Meet BidMachine this Summer 2025 Q3 at the Top Industry Events!
As summer 2025 heats up, the mobile advertising and gaming industries are preparing for a dynamic season of global connections, breakthrough innovations, and strategic partnerships. At BidMachine, we're excited to announce that our team of experts will be attending four of the most prestigious industry events this quarter.
Whether you're a current partner looking to optimize performance, a prospective collaborator exploring new opportunities, or simply staying ahead of the curve in mobile programmatic advertising, we invite you to meet with us in person. Let's discuss advanced monetization strategies, cutting-edge technology, and the evolving landscape of mobile ad exchange.
The epicenter of Asia's gaming and digital entertainment universe awaits. Join us in Shanghai to explore how BidMachine's sophisticated monetization solutions are transforming mobile gaming revenue across global markets. With our LiveRamp RampID integration now fully operational, discover how enhanced identity resolution is driving unprecedented performance for gaming publishers.
š¹ļø Gamescom August 20ā24 | Cologne, Germany Book a meeting (soon) ā
Europe's largest gaming event deserves gaming's most advanced monetization technology. Meet our team in Cologne to see how BidMachine's transparent, high-performance exchange is revolutionizing mobile game monetization. From indie developers to AAA publishers, learn how our platform delivers maximum yield while maintaining complete control over your inventory.
š DMEXCO September 17ā18 | Cologne, Germany Book a meeting (soon) ā
Digital marketing's premier European gathering is where innovation meets implementation. Connect with us to discuss how BidMachine's full-stack programmatic solutions are addressing the industry's biggest challengesāfrom cookieless targeting to privacy-first monetization. Our recent partnerships and technology integrations are creating new opportunities for brands and publishers alike.
š½ PROG IO NY September 29ā30 | New York, USA Book a meeting (soon) ā
Programmatic advertising's most influential minds converge in the Big Apple, and we'll be there with insights that matter. Discover how BidMachine's unified platform is setting new standards for transparency, efficiency, and performance in mobile programmatic. Let's explore how our latest innovations can elevate your programmatic strategy.
Meet the Experts Behind BidMachine
When you schedule a meeting with us, you're connecting directly with seasoned leaders who've shaped the mobile ad tech landscape. Our BidMachine experts attending these events bring deep technical knowledge, strategic insights, and proven track records of delivering results in today's complex mobile ecosystem.
From technical integrations to strategic partnerships, from yield optimization to audience developmentāour team is equipped to address your specific challenges and unlock new growth opportunities.
Let's Connect
Do yu want to schedule a meeting?
No problemāfollow us on LinkedIn and keep an eye on our blog. We'll announce when new meeting slots open for each event.
Summer 2025 is your moment to connect, innovate, and grow. Let's make the most of itātogether.
BidMachine Partners with LiveRamp: Enhanced Revenue Opportunities for Publishers in US & EU.
BidMachine's RampID integration, by LiveRamp, is now live across 100% of US and EU SDK traffic, enabling publishers to unlock enhanced monetization opportunities through authenticated inventory.
This integration provides publishers with seamless access to LiveRamp's deterministic identity graph, allowing demand partners to target high-value audiences without relying on third-party cookies or legacy device identifiers.
Publishers using BidMachine's SDK can now offer authenticated inventory that connects with over 450 leading advertisers through LiveRamp's ecosystem, including major demand-side platforms and programmatic buyers.
RampID requires minimal technical work for mobile publishers, and it immediately connects your apps and games to premium demand, which translates into better revenue opportunities.
Check out now how to implement LiveRamp ID in your mobile apps and games:
RampID is LiveRamp's universal, pseudonymous identifier that maintains the largest and most accurate people-based identity graph on the market.
This technology matches disparate cookies, proprietary platform IDs, mobile devices, and pseudonymized offline personal information (PII) touchpoints to a common, people-based ID, creating a unified view of users across all touchpoints.
Key technical advantages of RampID include:
Deterministic matching: Based on verified user data rather than probabilistic algorithms
Cross-platform compatibility: Functions across mobile apps, web, and connected TV environments
Privacy compliance: Designed for GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulation requirements
Interoperability: Compatible with major DSP and advertising technology platforms
LiveRamp serves over 900 global customers, including many Fortune 500 enterprises, enabling unprecedented scale through its expansive network of 650+ partners.
