Publishers Get Creative with Custom Ad Units

By: Ricardo Bilton | Digiday

While many advertisers have bought into the promise of scalable, programmatic buying, many publishers are hoping to draw them back with premium ad products. The New York Times, for example, has devoted an entire division to reinventing the banner via its Idea Lab. On a smaller scale, other publishers like Say Media, Vox Media, and Time Inc. are creating custom units that go far beyond the banner to give brands the sorts of premium ad experiences that are closer to magazines than banner ads.