DSP Q4 2024: ViantAI Speeds Campaigns, Driving New Customer Growth
- ViantAI Adoption: Executives highlighted that the introduction of ViantAI significantly accelerates media planning—reducing campaign creation time from weeks to minutes—which is expected to drive net new customer acquisition and wallet share gains as agencies increasingly trust and adopt the platform.
- Lockr Acquisition Benefits: The acquisition of Lockr was described as a strategic move that removes integration friction for publishers by enabling a single integration to unlock multiple identity solutions, positioning it as an industry utility to boost addressability and drive future revenue opportunities.
- Upmarket Customer Pipeline: Management noted that while a temporary revenue delta exists due to higher service levels for new, larger percent-of-spend customers, as these customers transition fully to self-serve, the delta is expected to close—indicating significant margin expansion and a robust pipeline of higher-value clients.
- Publisher trust risk: There is concern that publishers might be reluctant to share their first‐party data with a DSP, which could slow down the adoption of Lockr and other addressability solutions despite management’s assurances that one integration solves multiple friction points.
- Seasonality and higher Q1 expenses: The company acknowledges that Q1 typically sees lower ad spend and increased sales and marketing expenditures (e.g., expenses related to CES), potentially pressuring margins during that period.
- Margin pressure from high service levels: Onboarding larger customers initially requires a higher level of service (e.g., through percent-of-spend arrangements), leading to a temporary gap between revenue and contribution that could pressure profitability until customers fully transition to a self-serve model.
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Market Trends
Q: How's overall ad market performing?
A: Management described a mixed market—while companies with heavy display exposure saw softness, Q4 delivered strong performance and they expect Q1 to remain robust despite seasonality, with overall growth in premium channels like CTV. -
ViantAI Scaling
Q: How will ViantAI scale and attract customers?
A: Executives underscored that ViantAI is a clear wallet share winner that speeds campaign planning and activation, driving both net new customer growth and higher efficiency among larger brands. -
Revenue Delta
Q: Does the revenue delta signal future growth?
A: They explained that the temporary gap between revenue and contribution reflects extra support during the onboarding of larger customers, which will normalize once campaigns transition to a self-serve model. -
Acquisition Strategy
Q: What is Lockr’s strategic purpose?
A: Management highlighted that Lockr is designed to accelerate adoption of Household ID and IRIS ID by simplifying integrations for publishers, thereby enhancing addressability and reinforcing their positioning against walled gardens. -
Lockr Rationale
Q: Why would publishers share their first-party data?
A: The team emphasized that by reducing the friction of multiple integrations and alleviating engineering burdens, Lockr enables publishers to harness first-party data more efficiently and secure new, competitive demand. -
IRIS Revenue
Q: How much revenue did IRIS contribute?
A: Management noted that IRIS generated a modest contribution of about 1% of total revenue in Q4. -
SMB Opportunity
Q: How are SMB advertiser budgets being attracted?
A: The company plans to make the buying process very straightforward for direct-to-consumer brands, clearly demonstrating incremental customer acquisition benefits to win over advertisers from traditional channels.
Research analysts covering Viant Technology.