Helping Publishers connect with Premium Demand
Through this integration, publishers using BidMachine can now leverage LiveRamp's industry-leading identity resolution technology to enhance their monetization strategies while maintaining the highest standards of user privacy and data protection.
Publishers using both BidMachine's SDK and LiveRamp SDK, will automatically benefit from RampID integration with little additional setup required.
The technology works transparently in the background, providing:
Higher Ad Revenues: Access to LiveRamp's deterministic identity graph unlocks previously unavailable audience segments, enabling demand partners to bid more competitively for high-quality, addressable inventory
Improved Fill Rates: Enhanced addressability through RampID integration significantly increases the percentage of monetizable impressions.
User Trust Protection: RampID maintains user trust through privacy-conscious targeting that enables cookieless advertising capabilities across iOS and privacy-focused environments
Enhanced User Experience: RampID enables more relevant, personalized ad experiences that improve user engagement while reducing irrelevant ad exposure, contributing to better app retention and user satisfaction
Initial feedback from our network has been very positive. Our partners are already reporting improved performance since they integrated BidMachine with their RampID.
Impact on Demand Partners and Advertisers
For demand-side platforms and advertisers in BidMachine's network, RampID integration expands addressable inventory by providing an additional layer of user identification. This is particularly valuable in environments where traditional identifiers (like IDFA on iOS or third-party cookies) are limited or unavailable.
The RampID integration enables demand partners and advertisers to:
Access Premium Addressable Inventory: Reach high-value audiences through LiveRamp's deterministic identity graph, enabling targeting of users who were previously unaddressable due to signal loss and privacy restrictions
Cross-Platform Campaign Consistency: Maintain unified user identification across mobile apps, web, and connected TV environments, ensuring coherent frequency capping and attribution measurement throughout the customer journey
Enhanced Campaign Performance: Leverage people-based targeting instead of device-based approaches, resulting in improved campaign effectiveness and higher ROI through more accurate audience matching and reduced ad waste
How to Get Started with LiveRamp via BidMachine SDK
Publishers can now generate identity envelopes using LiveRamp's ATS (Authenticated Traffic Solution) and pass them to the BidMachine SDK. The process will immediately connect you to premium demand and better revenue opportunities.
Find detailed technical documentation for passing RampID external identifiers in our BidMachine SDK documentation for both Android and iOS platforms.
Technical teams and developers interested in the implementation specifics, our RampID integration includes (1) real-time identity resolution through LiveRamp's sophisticated matching algorithms, (2) cross-platform compatibility supporting both Android and iOS environments, (3) automated envelope generation for authenticated traffic, and (4) secure data transmission with enterprise-grade encryption.
For SDK implementation questions, contact your BidMachine Customer Success Manager or Support Team.
We're excited about the opportunities this creates for our entire ecosystem and look forward to continued innovation in privacy-conscious, effective advertising technology.
Yandex Ads x BidMachine: From DSP integration to long-term partnership
Yandex Ads is a comprehensive advertising platform that connects 400K+ direct advertisers with 20K+ monetizing apps across 80+ countries.
With 6 billion daily ad impressions, 600+ advanced targeting options, and 11 AdTech offices around the globe, the platform helps businesses reach high-intent users and supports publishers with seamless monetization tools across all major platforms.
Adding Yandex DSP as a new source of demand in BidMachine
The initial phase involved a comprehensive technical integration between Yandex DSP and BidMachine's network, establishing Yandex as a strategic advertising demand partner within the BidMachine ecosystem.
"BidMachine is one of the fastest-growing networks in terms of multi-platform reach and geographical user diversity worldwide. Those were key factors in our decision to establish this strategic partnership."
Ilya Marin, Head of Business Development @ Yandex Ads.
Measurable results: Following this integration, Yandex rapidly established itself as BidMachine's #1 DSP in the CIS region and secured a position among the top #5 DSPs globally.
This way, Yandex advertisers gained immediate access to BidMachine's premium inventory of 50,000 applications, along with NewPubCo, a studio with strong ties to the company.
Ad formats: The partnership supports all ad formats, from the classic interstitials to the top-trending in-video banner ads.
Moreover, all the ad formats are seamlessly integrated with zero additional implementation requirements for advertisers. The system automatically optimizes ad delivery across newly integrated platforms.
Regulatory compliance: BidMachine ensures full compliance with all Russian legal ad labeling regulations, guaranteeing properly labeled advertising content throughout the network.
