Disney Advertising said it has expanded its Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange (known as DRAX) by letting users of Google’s Display & Video 360 and The Trade Desk directly access streaming inventory across Hulu and Disney Plus.
DRAX Direct enables greater control and flexibility for advertisers by bringing Disney’s ad tech stack together with two of the largest buy-side technology platforms in the industry, setting the stage for a simpler, streamlined approach to addressable buying across Disney’s streaming portfolio, the company said.
“Disney’s goal is to empower advertisers to transact with the freedom and flexibility that best suits their business needs,” said Jamie Power, senior VP, addressable sales at Disney Advertising.
“Years ago, we committed to a vision and strategy of delivering 50% of our advertising in an addressable and automated way,” Power said. “Owning our own technology stack allows us to build a direct path between our premium inventory and the leading media buying platforms in the industry, simplifying the way ads are bought and sold on Disney, while delivering greater effectiveness for our clients.”
Clients of all sizes will be better able to use automated systems for addressable buying across the Disney streaming portfolio.
“For over a decade, Google and Disney have collaborated on industry-leading ad innovations that drive results for customers,” said Stephen Yap, managing director Americas for Google Marketing Platform. “We are excited to expand on this relationship to bring Display & Video 360 demand to DRAX, providing our advertisers with a new way to directly purchase Disney’s high-quality CTV inventory and reach their audience with privacy-forward solutions.”
The integration of DRAX and The Trade Desk’s OpenPath technology gives advertisers direct access to more addressable premium content with better precision and transparency.
“Expanding our partnership with Disney Advertising underscores a shared vision to maximize the value of relevant advertising, especially at a moment when the industry needs it the most,” said Will Doherty, VP, inventory development at The Trade Desk.
“We set up the building blocks when we forged our collaboration to create a new identity fabric for the open internet through Unified ID 2.0 interoperability with Disney’s Audience Graph,” Doherty said. “We’re continuing to innovate together by creating a custom integration between our OpenPath technology and DRAX in service of advertisers and to help drive transparency in digital media buying, as we navigate an increasingly complicated digital landscape.”
Named for a character from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, DRAX launched as part of Disney’s advertising technology platform in March 2021.
By centralizing advertisers’ video demand, DRAX created parity between direct-sold and programmatic deals, allowing them to compete on an equal playing field, Disney said.
