Feature

Sponsored feature: Should I use an ad server or a mediation service?

SupersonicAds weighs up the options

Sponsored feature: Should I use an ad server or a mediation service?

Adam Ben David is head of publisher operations at SupersonicAds.

As a publisher, you are always looking for the best way to maximize your revenue sources and to better manage your business.

Ad-based revenue channels have emerged as a significant pillar in game publishers income.

As with any opportunity, a myriad of companies and solutions have cropped up to help publishers seize this new revenue source and bring it to the fullest potential.

Go wide

Many of the players in the game are offering fully managed ad monetization solutions, or 'Mediation Platforms'.

Their sales pitch is simple; "Put all your trust and control in my hands, I'll take care of everything for you, manage all the ad providers out there and simply cut you a check at the end of each month."

While this can sound like a panacea, in practice it costs your company significant potential revenue and doesn't help you build a robust and scalable business.

The reality of the advertising space today is that no one company can fill all your available ad impressions, no matter what ad formats you choose to go with - interstitials, display, video, offerwall etc. There are multiple ad providers and you will need to work with many of them in order to maximize your available ad placements.

Go open

When it comes to advertising, brand advertising is the Holy Grail. These are the ads you want to show your users because they will respond better to well known brands.

The ads contain high quality content and the payout is high. But be aware, brand advertising campaigns fluctuate heavily - campaigns go up and down so it's important to work with a few good partners and have them compete for your ad placements in real time.

Running all vendors through a mediated solution creates a black box, which you have no control over or insight into. Everything is in the hands of your mediator and you have to trust that they are doing what's best by your business.

Not only does it force you to run blind, but your various ad providers are also in the same position, giving up control of their own ad inventory to the mediator, which can become a conflict of interest if your mediator happens to also run their own sold ads on your inventory.

Both you and the ad providers need to trust that your mediator isn't pushing things in favor of its own advertisers at the expense of your other providers and your own bottom line.

This process has already been played out on the web at large in the world of display and video advertising. Mediators were all swept away and replaced by ad-servers and SSPs (Supply/Sell Side Platforms).

You need to be in control of your business, your revenue and your partners, and manage it for your bottom line.

In control

The Ultra Ad-Server is a technology platform by SupersonicAds. Open and transparent, the system allows you to first and foremost go out and set up with any ad providers you choose.

The platform facilitates a direct relationship between you and your ad providers. Maintaining an open and transparent dialog with ad partners keeps them motivated to perform well for you. You control your ad inventory and the delivery of the various providers, controlling their optimization and delivery based on your own desired KPIs.

The platform provides a fully arrayed data console so you can see all the data in every detail possible, making it easy for you to see exactly who is performing where and at what level, and thus make smart informed decisions for the future of your business.

When you decide its time to be fully in control of your business and your revenue potential, the 'Ad Serving' approach is the only truly effective and scalable method.

For more information, visit us on the web at UltraAdServer.com or SupersonicAds.com.


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