BidMachine DSP as a new source of demand in Yandex Ad Network
BidMachine DSP has also been successfully integrated into the Yandex Advertising Network, enabling app publishers to access premium demand from BidMachine's direct advertisers and diverse third-party demand sources.
Revenue optimization. This strategic integration has delivered measurable financial benefits for publishers across both ecosystems through:
Enhanced fill rates across the combined network
Intensified competitive bidding for high-value impressions
Optimized yield management through expanded demand diversity
The partnership creates a more robust monetization pipeline that maximizes revenue potential for publishing partners on both platforms while maintaining premium advertising quality standards.
Future plans between BidMachine and Yandex
While initial performance metrics have exceeded expectations, both companies are committed to transforming this collaboration into a sustainable, mutually beneficial strategic alliance.
"The impressive results we've achieved thus far represent only the beginning of our journey together. The next steps in our roadmap are to expand into emerging markets such as APAC and LATAM, as well as Tier-1 markets. Our goal is to scale our networks and ensure this partnership delivers long-term value for all stakeholders."
Mark Fruehan, Global Head of Demand @ BidMachine
Meet BidMachine this Spring 2025 Q2 at the Top Industry Events!
As Q2 2025 unfolds, the mobile advertising industry is gearing up for a season of innovation, reconnection, and insight. At BidMachine, weāre thrilled to announce that our team of experts will be on the ground at four of the most influential industry gatherings this quarter.
Whether youāre a current partner, a prospective collaborator, or simply exploring new opportunities in mobile programmatic, we invite you to connect with us face-to-face. Letās talk monetization, efficiency, transparencyāand the future of mobile ad exchange.
Where to Meet BidMachine in Q2 2025:
š POSSIBLE 2025
April 28ā30 | Miami Beach, (Florida) United States Book a meeting now ā
POSSIBLE is where innovation meets opportunityāand weāre ready. Meet us in Miami to explore how BidMachineās full-stack monetization solutions and custom bidding logic can unlock new performance levels for your mobile app or brand. Our meeting slots are officially open, so secure your time with our team today.
š° MAU Vegas
May 20ā22 | Las Vegas, (NV) United States Book a meeting now ā
MAU Vegas is a staple in mobile growth, and weāre coming prepared. From user acquisition strategies to high-performance monetization, discover how BidMachineās unified platform is reshaping mobile ad monetization. Stay tunedāmeeting slots for MAU will open soon.
Gaming and monetization go hand in hand, and our tech was built with that synergy in mind. Whether youāre a developer or a publisher, weād love to show you how BidMachineās flexible, transparent exchange is powering next-gen monetization in mobile gaming.
š Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
The worldās biggest celebration of creativity deserves the most innovative monetization stack. Our team will be attending to discuss how smarter bidding, audience control, and transparency elevate the value of every impression.
Meet the Experts Behind BidMachine
When you book a meeting with us, you're connecting with some of the most experienced leaders in mobile ad tech.
Here's who you can expect to meet this quarter:
Our BidMachine experts will be attending various events and are ready to dive into your goals, challenges, and plansābringing not just knowledge, but actionable strategies and a deep understanding of todayās mobile ecosystem.
Letās Connect
Already working with BidMachine?
Reach out to your Account or Partnership Manager to schedule a meeting at any of the events above. Not a partner yet? No worriesāfollow us on LinkedInand keep an eye on our blog. We'll announce when new meeting slots open.
Q2 is your moment. Letās make the most of itātogether.
BidMachine SDK 3.2: Higher Performance, UX Localization, and Future-Proofed
At BidMachine, weāre committed to pushing the boundaries of mobile ad monetization.
With the release of BidMachine SDK 3.2, weāre excited to deliver new features, critical privacy compliance tools, and performance upgrades that help publishers and developers unlock better results across their mobile ad inventory.
SDK 3.2 fully supports ERID (Enhanced Request ID) compliance, increasing transparency and traceability in ad transactions. Privacy-first monetization is now easier than ever.
Deep Link Support
With deep link support, you can now drive users to specific content within advertiser apps.
This feature not only enhances user experience but also increases the performance potential of your inventory by unlocking deeper engagement paths.
Smarter Tracking: User-Agent & Referrer
Weāve improved how our SDK handles User-Agent strings and added better Referrer header logic for MRAID ads, delivering more accurate data to demand partners and analytics platforms. This translates to smarter optimizations and more DSP engagement.
