The Yield Doctor with James Deaker

In this video, I review Ari Paparo’s new book Yield: How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance. As “The Yield Doctor,” I’ll share my perspective on: Who should read this book The key themes and stories inside What it reveals about Google’s rise to power in ad tech Lessons that publishers, ad ops teams, and ad tech professionals can take away If you work in digital adve...

Some of the biggest names in digital media still run blind ad networks—and advertisers keep buying. But why? In this video, I break down the differences between blind vs. transparent ad networks, showing how each model works, what advertisers see, and why publishers and network owners choose one over the other. You’ll learn: The key attributes of blind ad networks (and why definitions are shifting...

Ad tech vendors often warn publishers: “Don’t lower your price floors.” But what if that advice is holding you back from seeing your true demand curve? In this video, I explain why starting lower isn’t about giving away value—it’s about uncovering hidden demand, attracting new buyers, and making data-backed decisions that maximize long-term yield. You’ll learn: Why “optimal” floors from vendors ma...

When publishers move to programmatic, one of the biggest fears is losing control. Will buyers cherry pick your best inventory and leave you with the scraps? Will premium deals dry up? In this video, I break down: What “cherry picking” means in ad tech and programmatic advertising Why it’s a real risk — and when it’s not How smart channel management can protect your premium sales while unlocking ne...

What makes a deal desk truly successful? Faster approvals? Higher margins? Fewer escalations? Be careful—optimizing for the wrong metric can backfire. In this (5-minute) Yield Doctor episode, James Deaker explains why many common deal desk KPIs are Goldilocks metrics—they shouldn't be too high or too low. Learn how to monitor approval rates, turnaround time, and margin without turning them into da...

The Perils of Predictable Discounting | Yield Story with The Yield Doctor In this Yield Story, James Deaker (The Yield Doctor) shares a cautionary tale about the dangers of predictable discounting and pulling revenue forward — a trap that many pricing and yield leaders fall into. Based on real (but anonymized) consulting experiences, this story dives into how one company’s quarter-end discounting...

What Do CMOs Really Care About? | A Candid Conversation with Lauren Weinberg What does a CMO actually look for in a media partner? And what publisher metrics matter... or don’t? In this exclusive interview, James Deaker (The Yield Doctor) sits down with Lauren Weinberg—former CMO at Square and Peloton, and co-author of Self-Made Boss—to explore how top marketing executives make media investment de...

Why don’t publishers have good pricing software anymore? Back in 2007, Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft used a tool called Rapt to optimize rate cards in real time. Today? That software is gone—and no one has replaced it. In this video, I explain why Rapt disappeared, why nothing has filled the gap, and what it would take for a new solution to emerge. Drawing on my own experience working at Rapt, I break...

There’s a lot of hype around AI in ad tech — but where is it really having an impact today? In this episode, I speak with Nagarajan Chakravarthy, Chief Digital Officer and founding team member at iOPEX Technologies. We go deep into practical examples of AI transforming advertising revenue operations — from media planning to campaign optimization, and even creative generation. You’ll hear: What “Ag...

Meta Goes All-In on AI Ads: What It Means for Advertisers & Agencies Meta just announced plans to fully integrate AI into its advertising platform by the end of next year — enabling brands to create and target ads using artificial intelligence with little to no manual input. In this video, I break down what this shift means for: Facebook/Meta advertisers Agencies whose value lies in creative a...

In this episode of The Yield Doctor, James Deaker sits down with Alanna Laforet—CEO of Laforet Productions and former head of the IAB Tech Lab—to unpack where AI is actually transforming digital advertising today, and where it's headed next. With experience spanning DoubleClick, Google, Omnicom, and Conde Nast, Alanna brings deep insight into how AI is reshaping media planning, creative optimizati...

Alex Roucourt discusses the challenges to effective advertising measurement in a post-cookie environment and offers solutions to address these challenges

Shiv Gupta from the U of Digital breaks down the trends from the Q1 Earnings cycle in Digital Advertising and Ad Tech

A short story on the problems with setting a "sell-through" goal for a website and what should be done instead to maximize revenue through good Yield Management

Publishers struggle with when and how to run their own ads ("House Ads"). This video outlines the best approach to run House Ads for maximum efficiency

A short story about a lesson-learned in Yield Management - when increasing Price Realization was the wrong goal

Short story on Yield Management in Digital Advertising - An example of problems from running House ads in the wrong way

Nate McCoy shares lessons learned from 30 years of software development in Ad Tech

Discussion with Randall Rothenberg on the current fragmentation of the publisher value chain and historical parallels

Peter Naylor shares a short story about the importance of running effective advertising campaigns and chickens being sent to the slaughter

JoAnna Foyle discusses opportunities for different revenue streams for small publishers and creators

Matt Gay, expert in Ad Operations, discusses tactics to improve your ad revenue as a publisher and campaign effectiveness as an advertiser #yieldmanagement #adops #digitalmedia

Lessons learned about Yield Management related to a Rate Card update for a New York publisher

Peter Naylor, former Sales Leader at Hulu, Netflix and Snap discusses different video advertising strategies. Different types of video advertising. How video content owners should maximize the value of their assets.

Paul Lewis discusses Top-Down and Bottom-Up Pricing. The best way to benchmark in Digital Media. Pricing New Product Introductions.