AppNexus unveils header bidding for mobile apps
AppNexus is continuing to push header bidding as a means of enabling publishers to better monetise their inventory, with the unveiling of PriceCheck, as the independent ad tech outfit is widely expected to make an initial public offering (IPO) later this year.
PriceCheck lets publishers maximise the return on their inventory using an auction system called header bidding that allows them to see how much multiple advertisers are prepared to pay for their ad space before finally committing to one method or another (such as allocating it to a direct deal, or sell it via a private marketplace).
Again, AppNexus is positioning the technology in stark contrast to Google’s DoubleClick, the dominant programmatic advertising stack, which AppNexus claims to be a preferable alternative to when it comes to helping publishers monetise inventory.
Ryan Christensen, AppNexus SVP & GM, of publishers, said this will prove an alternative to Google’s “black box offering”, as it helps provide impression-level price transparency. The press release announcing the launch added: “In contrast to closed platforms that practice high-latency mediation such as DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) and MoPub, AppNexus’ PriceCheck technology simultaneously allows hundreds of demand-side platforms (DSPs) and ad networks to bid on an impression.”
PriceCheck is now available for banner, video and interstitial ad units, with AppNexus claiming the availability of it means publishers will no longer have to send impressions to ad networks without knowledge of how much an impression is worth to that network (or how much they could have potentially made had they chose to sell it themselves).
AppNexus first came out in support for header bidding last year when it launched its AppNexus Publisher Suite (APS), with AppNexus’ position on the technology markedly different from Google’s (see video above).