New Tracking Events
SDK 3.2 adds new events in the BidMachine dashboard, allowing our algorithms to run better projections and improving visibility into potential ad impressions.
While the new tracking events are transparent for the publishers, updating to BidMachine SDK 3.2 empowers monetization managers with enhanced real-time optimizations and boosts fill rate efficiency.
Updated OM SDK (v1.5.4)
Weāve upgraded to OM SDK 1.5.4, bringing your inventory to the latest measurement standards from the IAB Tech Lab.
This ensures smoother integrations with third-party measurement providers and improved viewability metrics.
š Bonus Feature: Smart Ad UX Localization
With BidMachineSDK 3.2, weāre excited to introduce Smart Ad Localization: a powerful new feature that automatically translates the ad interface and call-to-action (CTA) buttons based on the userās device language and geolocation.
Smart Ad Localization eliminates that friction by ensuring that the right language reaches the right user at the right time, without any manual setup on your end.
IronSource Level Play changelog for Android and iOS.
š£ Why You Should Upgrade Now
Avoid Potential Issues: Staying on older SDK versions increases the risk of crashes and frozen creatives, which leads to lower performance and revenue loss.
Enhanced Security & Reliability: With stricter privacy enforcement and technical improvements, SDK 3.2 ensures your ads run smoothly and with the highest security standards.
Future-Proof Integrations: Stay ahead of ad tech evolution and plug into the latest standards in measurement and monetization.
Ready to level up your mobile ad stack?
š Upgrade to BidMachine SDK 3.2 today and unlock the full potential of your app inventory.
Motorik x BidMachine: A new partnership driving mobile monetization and growth
In early 2025, Motorik and BidMachine came together through a shared commitment to performance, transparency, and innovation.
This partnership brings together Motorikās expertise in mobile growth with BidMachineās cutting-edge ad tech platform, unlocking new opportunities for mobile monetization and user acquisition.
Hereās how this collaboration is already delivering value and what lies ahead.
About Motorik
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Warsaw (Poland), Motorik is a fast-paced programmatic marketplace that moves in the rhythm of digital transformation.
The company offers an omnichannel, targeted advertising experience to maximize inventory potential and engage global audiences. Motorik's platform supports in-app, mobile web, desktop, and CTV environments, providing precise targeting and real-time optimization to ensure exceptional reach and advertising outcomes.
Driving Value Through Collaboration
Shared Vision: Both BidMachine and Motorik are aligned on key principlesāperformance, transparency, and growth. This partnership leverages Motorikās deep industry knowledge and BidMachineās advanced programmatic capabilities to create a stronger, more efficient mobile advertising ecosystem.
Advanced In-App Bidding Technology: BidMachineās premium in-app bidding solution enables Motorik and its partners to maximize ad revenue while maintaining a high-quality user experience. With real-time bidding, enhanced targeting options, and access to premium demand sources, publishers working with BidMachine can now tap into Motorik's extensive network to unlock new revenue streams.
Seamless Integration & Early Success: Thanks to a smooth onboarding process, the integration between Motorik and BidMachine has already shown promising results. Early tests deliver strong performance metrics, laying the foundation for long-term success.
āWe are thrilled to partner with Motorik as they share our vision for pushing the boundaries of mobile monetization. The collaboration has already begun to yield impressive outcomes, and weāre excited to continue building on this momentum.ā ā Mark D. Fruehan, Global Head of Demand @ BidMachine
Future Plans: Scaling Together in 2025 and Beyond
As this partnership evolves, both teams are committed to scaling their joint efforts across key global markets. With a shared focus on innovation and performance, Motorik and BidMachine will continue to drive growth opportunities for publishers, advertisers, and users alike.
Follow BidMachine on LinkedIn and stay tuned for more updates as we expand our collaboration and explore new ways to deliver exceptional value across the mobile advertising landscape.
BidMachine x Targetoo: Unlocking New Revenue Streams for App Developers
Targetoo has recently completed the process of integration with BidMachine, an advanced supply-side platform (SSP) by Appodeal.
This partnership holds the potential to significantly transform in-app bidding technology, and create new doors for app makers and developers looking for better revenue tactics.
BidMachine x Targetoo
BidMachine, a unique system for in-app bidding that was introduced in 2019, has quickly gained attention for its innovative approach to app monetization. By allowing app makers and publishers to cooperate with numerous agents, marketers, and advertising networks, this platform has democratised the auction mechanism. As a result, both publishers and advertisers gain from a more transparent and streamlined advertising acquisition process.
