Why Quartz avoids automated ad exchanges

Jay Lauf, the publisher and co-president of business news site Quartz, writes about why it doesn’t use automated advertising exchanges.

Lauf writes, “That idea has eroded as advertising moved away from buying and supporting specific media to buying target audiences through automated auctions that aggregate hundreds of thousands of websites in order to make buying those audiences more efficient. At the same time, it has led to many of the insidious examples of blue-chip companies supporting fake news or otherwise questionable content they’ve allowed algorithms to place their ads alongside. It is also the reason you see irrelevant ads offering discounts on durable goods you just purchased and ads sprouting up all over your screen, incessantly interrupting you.

“The commercial team at Quartz has been very deliberate about not working with these automated advertising exchanges because we know it erodes the user experience and the trust you put in us. In order to advertise on Quartz, a brand and its ad agency has to work directly with our ad team and, in fact, customize their ads to fit our design. In other words, the advertisers on Quartz have chosen specifically and deliberately to support Quartz. They believe that you, our audience, are worth their time, money, and respect.

“That makes these companies unique and particularly worthy of Quartz’s gratitude. And, I hope, of yours, too. If you enjoy the fine work of our journalists, designers, and engineers, who strive earnestly every day to provide you with credible, useful, and entertaining content in packages that surprise and delight you, if you appreciate our efforts to not assail you with terrible ad experiences, please join me in thanking these advertisers and ad agencies who have bought into that mission as well.”

Read more here.