The Trade Desk launches its ‘Next Wave’

Demand-side platform The Trade Desk is out today with what it says is the biggest product launch in its history. So big, in fact, that it describes the launch as its Next Wave.

There is a new layer of artificial intelligence called Koa that the Ventura, California-based firm says offers more effective insights than its previous AI implementation. And Megagon is the Transformers-like name that describes a new user interface to present these insights.

But the key addition, in terms of additional functions, is The Trade Desk Planner. VP of Client Services Kathleen Comer told me it is intended to simplify the planning and buying of ads, and it does this primarily through the use of first-party data.

A brand like Nike, for instance, can upload data relating to customers who actually bought shoes on Nike.com. The Planner creates lookalike audiences — that is, targeted users who have similar attributes to the real customers.

Generating lookalike audiences — where “you start with the answer,” as Comer puts it — is a common technique to find potential customers who resemble actual customers. The seed group of customers could also be a targeted segment of third-party data, although actual buying customers are usually considered a higher-quality seed pool.

While the Trade Desk offered that capability previously, she said, now the Planning Tool lets you create an actual campaign from the lookalike data and then launch it across multiple channels, including digital video, connected TVs, display ads and others.

Comer said this contrasts with the Excel spreadsheet-based planning that agency planning teams often use, which is followed by a meeting with — and a handoff to — an execution team.

Additionally, Trade Desk is now offering a Koa-driven recommendations engine, with insights that can be immediately acted upon.

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About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.