Targetoo is a leading provider of programmatic advertising solutions, offering White Label, Self-Serve, and Managed Demand Side Platform (DSP) services tailored for agencies, brands, and resellers. Leveraging extensive industry expertise and advanced technology, Targetoo empowers clients to maximize their return on investment through comprehensive programmatic advertising strategies. Their robust platform features a wide array of campaign options, including Geo-Fencing, Audio Ads, and Retargeting/Remarketing, ensuring effective audience targeting and engagement. Committed to delivering exceptional service, Targetoo fosters long-term partnerships by consistently going the extra mile for their clients
Transforming In-App Bidding
The incorporation of BidMachine into in-app bidding and hybrid monetization paradigms has proven to be a game changer. App developers who have used this technology have seen significant improvements in key performance measures such as eCPM (effective cost per mille), ARPDAU (average revenue per daily average user), and total revenue generation. This success is largely due to the freeing of time previously given to managing waterfall frameworks, which now allows app authors to focus on refining their content and improving the user experience.
BidMachine's direct SDK traffic utilisation was one of the most significant perks that drew Targetoo's attention. Targetoo places a strong emphasis on optimising supply pathways (SPO) and prefers to engage with traffic directly rather than through intermediaries. The interaction with BidMachine complements this goal perfectly, establishing an unbroken and direct relationship to application inventory.
Furthermore, BidMachine's specific focus on the gaming business significantly resonates with Targetoo's goals. The gaming industry has grown significantly, and it now has a large user base, making it an important arena for both application developers and advertising. This relationship between Targetoo and BidMachine holds great promise for future collaborations and mutually beneficial growth.
Furthermore, BidMachine's operational focus primarily on in-app traffic is critical. Targetoo has already seen strong performance results from BidMachine, which is especially important given Targetoo's commitment to user acquisition as a DSP (Demand-Side Platform). As the worldwide scene shifts towards mobile app usage, a focus on in-app monetization techniques ensures that advertisers and app makers maintain a competitive advantage. BidMachine's expertise in this area, along with Targetoo's skills, results in a powerful and fruitful collaboration.
Partnership Beyond Monetization
Another exciting aspect of this integration is the close collaboration made possible by the companies' physical proximity. Because BidMachine has an office in Barcelona, We can collaborate closely on a range of projects with the team.
Partnerships like this demonstrate the app industry's potential for growth and success as it grows. Targetoo and BidMachine are collaborating to empower app creators and developers by providing them with the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Smadex x BidMachine: Unlocking New Monetization Opportunities for App Developers
Smadex has recently completed its integration with BidMachine, a cutting-edge supply-side platform (SSP). This collaboration promises to revolutionize in-app bidding technology and open up new horizons for app creators and developers seeking enhanced monetization strategies.
About BidMachine: Transforming In-App Bidding
BidMachine, a proprietary in-app bidding technology released in 2019, has rapidly gained recognition for its innovative approach to app monetization. This platform has democratized the auction process by allowing app creators and publishers to work with multiple agents, marketers, and ad networks. The result? A more transparent and efficient ad-buying process, where both publishers and advertisers reap the benefits.
According to Smadex, the integration of BidMachine with in-app bidding and hybrid monetization models has proven to be a game-changer. App creators utilizing this technology have witnessed remarkable improvements in key performance indicators, including eCPM (effective cost per mille), ARPDAU (average revenue per daily average user), and overall revenue. This success is largely attributed to the liberation of time spent managing waterfalls, which now allows app creators to focus on optimizing their content and user experience.
About Smadex: Redefining Mobile User Acquisition
Smadex is a leading Demand-Side Platform (DSP) specializing in programmatic advertising for mobile user acquisition. With advanced machine learning algorithms and real-time data analytics, Smadex enables advertisers to launch highly effective campaigns, driving measurable results across metrics like cost-per-install (CPI) and retention rates.
Focused on transparency and supply path optimization (SPO), Smadex prioritizes direct traffic connections for efficient ad buying. Its platform provides access to premium inventory and sophisticated targeting tools, empowering app developers and brands to maximize their reach and return on investment in todayās competitive mobile advertising landscape.
