156 | Acquisition International, Global Excellence Awards 2023 12 | Acquisition International, Issue 9 2023 Thorndyke: Trusted Independent DOOH Verification ut-Of-Home (OOH) advertising, also known as outdoor advertising, refers to any media found in public areas that delivers messages to consumers for marketing purposes. Examples of OOH media include large billboards seen at the side of motorways and advertisements on public transportation. However, in a world that has become increasingly technological over the years, OOH advertising has been digitalised, leading to the birth of Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) media. This refers to any digital media seen in the public environment, ranging from the huge multi-screen advertisements found on Times Square to the digital menu boards in fast-food restaurants. There is a huge potential for DOOH media to enable marketers to access audiences that are becoming more and more difficult to reach through the internet and television due to pay walls and ad free subscription platforms. Programmatic advertising is driving the next wave of growth with DOOH and offer advertisers and agencies a direct and centralised way of purchasing the media. For the last 14 years, Jason Cooper, Founder and CEO of thorndyke, has been building verification and ad tech products. He previously worked as Head of Product & Technology at 4th Screen Advertising, a company that was acquired by Opera Mediaworks. Later, he went on to found simplytics, an agency side ad server for mobile, which was acquired by IAS in early 2014. At IAS, Jason served as General Manager of Mobile, where he built the company’s viewability, brand safety, and fraud products. In collaboration with his team, he conceived and launched the Open Measurement SDK for in-app measurement, a product that was later acquired by the IAB Tech Lab and is now used in major mobile monetisation SDKs and apps like Google, Hulu, and Disney Plus. With a wealth of previous experience in building digital measurement solutions for desktop and mobile, Jason has witnessed the evolution of verification firsthand. He is familiar with the various issues that have plagued digital advertising over the last decade, including brand safety, fraud, and viewability. In DOOH, some of these issues are less complex, making it an incredibly valuable platform for brand messaging. However, there is a need for verifiable results delivered by an independent source to ensure that advertisers get what they pay for when they leverage the power of DOOH advertising. In 2019, Jason founded thorndyke to effectively fill this gap in the market, offering proprietary solutions that enable the measurement and verification of DOOH media. In a world where the advertising ecosystem has become increasingly transparent, thorndyke believes that DOOH should offer the same transparency as every other medium. Through its products, the company not only allows advertisers to track ROI but also holds media owners accountable by verifying that campaigns are played in the right panel, at the right time, and for the allotted duration that was paid for. In the past, media owners have viewed third party verification and measurement services as a threat that exposes inefficiencies to damage their reputation. However, in recent years, they have come to understand the benefits of verification. When media owners have third party tracking tags in their screens for performance measurement, advertisers can access insights collected by an impartial entity. This increases the media owner’s credibility as a trusted channel, enabling advertisers to rest assured that their campaign will be delivered in line with the terms of their booking. Working with clients from both the media owner and advertiser sides of the issue, thorndyke Headquartered out of Sydney, thorndyke is an Australian company that delivers independent thirdparty measurement and verification for advertisers and media owners in the DOOH (Digital OutOf-Home) space. In this year’s Global Excellence Awards, the company has been named Best DOOH Verification Provider, offering products that provide complete coverage and insight. O Jul23089 has a 360-degree view of its market and the requirements of its clients. This is what sets the company apart from its competitors. As well as providing media owners with the opportunity to prove their trustworthiness and attract customers, the company provides media agencies and advertisers with the independent verification of campaign spend and performance. They can access real-time information through a centralised reporting dashboard, enabling them to optimise campaign performance in-flight. The team at thorndyke are equipped with many years of experience in the development of ad technology and verification products, delivering solutions to problems within unique and challenging environments. They are passionate about measurement and building products to deliver evidence-based metrics that help buyers make better decisions. This dedicated workforce is at the heart of thorndyke, playing a crucial role in its overall success. Each member of staff has been able to naturally take on a role that they enjoy, are familiar with, and excel at. This has strengthened the team as a whole and driven them to achieve great things. “My role as a leader is about providing our team a platform to grow and learn, empowering them to become autonomous and make decisions to increase success,” explains Jason. “Our technical team explores new technologies and frameworks that can improve efficiencies. I think people are happier when they are able to express themselves, explore, and experiment with new ways of doing things.” thorndyke is proud to have built a solid foundation for its future growth. Over the last few years, the company has been able to establish itself as a solid, trusted, and credible source of truth. Jason shares, “We are now all set to expand on that
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