The company
OursBlanc
Born
facing
the
Vosges,
not
in
a
garage.
OursBlanc was founded in 2019 in a small chalet facing the Vosges mountains. Not in a garage: we have never done things quite like everyone else, and it still shows in our formats today.
An idea born in the field, not in a lab
Before founding OursBlanc, Olivier Schaal was advertising director at Le Républicain Lorrain, in Metz. That's where, from the publisher's side of the table, the problem became impossible to ignore: the advertising ecosystem was suffocating itself. Some sites offered more than twenty-two ad placements per page. Every banner added diluted the previous one a little further, degraded the reading experience, and pushed readers toward ad blockers.
In 2019, OursBlanc grew out of that observation, in a small chalet in Lutzelhouse, Alsace, facing the Vosges. While others were telling stories about starting in a garage, we started with a view of the mountains and one simple conviction: the answer was to build placements worth more, not to keep multiplying them.
From the start
Three problems to solve from day one
Three requirements set from the very first line of code, and unchanged since.
Genuinely impactful
Build non-standard formats able to stand out in an editorial environment that is often saturated. Our original format, SmartCover, came directly out of that requirement: getting noticed without having to shout louder than the twenty-two other placements on the page.
Measuring exposure time
As early as 2019, we built the first mechanisms measuring the time an ad was actually displayed 100% on screen. Almost nobody was doing that at the time. We talk about exposure time rather than attention time, a term we find somewhat overused, even though the market has since adopted that vocabulary wholesale.
Fitting in without getting in the way
A format is worthless if it damages the site hosting it. From the beginning, we worked on how our formats integrate into publisher sites so that advertising interferes as little as possible with navigation and reading. It remains our first design constraint today.
2023: the pivot that opened everything up
For its first few years, OursBlanc worked almost exclusively with publishers. We built the formats, they deployed them, and the value stayed confined to their own inventory.
In 2023, we built our own meta DSP. That pivot changed the nature of the company: it allowed us to work directly with media agencies and brands, not only with publishers. Our formats became available through programmatic buying, across a global inventory that now exceeds 54,000 sites.
The change also benefited publishers, which is probably its most interesting effect. By opening up audience extension mechanisms to them, we gave them a way to sell beyond their own inventory and become their advertisers' single point of contact. Three different audiences, one platform, and interests that reinforce each other rather than compete.
OursBlanc in numbers
These figures reflect a rare position: rooted deeply enough with publishers to build formats that genuinely integrate, and open enough on programmatic to carry campaigns at scale.
We remain a small team, and that's a deliberate choice. Proximity with our clients is part of the product.
Our convictions
What we stand for
Some have been with us since 2019, others took shape more recently. All of them explain our technical and commercial choices.
European sovereignty
This is a more recent concern in our history, but it now shapes every one of our technical decisions. Our infrastructure is hosted in Europe, with Scaleway. Our fonts are self-hosted, our tracking is first-party, and we depend on no non-European infrastructure to operate.
Respect for the user experience
None of our formats covers content by force, and none makes closing difficult. An ad that irritates damages both the brand it promotes and the site hosting it. That has been our self-imposed constraint since 2019, even when it costs us a few points of immediate performance.
A transparent business model
A 15% management fee, or a €1.10 CPM fee if you operate from your own DSP. No setup fees, no license, no minimum. And our trading desk always works under the client's identity, with the client retaining real-time access to their campaigns and reports.
Independence from the large platforms
The open web accounts for more than half of global traffic, and it belongs to no one. We believe a healthy advertising ecosystem needs credible alternatives to the large closed platforms, as much for advertisers as for the publishers who live off their audience.
These principles aren't slogans: they show up in our hosting choices, in how our formats are designed, and in our rate card.
The team
OursBlanc is now close to ten people across four locations. The head office is still in Lutzelhouse, in Alsace, in that same chalet facing the Vosges. The rest of the team is based in Paris, Lyon and Luxembourg.
We have deliberately stayed a small organization. When you work with us, you talk directly to the people who design the formats, run the campaigns and integrate the sites. There is no intermediate layer between you and the people doing the work.
Your contacts
Who you'll be working with
A small team, reachable, and familiar with your accounts.
Olivier Schaal, founder
Founder and CEO of OursBlanc. Former advertising director at Le Républicain Lorrain, he started the company in 2019 to solve a problem he was running into every day in the field.
Noëllie, Head of Trading Desk
She runs the team that operates your campaigns day to day: setup, optimization, trade-offs and reporting, always under the client's identity.
Renaud, Head of Sales
He works with brands and advertisers on building their campaigns, from the first brief through to the final review.
Noël, Head of Publishers
He works with publishers on integrating our formats, increasing the value of their inventory, and setting up audience extension.
Sabine, Head of Agencies
She works with media agencies on their client briefs, format selection, and the level of autonomy that suits them.
Key facts
Let's talk about what you're trying to build.
Whether you're a brand, an agency or a publisher, fifteen minutes is enough to find out whether we can be useful to you.
Get in touch →