Smadex and BidMachine: A Perfect Match
One of the most significant advantages that caught Smadexās attention is BidMachineās direct SDK traffic. In the supply domain, Smadex emphasizes supply path optimization (SPO) and aims to work with direct traffic rather than through resellers. The integration with BidMachine aligns perfectly with this goal, ensuring a seamless and direct connection to app inventory.
Additionally, BidMachineās exclusive focus on the gaming industry resonates with Smadexās objectives. The gaming sector has seen tremendous growth, with a massive user base, making it a strategic area for app creators and advertisers alike. This alignment between Smadex and BidMachine promises great potential for future collaborations and mutual growth.
Furthermore, the fact that BidMachine operates with pure in-app traffic is of utmost importance. Smadex has already seen strong performance from BidMachine, which is extremely important, being a user acquisition-focused DSP. As the world increasingly shifts towards mobile app usage, focusing on in-app monetization models ensures that advertisers and app creators stay ahead of the curve. BidMachineās expertise in this area and Smadexās capabilities make for a powerful partnership.
Collaboration Beyond Monetization
Another exciting aspect of this integration is the close collaboration facilitated by the physical proximity of the companies. With BidMachine also having an office in Barcelona, we can work closely with the team on various projects.
As the app industry flourishes, partnerships like this are a testament to the potential for growth and success. Together, Smadex and BidMachine are determined to empower app creators and developers, offering them the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
This article was first featured on Smadex' blog by Mafe Roig, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Smadex.
A day in the life of an SSP: Q&A with BidMachine
Many of our posts have focused on re-engagement strategy, but weād like to take a look at the nuts and bolts of what makes app re-engagement and in-app advertising actually work. To help us with this, we spoke to our supply side platform (SSP) partners at BidMachine to give us some insights on how their SSP works, what they specialize in, and how they envision the future of in-app advertising.
What makes BidMachineās inventory so specific? Are there any formats, regions, or other areas where you are strongest?
The first aspect that differentiates BidMachineās inventory from most players in the market is that our inventory is 100% in-app. We focus entirely on the in-app vertical, both on iOS and Android. Secondly, we are very proud of the fact that more than 95% of our traffic is SDK-based. The flow is very straightforward: SDK > BidMachine > Demand Partner. Our goal is to have 100% SDK traffic by the end of this year.
We work with a worldwide audience, but we do have a strong core that includes countries such as the US, Germany, Canada, the UK, Russia, Brazil, France, Australia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia.
In terms of ad formats, we cover all standard mediation in-app ad types: small banners, MREC, full-screen banners, playable ads, native, video interstitials, and rewarded videos.
Do you have specific criteria when it comes to adding a new publisher?
The main criteria we have is whether a publisher can follow the flow I mentioned before ā SDK > BidMachine > Demand Partner. We strive for less intermediaries and want to ensure the inventory is as close to our demand partners as possible and that there will be little to no reduction in the end revenue the publisher sees. To give this visibility to our demand partners, we require publishers to be compliant with app-ads.txt.
After the publisher is onboarded and integrated, we have a dedicated fraud team investigating suspicious app stats and behaviors and thoroughly checking all apps. We check for COPPA apps to see whether there are incentivized placements or real money being offered in the app, which we do not allow. We also make sure there are no ad placements that lead to forced clicks or actions. We check whether apps have obscene content, and whether they comply with the CCPA and GDPR regulations when applicable.
Is your SSP a first price auction or second price? Could you describe the impact of choosing one or the other?
We support both first and second-price models in our inventory. Until the end of 2019, there wasnāt any differenceāboth models had pretty much the same access to the inventory. We were improving our auction logic this year to reduce requests that are not important for DSPs and to improve their performance. But first-price auction participants ended up having access to more unique users at a reduced QPS, which enabled more users to be visible and decreased server costs for our partners.ā
How do you think first price auctions will change the future of the app industry? Do you have any recommendations, tips on how DSPs should adapt?
Slowly but surely, first-price auctions are changing the future of the app industry, bringing more transparency to publishers about how much their traffic is worth and increasing competition between buyers. This is good for publishers but not necessarily the best scenario for the buyer side.
Quite a few DSPs are still struggling (some even resisting) with the shift from second to first-price models. Because their bidding/buying algorithms are not ready for a āpureā first-price auction as there is no floor price passed in the request. Second price algorithms are pretty mature for DSPs and they tend to be very precise when it comes to how much they should pay for a specific user. With first price models they need to start almost from scratch. The open support and push from big platforms in our industry towards the first price model is definitely something that will accelerate the transition.
