Cox Digital Solutions and Gourmet Ads Announce Private Ad Exchange

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Digital Solutions and Gourmet Ads are launching a private ad exchange, known as the Gourmet Ads Marketplace. This exchange, running on CDS Connect, Cox Digital Solutions' real-time bidding (RTB) solution, will give advertisers working with Gourmet Ads access to real-time audience buying across quality food sites.

On the Gourmet Ads Marketplace, marketers, agencies, and demand side platforms can reach household grocery buyers in real time on over 300 food websites including Gourmet Ads owned and operated properties including Recipebridge.com and Tastydays.com. Unlike traditional exchanges, this private exchange will protect publishers' prices, control, and user data while enabling them to maximize their inventory revenue. The benefit for advertisers is the ability to buy their target audiences from known, quality inventory sources.

"This marketplace will enable our partners to make smarter media buys on a real-time basis and in a trusted environment," explained Benjamin Christie, Founder and Managing Director of Gourmet Ads. "There is high demand from agency trading desks especially those with food and CPG advertisers to reach the elusive household grocery buyer online both cost effectively and at scale. Our private ad exchange is the solution."

This announcement comes just after Cox Digital Solutions announced the launch of CDS Connect, a real-time bidding platform helping publisher partners monetize their inventory. CDS Connect is powered by leading RTB provider, AppNexus, and couples well with Cox Digital Solutions' current platform that gives publishers insight and control over sales planning, ad serving, audience targeting, and analytics.

"We have a history of building successful vertically-based solutions for our partners," said Luke Edson, SVP of Strategy & Operations at Cox Digital Solutions. "This move signals a strategic step for us leveraging our expertise in building and supporting networks, to now building and supporting private exchanges. Gourmet Ads Marketplace provides a unique opportunity for our clients to reach household decision makers on sites that are trusted and brand safe. The advertisers get to reach their valuable audiences and the publishers make more money. This is a win-win."

The Gourmet Ads Marketplace will be an ideal fit for large advertisers looking to build awareness and reach an engaged foodie audience on quality sites. In addition to buying directly from the marketplace, advertisers will also be able to layer in data from data service providers enabling more precise targeting and less wasted impressions. Currently, Gourmet Ads Marketplace will only be offering standard media units only. However, high visibility units will continue to be offered through standard buys (non RTB) sold by Cox Digital Solutions.

For more information about the Gourmet Ads Marketplace, visit: www.gourmetads.com/solutions/private-ad-exchange.  

About Cox Digital Solutions

Cox Digital Solutions provides compelling online advertising solutions that connect advertisers with engaged users and publishers with quality brands. As the only company to offer the largest integrated source of premium national reach and local engagement including specialty vertical content and local media sites, Cox Digital Solutions delivers results for advertisers, agencies, and publishers. Cox Digital Solutions, a division of CoxReps, part of Atlanta-based Cox Media Group, is headquartered in New York, NY. Learn more at www.coxdigitalsolutions.com.

About Gourmet Ads

Gourmet Ads is a global food advertising network, focusing on branding campaigns for reaching the grocery buyer online. With operations in the U.S.A., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Gourmet Ads consists of over 300 cooking websites where consumers are spending time online researching recipes, making meal decisions and developing their grocery shopping lists. Gourmet Ads develops customized advertising solutions from regular IAB units, to portal type solutions such as background skins, roadblocks and interstitials which go beyond the banner.

SOURCE Cox Digital Solutions