Digital advertising has embraced programmatic capabilities at a rapid pace to bring more
efficiency, yet fragmentation and lengthy, manual processes are holding back further growth. For instance, the increasing number of supply-side platforms (SSPs) means that publishers are faced with having to integrate them individually without congesting inventory or limiting trading opportunities with demand-side platforms (DSPs).
Optimistic predictions claim that 2022 will be the year that programmatic increases its penetration of US DOOH to 15%, with a value of $367m. The channel has seen the adoption of yield managers, also known as Header Bidding, as a turnkey solution to tackle these challenges.
Looking elsewhere in the digital advertising landscape, Header Bidding has shown its worth, with more than half (55%) of publishers having leveraged programmatic yield optimization to sell video inventory for Connected TV (CTV). Its ability to both streamline media trading for publishers and give advertisers greater transparency is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why the technology has become a mainstay of online programmatic.
Unlocking more revenue
Put simply, Header Bidding is an advanced method of programmatic trading that allows publishers to offer their inventory to multiple SSPs using a unified auction framework. This allows publishers to invite multiple demand sources to bid simultaneously on available inventory.
When compared to the traditional waterfall auction method, where inventory is offered to one ad network at a time before it is moved on if the floor price isn’t met, this upgraded method prevents publishers from missing out on revenue because of the lack of competition for ad impressions.
In the digital space, media owners have reported significant revenue growth when using Heading Bidding, with one example of up to 70%. Seeing the benefits it brought to display, mobile and audio, DOOH publishers can only expect comparable revenue lifts.
More control over demand
A yield manager provides publishers greater control over which demand partners are included in the auctions and lets them be more selective. By having more visibility on the incoming bids, resources can therefore be managed more efficiently during the bidding process which means that advertisers will be served quality promotions, furthering the value of their inventory.
More efficiency
For DOOH media owners, a yield manager enables SSPs to be managed without the need to build their own mediation layers. Though only a relatively recent development in the programmatic DOOH space, the yield manager is integrated into an Ad Server, enabling publishers to benefit from a first-price, parallelized, and unified auction that maximizes revenue without having to hire a team of developers.
More convenience
Ultimately, Header Bidding solutions are easy to manage. Activity can be viewed in a unified dashboard. For programmatic DOOH, where many screens may be being targeted simultaneously, across multiple locations, or even across multiple countries, gaining a streamlined overview of biddings in real-time eases the process and brings convenience. Working with one auction entry also drastically reduces the complexity and the reporting discrepancies.
As the adoption of programmatic DOOH continues to grow, yield optimization solutions will allow the channel to flourish even further. The promise of increased revenue, control over demand, efficiency and convenience will likely lead to yield managers being widely embraced by media owners.
