Dive Brief:

• Programmatic tech company The Exchange Group is now part of Connect, GroupM’s digital operations unit.
• The Exchange Lab’s Proteus tool should help Connect with real-time media buying by providing a single spending interface between multiple DSPs. GroupM is WPP’s media buying division.
• Last month GroupM bought Google’s digital agency of record, Essense.

Dive Insight:

Addressing the challenge media buyers have with multiple DSPs, Ruud Wanck, CEO of Connect, said, "the benefits of using a technology like Proteus offers buyers a single view across exchanges." There have been some industry players who don’t see the value in “meta-DSP” technology, saying it creates use duplication, loss of control over frequency on ads served to individuals, and creates the potential for a brand to unintentionally bid against itself.

To that end Wanck told Ad Exchanger, “The word meta-DSP is a bit misleading,” and pointed out that Proteus is not a DSP.

He also said if any DSP offer has an advantage over others, The Exchange Lab tech will uncover that edge and will benefit GroupM’s entire buying network.

Last year The Exchange Lab earned almost $32 million according to WPP, and WPP’s digital revenue was almost $7 billion, 36% of its total revenue. Terms of the acquisition were not available.