Our advice for the transition to first price would be to build a bidding/buying algorithm that doesnāt rely on price floors in the request and the buyer can bid exactly how much they are willing to pay for the impression (or at least with that step already planned). There wonāt be any base floor prices once the full shift from the traditional waterfall model to a bidding model takes place.
As an SSP, are there any upcoming changes you have planned for expanding your inventory?
Yes, our sales team is always going after new publishers to onboard to our platform. We have a few big publishers going through the integration process right now, and soon we will share more details about that with our partners.
At the moment, we are working on making it easier for publishers to integrate our SDK and developing automation tools for a more efficient set-up.
If publishers feel like they want to get more out of programmatic, we also give publishers an opportunity to acquire their own exchange by leveraging BidMachine technology and existing relationships with demand partners, through a SaaS model.
Are there any major trends or changes that you see happening when it comes to monetization solutions?
We see trends that are continuing to evolve, e.g. increased privacy of mobile users. Both Apple and Google now give more control to users with how and when their information is shared across the ad ecosystem. It will surely lead to a different way of tracking (or assuming) events within an app, and at the same time, it might shed more light on contextual advertising.
There is a continuous shift from second price to first-price auctions as buyers update their bidder logic and get more confident in buying traffic that way. Publishers continue to strive for more transparency and control when it comes to ways the traffic is bought in their apps. Demand buyers are more concerned about the traffic origin and how far away they are from the actual source (app-ads.txt, sellers.json).
Also, more transparency does not necessarily mean less hops in the supply chain: indeed, the way companies approach the SPO (Supply Path Optimization) is slightly changing. The original goal of the SPO was to eliminate unnecessary intermediaries by uncovering them all. However, the process of automatically eliminating them regardless of the benefit they can bring to advertisers or demand partners was, perhaps, not thought through. The benefits may include aggregating high-quality inventory, providing advanced metrics and custom information, giving access to more unique users, etc.
How has GDPR impacted the way you work as an SSP?
As we are a technology/engineering-focused company, it didnāt have a huge impact on how we work. We were ready to add the required parameters to our requests. The most difficult part was educating publishers since not all of them understood how GDPR would affect their revenue.
In the beginning, we were only giving publishers guidelines on how to create their own consent window but now we have a fully-fledged consent management platform that can be used by publishers.
Another non-tech-related aspect of it was registering as an official IAB vendor for Framework 1.1. And now we are doing the same when the Framework 2.0 goes live.
What measure are you taking to ensure GDPR compliance and user consent collection?
If the client uses our own CMP, we make sure they are compliant and collect consent correctly. If they do not, we make sure that once the consent is given, we pass it along the supply chain. If it is not given, we act accordingly and donāt collect and pass their information to our partners, abiding by GDPR guidelines.
Do you provide any specific support and educate publishers on how to ask for consent?
Yes, we give the publisher the possibility of using our own CMP. We also have guides on how they should implement their consent windows if they donāt want to use our consent management platform. Our team is always ready to help the publishers.
How has BidMachine begun to prepare for the eventual removal of device IDs on mobile? What will be the immediate business impact for you?
We have a few solutions being investigated at the moment by our engineering and legal teams to understand how exactly we can help our demand partners, who are sometimes highly dependent on device IDs in their purchase logic. The immediate impact we expect not only for us but also for the in-app environment as a whole is a decrease in spend and revenue for publishers if the vast majority of users opt-out to share their unique identifiers.ā
Admixer Webinar Summary: In-App Advertising During the Crisis
The summary highlights the most important insights coming out of this webinar. This blog post is originally published in the Admixer blog. To access the webinar in full, follow this link.
The pandemic is sending shockwaves throughout the app industry. The changes in daily routines and habits increase usage and app engagements. In the first quarter of 2020, weekly time spent in apps grew by 20%.
Appodeal and BidMachine report the increase in daily active users and the number of available impressions. However, it does not match with revenues, despite the higher number of impressions, CPMs are dropping.
The biggest beneficiaries of the app boom are communication and gaming apps. However, the situation varies from app to app, even inside the same verticals. According to Apptopia, the verticals that experience the biggest surge are grocery applications, gaming, content/media, and entertainment. Also, there is a surge in the usage of medical applications and health and fitness trackers. The biggest losers of the crisis, are apps dedicated to tourism, maps and navigation, and certain lifestyle categories.
