How an Ad is Served with Real Time Bidding (RTB) - IAB Digital Simplified

Summary

This video explains the complex process of real-time programmatic ad bidding, focusing on how an ad is selected and delivered when you visit a web page. The process starts with a publisher's server assembling content and offering ad space. Through an SSP and ad exchange, buyers place bids based on audience targeting, and within milliseconds, the highest bid is selected. The ad creative is then retrieved, and the ad is displayed. The video simplifies the interaction of various platforms involved, showing how digital advertising functions across different environments like desktop, mobile, and video.

Takeaways

• 😀 Publishers create content to attract audiences and sell ad space to advertisers who want to reach those audiences.
• 😀 When a user visits a website, the browser connects to the publisher's server and requests content, including potential ad placements.
• 😀 The publisher's ad server decides whether to reserve ad space for a specific advertiser or to put it on the open ad market.
• 😀 If the ad space is not reserved, the publisher's ad server sends the ad request to a Supply-Side Platform (SSP).
• 😀 The SSP uses data to help choose the best ad for the viewer and forwards the request to an ad exchange.
• 😀 The ad exchange connects to buying systems like Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and networks to find suitable ads for the space.
• 😀 Buyers use pre-cached bids or make real-time bids for ad space, based on criteria like demographic data.
• 😀 The exchange asks all partners to submit bids in under 10 milliseconds, with the highest bid winning.
• 😀 Once the winning bid is selected, the DSP sends the ad creative instructions to the exchange, which passes them to the SSP and the publisher's ad server.
• 😀 The ad server then sends the ad request to the agency ad server, which tracks performance and records the ad impression.
• 😀 The ad is displayed on the web page, and the entire process, depending on internet speeds, takes place in a fraction of a second.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The video script focuses on explaining the process of real-time programmatic advertising, specifically how ads are placed on websites through automated systems involving publishers, supply-side platforms (SSPs), ad exchanges, demand-side platforms (DSPs), and advertisers.

What role does the publisher play in the ad placement process?

The publisher owns the website and generates content that attracts an audience. They sell ad space to advertisers and use an ad server to determine how ads will be placed on the site.

What is an SSP, and what role does it play in ad delivery?

An SSP (Supply-Side Platform) is a platform used by publishers to monetize their ad inventory. It applies additional logic based on data to determine which ads should be shown and sends requests to an ad exchange to fulfill those ad placements.

How does the ad exchange facilitate the ad placement process?

The ad exchange acts as a marketplace connecting publishers with advertisers. It receives bids from various buyers and selects the highest bid to place an ad on the publisher's site, often within milliseconds.

What is a pre-cached bid in the context of programmatic advertising?

A pre-cached bid is a bid placed in advance by a buyer, specifying criteria like audience demographics, ensuring faster fulfillment of ad placements when those conditions are met.

How quickly must buyers respond to the ad exchange's request for bids?

Buyers must respond within 10 milliseconds, which is a very short time frame, making the process of placing ads incredibly fast and efficient.

What happens if there are no pre-cached bids available for an ad opportunity?

If no pre-cached bids are available, the ad exchange sends out a request to all connected buyers, asking them to submit their bids for the ad placement within 10 milliseconds.

What role does the agency ad server play in the ad placement process?

The agency ad server tracks the performance of the ad for the advertiser. When the ad placement request is received from the DSP with the winning bid, the agency ad server records it as an impression.

What happens after the ad exchange selects a winning bid?

Once the ad exchange selects the winning bid, the DSP (Demand-Side Platform) sends instructions to retrieve the ad creative, which is then passed through the SSP, the publisher's ad server, and finally to the browser for rendering.

How does the browser render the ad on the web page?

The browser follows the instructions provided by the publisher's ad server, retrieves the ad content, and renders the ad within the web page, completing the process of delivering the ad to the user.

How does the speed of this process compare to other actions like blinking?

The entire ad delivery process happens incredibly quickly, often in less than a second. For context, it takes 300 milliseconds to blink, yet the entire ad placement process is completed in much less time.