Real-time bidding

There is a great deal of excitement in the market about Real-time bidding (RTB). News has also filtered thru’ that Microsoft has added RTB functionality to their AdECN platform. Views on RTB are divided – for and against. There is a school of thought which says that adding a real-time elemtn will improve performance of online campaigns. And there is a school of thought which says that a proper business case needs to preceed a full-fledged adoption of RTB.

Let’s dwell a bit on what RTB is all about?

What if an advertiser can reach a specific consumer? RTB aims at achieving this end objective.

RTB is a contrivance that allows all participants in the online advertising game to buy impressions in real-time. The prospective buyer can quickly analyze an impression and bid accordingly. When I say quickly, I mean in seconds.

RTB allows the publisher to define an audience and segment their inventory to introduce advertisers to valuable users. An advertiser can bid for an impression in real-time to reach a specific consumer. This is done impression by impression, meaning it is highly targeted – an value can be assigned to each ad impression. In other words, RTB enables the advertiser to use the right consumer at the correct time.

This is done on an impression-by-impression basis, which makes it highly targeted and means that an individual value can be assigned to each specific ad impression

Benefits of RTB

RTB enables the media-buyer to improve and optimize campaigns. RTB allows pre-programming to set a maximum bid per impression.

It helps the publisher better monetize his inventory. RTB allows the market to decide what the value of an impression is. Remnant inventory always goes abegging – RTB might enable the publisher get better value for remnant inventory. Remnant inventory will at last find its place under the sun.

Results from RTB

Results from RTB have been extremely encouraging. Whether it is CTRs, conversion rates or Cost per action. In each of these areas an improvement upwards of 100% has been recorded.

Availability of the requisite sophisticated technology and expertise to further the uptake of RTB is a lacuna. But, with passage of time, I am sure this gap will be quickly plugged.