Dive Brief:
- AppNexus has entered the mobile header bidding space with its new tool, PriceCheck.
- Taking a somewhat different approach to the solution, PriceCheck is an API making it what head of publisher strategy at AppNexus, Tom Shields, described to Ad Exchanger as "open and light." Some competitor mobile header bidding solutions are through a more limiting software development kit (SDK).
- Mobile display inventory is already available in PriceCheck, and mobile video ad units are in alpha testing.
Dive Insight:
Mobile header bidding addresses an issue with mobile advertising with a wide range of ad price points. Publishers that have poorly set up waterfalls risk losing money in ad buys. Solutions like PriceCheck circumvent the waterfall and pre-cache ads, a feature that reduces latency on serving those ads.
Shields told Ad Exchanger, "The idea behind header bidding is to create a level playing field by letting everyone put in their offer so the publisher can choose. The problem with the mobile app ecosystem is that if you want to change the way you handle advertising, you also have to make changes to the whole app and then resubmit to the app stores."
He also pointed out a benefit of PriceCheck being an API is that it can be implemented relatively quickly compared to a SDK, saying, "Effectively, it’s a line of code that calls to say, 'Here's my impression – what will you pay for it?'"