HOLLYWOOD BEACH, FL -- An expanded partnership between programmatic ad-tech firm AppNexus and exchange Index Exchange is one of the moves already changing the nature of ad trading's so-called "header bidding" technique.
The pair announced they have worked to produce tight technical integrations for server-to-server header bidding.
"Header bidding" is a technique that has only recently grown up, in which publishers place code on a web page that plugs in multiple ad demand sources simultaneously, allowing them to get the best inventory price in one go, rather than approach demand sources in a sequential, "waterfall" approach.
But this means more processing is typically done on the client side, in consumers' web browser or app.
Speaking with Beet.TV in this video interview, Index Exchange product SVP Drew Bradstock explains times are already changing.
"Header bidding has helped publishers make more money - but it's also putting more and more code on to the page," Bradstock says. "On mobile ... you don't want all that extra code.
"Publishers are now considering the trade off between latency, user experience and revenue."
"Server-to-server takes all that work that used to be done on the browser - instead of doing it on the client side, it pulls it back on to Index Exchange's infrastructure. It takes the onus off the user."
AppNexus and Index Exchange already had their own server-side header bidding offerings, and already had a partnership on conventional header bidding. The extended integration works with existing header bidding wrapper software, but the pair say the latest version is more like real-time bidding, with auctions taking place on their servers as opposed to in the publisher customer's header.
You can find this post on Beet.TV.