Adobe had built up its omni-channel DSP since its acquisition of TubeMogul back in 2016. But on Friday a representative of the software company confirmed to C&E that it will exit the political ad business.
The move leaves some firms who had relied on Adobe, in some cases for its digital video expertise, scrambling.
“We are reengaging in a lot of conversations with folks who maybe we haven’t talked to in the last year or so,” said Grace Briscoe, VP of Centro’s Candidates and Causes group. “We’ve had some folks coming to us. We’ve proactively reached out to a few. They’re scrambling a little bit.
“It’s not hundreds of clients. There’s probably dozens of shops scrambling right now. It’s hugely unsettlingly to get this kind of news at this point in the cycle.”
Adobe likely saw an influx of political business at the end of 2019 after Google made the decision to restrict political ad targeting.
But it’s move this week was reportedly a business one. To wit, it was driven by a need to focus on larger, more stable clients, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news on Friday.
But while all the company’s publicly reported financial data indicates it’s on a growth trajectory, it may have felt the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze when it came to handling political ad spending, said Briscoe: “That’s clearly not the decision we’re making.”
Meanwhile, some digital consultants rushed to reassure their clients that Adobe’s move wouldn’t affect their business.
“The good news is that this will not disrupt how we operate,” DSPolitical’s Mark Jablonowski wrote in an email to clients. “We have never relied exclusively on one advertising technology platform to ensure we are reaching the voters you need to win. We’ve built our systems with the most sophisticated data and technology guaranteed to get your ads in front of the voters you need to communicate with and ultimately win in November.”
While Adobe was a large player in the space, there remain numerous other DSPs utilized by campaign industry clients, including MediaMath, DataXu, Verizon, Xandr, Centro, and The TradeDesk.
There’s no question digital consultants are nervous that their avenues to reach voters may grow even more restricted — at a time when digital outreach is even more important because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Spotify and Twitter, for instance, have already exited the political ad business. Google’s made restrictions to its targeting and Facebook has floated a political ad blackout closer to Election Day.