Holistic Ad Server

Holistic Ad Serving refers to the method used to select the ad to display in an impression, taking into account the campaigns directly sold by the publisher as well as RTB offers.

The model's main goal is to maximize the publisher's revenue, bearing in mind the existing three demand sources: 

• Campaigns directly sold by the publisher, guaranteed, at high prices.
• Campaigns directly sold by the publisher to networks, non-guaranteed, at lower prices.
• RTB campaigns arisen from auctions.

Non-holistic mode

In the normal mode, Exchange has a given priority. For example, priority 5. If there are better priority (1 to 4) campaigns to be displayed, they will be displayed, and no auction will take place. If no campaign exists under those conditions, the impression is auctioned.  If there is a successful buyer, the RTB campaign is displayed. Otherwise, 5 to 10 priority direct campaigns are searched.

This distribution method makes the inventory to be basically divided into hermetic groups ordered in sequence. Firstly, direct campaigns and then programmatic ones. This organization creates inefficiencies in the distribution. The audiences searched by the first group may be exclusively trapped within the second group or vice versa. On the other hand, an increasing number of advertisers decide to buy programmatically on account of efficiency and they pay high prices for that, requiring a similar treatment from direct campaigns (not remnant inventory purchase).

 

Holistic mode

Holistic ad serving solves this problem and maximizes the publisher's revenue. Direct campaigns have a definite target and impression goals at a given price. Upon entering these data into the system, the ad server determines all available offers in real time and for each impression/user: both direct and programmatic, and assigns a more efficient impression thus maximizing the media revenue.

 

Analysis of a set example

CASE 1

Given two sequence impressions of users A and B respectively, first A and then B, and a 'Direct' and a 'Programmatic' campaign, the ad server analyzes the most efficient assignment.

Direct Campaign > impressions goal, 1 per second, user A and B in the target, fixed price CPM $15

Programmatic Campaign > impressions goal, 2 per second, user A and B in the target, dynamic price in auction

 

• User A

        Direct Campaign > CPM $15

        Programmatic Campaign > CPM $15

 

• User B

        Direct Campaign > CPM $15

        Programmatic Campaign > CPM $0.5

 

NON-HOLISTIC Traditional Assignment

Impression 1 >> User A >> Direct Campaign >> CPM $15

Impression 2 >> User B >> Programmatic Campaign >> CPM $0.5

Total revenue: $15.5

 

HOLISTIC Traditional Assignment

Impression 1 >> User A >> Programmatic Campaign >> CPM $5

Impression 2 >> User B >> Direct Campaign >> CPM $15

Total revenue: $20

 

CASE 2

Let's see now an example where the direct campaign requires the whole available inventory at the decision time (for example, this applies to cases of delayed campaigns when the publisher has oversold the inventory or special segmentation campaigns, among others).  Given two sequence impressions of users A and B respectively, first A and then B, and a 'Direct' and a 'Programmatic' campaign, the ad server analyzes the most efficient assignment.

Direct Campaign > impressions goal, 2 per second, user A and B in the target, fixed price CPM $15

Programmatic Campaign > impressions goal, 2 per second, user A and B in the target, dynamic price in auction

 

• User A

        Direct Campaign > CPM $15

        Programmatic Campaign > CPM $5

 

• User B

        Direct Campaign > CPM $15

        Programmatic Campaign > CPM $0.5

 

NON_HOLISTIC AND HOLISTIC Traditional Assignment

Impression 1 >> User A >> Direct Campaign >> CPM $15

Impression 2 >> User A >> Direct Campaign >> CPM $15

Total revenue: $30

 

 

 

Activation

In order to activate the 'Holistic' mode the first priority of the list should be selected.

 

Operation

Upon the request arrival, the Ad Server will search all direct campaigns.  If the Exchange is activated and the space is subject to auction, it is determined if the first campaign selected (direct/sold) complies with certain conditions.

It is of Exclusive priority  

or

It is Guaranteed and is delayed

If these conditions are met, the direct campaign is shown.

If not, it is auctioned through RTB, by using as a price floor the one defined by the algorithm, which may be the minimum price of the campaign's according to its type (See more information in 'Guaranteed'/'Non-guaranteed' Campaigns).

 

 

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Related links:

- Guaranteed/Non-guaranteed Campaigns