On Thursday, mobile monetization platform PubNative released a hybrid server-side and client-side header bidding tool that aims to help publishers make more of screen space without disrupting the user experience.
The new tool, called HyBid, allows app publishers to maximize their yield by running two simultaneous auctions. When a user opens an app, the app sends a request for an ad to PubNative, which runs a unified auction between all of its third-party open exchange partners. This action takes place pre-bid, so there’s no slowdown in the app performance.
The winning bid and ad are sent back to the HyBid SDK to compete with price transparency against the exchanges and networks integrated into the publisher’s SDK, including the walled gardens that once sat atop most waterfalls, such as MoPub or Google’s AdMob.
“Four or five years ago, you had a lot of little shops running around essentially just trying to be another step in the chain and make money,” said Chas Castell, VP of Revenue Operations at TextNow, which has more than 13.5 million monthly active users. “They would play the arbitrage game and they give you the runaround. There are some partners that can take two or even three seconds to get a response from a DSP, and then that ad opportunity might ultimately time out. The waterfall is being eroded by header bidding, but we don’t know exactly how things are going to shake out, so we’re all hedging our bets. We’re adding things like header bidding that bypass the waterfall, but we’re also using the traditional waterfall. We think of this as just adding more swim lanes to how we’re evaluating networks and advertisers.”
“Together with PubNative, we are able to efficiently buy audiences across dozens of fully transparent apps,” says Rubicon Project’s vice president of North America Sales, Mike Chevalier. “Through our collaboration, we have further refined our focus on delivering engaging, interactive, advertising experiences to relevant users without any format restrictions.”
“PubNative’s hybrid solution is a necessary shift to a more level playing field where buyers no longer bid in the dark, competing on 100% of the impression opportunities available and only bidding if it matches their desired audience,” said Ionut Ciobotaru, CEO of PubNative. “The technology also helps publishers understand the value of their inventory and deliver high-quality content experiences for their users. HyBid is a crucial step toward democratizing the advertising technology industry by opening up media access to all potential buyers instead of a preferred few. I’m confident that the improved transparency will encourage more brand advertisers to invest in mobile, which in turn will push more revenue through the entire ecosystem. It’s truly a win-win for everyone.”
