Header Bidding Specifications

There are many different SSPs and all of them use their own prebid adapters, with their own possibilities and functionalities.

However, there are some important specifications that apply to all SSPs and that should be set identically: currency, 1^st price auction, size, and gross vs net price.

Currency

In order to have a fair auction, each SSP should be able to specify the currency in which they respond, and whether there is a way to modify it manually.

Different responses can lead to discrepancies in revenue between the SSP and the ad server.

The currency for the bid response depends on the integration or the adapter that you set up:

Example:

    { bidder: 'adform', params: { mid: 123456 , rcur: 'USD' } } 

This image shows the currency flow within the header bidding chain:

Adform supports the adServerCurrency parameter as well. You can set the parameter in the prebid configuration for all bidders.

Example:

pbjs.setConfig({ currency: { adServerCurrency: 'EUR' } });

Most of the adapters support such prebid.js proposed configuration.

First-Price Auction

Header bidding success relies on its ability to allow publishers to have winning bids from multiple SSPs compared in parallel, and to decide on the overall best price across all of them.

But even with different floor prices, soft floor prices, and methods applied to pick the clearing price, the value of the bids passed from the SSP to header bidding for the final decision isn't necessarily the value that the advertiser was willing to pay. This potentially means less revenue for the publisher and less ability to win the desired impressions for the advertiser.

Let’s look at two scenarios:

Good to know:

Size

Websites have their own structure and layout, and publishers use many placements with unique characteristics. This allows specifying beforehand what type of ads should be displayed live on the website, and their dimensions. You should set up that same information in the header bidding container.

In this image, you can see that ad unit ID-429398 will only show ads with size 300 × 250.

Validation works this way:

Example:

Gross Price versus Net Price

To receive a net winning price from the Adform SSP in a header bidding auction, add the parameter priceType: 'net' to the prebid configuration. You can add it to each mid parameter, or just to one mid parameter on the website. Example:

var adUnits = [
        {
            code: 'xxxxxx',
            sizes: [[980, 200], [300, 600], [663, 50], [211, 347], [300, 250]],
            bids: [
                { bidder: 'criteo', params: { zoneId: "xxxxx" } } , 
                { bidder: 'adform', params: {
                    mid: 'xxxxxx',
                    priceType: 'net'
                  } },
                { bidder: 'adform', params: { 
                    mid: xxxxxx
                 } },
            ]
        }
   ];

When the prebid calls the SSPs at times, it responds with a default CPM value of 0. Use the script below to configure a fixed price for such responses before the web auction starts:

pbjs.bidderSettings = {xhb: {bidCpmAdjustment : function(bidCpm){// adjust the bid in real time before the auction takes placereturn bidCpm + 2;}}};

Header Bidding and Video

Adform prebid adapter supports both outstream and in-stream videos for header bidding.

We have our own renderer for outstreams in prebid, so there's no need for external players. For more information, see Set Up Header Bidding for Publisher Ad Server.

Request Header Bidding Placements Separately

All placements are requested together as per prebid.js auction. The easiest way to control auctions is by using c pbjs.requestBids(requestObj) Publisher API Reference for header bidding passing required ad units.

Example:

pbjs.addAdUnits({...});
pbjs.requestBids({ bidsBackHandler: callback });
// or
pbjs.requestBids({
  adUnits: {...},
  bidsBackHandler: callback
});

Two Adform Bidders in the Same Header Bidding Solution

If you want to add Adform as a second bidder, and the bidders should be sent in separate requests, use pbjs.aliasBidder("adform","x").

In this example, x is a custom alias for Adform bidder:

pbjs.aliasBidder("adform","x"); 

Learn more about Prebid and AdformOpenRTB.