed knowledge about inventory allows buyers to weigh one opportunity against another, calibrate bids and ultimately deliver stronger outcomes.
“It’s how publishers prove their inventory performs,” he said.
Asked what a “healthier open internet” looks like, Doherty pointed to alignment of incentives. Publishers need sustainable economics to keep investing in the journalism, music, video and podcasts that form the backbone of the ecosystem. High-quality content is expensive and difficult to produce at scale, he noted, and a functioning marketplace must reward that investment.
“The premium environment performs,” he said. “If buyers get more value and publishers can continue to create great, original content, that’s sustainability.”
Need for streamlining
Doherty also argued for simplifying the underlying mechanics of programmatic transactions, likening the current complexity to the inner workings of a Swiss watch, beautiful engineering that should be invisible to the user.
Reducing friction for buyers and sellers would make open-internet advertising as intuitive to transact as any other medium, he said, helping investment flow toward quality supply and supporting the so-called “flywheel” effect of reinvestment in premium content.
Looking ahead, Doherty said the industry may be underestimating how strong the ecosystem could become if it fully embraces quality, transparency and aligned incentives.
“The consumer surplus continues to grow,” he said. “Consumers get more, publishers run profitable businesses, and marketers get performance. If we do all of those things well, that’s a high-growth recipe.”
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