Publica by IAS, the market-leading Connected TV (CTV) ad-server, in partnership with Index Exchange and The Trade Desk, today released research findings powered by Scope3 data about the benefits of adopting OpenRTB 2.6 and pod bidding to support sustainability in programmatic CTV advertising.
The collaborative research uncovered an 84% drop in ad selection carbon emissions when CTV ad space was purchased from a programmatic supply chain using OpenRTB 2.6’s pod bidding versus an older OpenRTB protocol.
OpenRTB 2.6 was developed by IAB Tech Lab and their members, including Publica by IAS and Index Exchange. The newly updated specifications allow CTV streaming publishers to present their inventory more accurately, giving buyers the flexibility to respond to bids in a way that will maximize their chances of winning an auction, and ultimately driving an improved viewer experience. OpenRTB 2.6 also introduces pod bidding, a breakthrough feature that allows advertising technology platforms to merge several requests down to a single request.
This research comes at a time when sustainability is a key focus for the digital advertising sector. Marketers are asking to work with technology partners that can help them to better understand the environmental impact of their digital advertising practices, and the trillions of impressions that flow back and forth between advertising platforms requiring a high amount of computational power to transact programmatically, even when the ad slot is not filled.
“We are excited to be able to demonstrate the value that OpenRTB 2.6 can bring to those on both the buy and sell sides of CTV. Not only does OpenRTB 2.6 reduce repetitive ads, enhance targeting and transparency, but it also reduces a marketer’s carbon output when they buy CTV inventory from publishers who are working with ad servers, SSPs, and DSPs who are now supporting this latest spec from IAB Tech Lab,” said Publica VP Product James Wilhite, who was one of the architects of the latest OpenRTB 2.6 protocols.
“We’re thrilled to see the Programmatic Supply Chain Working Group contributors not only adopting OpenRTB 2.6, but helping to make a business case for why others in the industry should adopt it as well,” said Jill Wittkopp from IAB Tech Lab.
“OpenRTB 2.6 helps improve everything in the adtech bid stream,” said Will Doherty, Vice President of Inventory Partnerships, The Trade Desk. “We support the IAB Tech Lab as well as the rest of the industry to improve the ad buying experience in CTV and, perhaps more critically, reduce carbon output from that same bid stream.”
“We designed pod bidding support in OpenRTB 2.6 to bring linear TV-style ad breaks to streaming TV,” said Rob Hazan, senior director of product, streaming TV, at Index Exchange. “We’ve known that podded bid requests improve the advertising experience for viewers and marketers. This study demonstrates their ability to create a more sustainable supply chain while maintaining or improving publisher revenue. We encourage the industry to accelerate the adoption of this new standard.”
Publica, Index Exchange, Trade Desk, and Scope3 have committed to help marketers and publishers operate in a way that reduces their carbon emissions.
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