App downloads on iOS and Android devices during the crisis
iOS is prevalent in the wealthy, mostly English speaking markets. The most popular application in these environments during the pandemic are:
photo and video editors
entertainment
shopping
Android is dominant in the rest of the markets, where the favorite segments are quite different. The most popular categories include:
action games
casual games
tools, mostly for cleaning and optimizing device performance
Android is mostly used for entertainment, while iOS for shopping and content production.
Changes in advertising budgets and CPM
Since the beginning of the lockdown in February, advertisers have decreased their budgets for branded content. At the same time, at the beginning of April, the following niches have picked up in spending:
health and fitness
hygiene products
FMCG products
Performance campaigns have gained momentum, and comprise a bigger portion of the advertising market. According to BidMachine, there was 60% of branded campaigns and 40% of performance ones before the pandemic. Now, the share of performance campaigns increased to 75%-80%.
According to the recent Pixalateās programmatic ad spend report, there was a 14% decrease in programmatic mobile app ad spend in March. According to Admixer data, mobile ad spendings decreased by 15% in March and lost another 5% in April.
While the number of ad impressions remain stable or even increase, CPM is consistently going down. A recent McKenzie survey of U.S. households noticed consumer pessimism: 30-50% of households are expecting their income to fall and planning to tighten their belts and decrease spendings. Consumers will spend less on non-essential commodities.
Therefore, the verticals that currently maintain their ad spent might have to cut down their advertising budgets. Even if the pandemic and the lockdown end tomorrow, the financial impact will have a lingering effect throughout the year. In China, where the lockdown is coming to an end, and fewer people spend time in confinement, the number of impressions decreased, however, CPMs have not bounced back to the pre-crisis levels.
Best and worst performing ad formats
According to Appodeal, there are significant changes in eCPM for different ad formats. Advertisers notice less yield from static banners, especially small and full-screen formats, as well as interstitial bannersand pop-ups.
At the same time, there is a significant eCPM increase for video ads, mainly because of the performance campaigns directed at user acquisition, installs of other apps, that command higher value.
According to Admixer, rewarded video is the best performing video ad format which demonstrate higher CTR and conversion rate than other video formats.
Rewarded videos are 2 times more effective than interstitial videos and 3 times better than regular out-stream video. Rewarded videos are not skippable so users watch them to full completion. In addition, it is is limited, premium inventory since game developers cannot add them anywhere. 90% of game apps support this format and can supply the quality impression to various advertising verticals in a brand-safe environment. App and game publishers can boost their revenues with video ads on their platforms through integration with an Admixer video player solution.
Another ad format that keeps getting traction despite the pandemic is native advertising. Agencies and new categories of brands increasingly use them. Admixer witnessed a growing interest in native and awarded video formats from automotive brands.
Programmatic trends
The global pandemic and the rapid shifts in the app landscape delayed trends of programmatic adoption. The waterfall auctions still dominate the industry, which is yet to transition to new programmatic buying methods based on real-time bidding.
Nevertheless, the transition is inevitable. Both publishers and advertisers will win as the transition will make the ad buying process more transparent.
Slowly but surely, the app industry is leaving second-price auctions in favor of first price action and adopting real-time value metrics, already common in the desktop web.
Recommendations for advertisers
1.Cost-effective strategies
The current crisis provides an excellent opportunity for advertisers to understand their audience better and implement cost-effective strategies. Advertising during the crisis ensures that the brand retains customer loyalty and can recover quicker.
Yaroslav and Fernando suggest experimenting with the combination of different ad formats, implementing native and rewarded videos, as well as throwing some banners into the mix. Banners can provide extensive reach and high volume at a low CPM.
2. Keeping brand safe
At the same, brands should be cautious with their messaging and sensitive about the information that they broadcast. According to Kantar, 75% of consumers think that brands shouldnāt exploit topics of COVID for their campaigns.
Advertisers should prioritize brand-safe environments for their ads, and apps and games can be a perfect controlled medium for that.
Recommendations for mobile app developers
1. In-app advertising
As the consumer buying power is decreasing, app developers that relied on in-app purchases for their monetization are facing a drop in revenue. For this reason, they should consider implementing ads on their platforms to supplement their income and offset losses during the crisis.
Consumers increasingly tolerate advertising; nearly 9 in 10 consumers feel that online advertising is necessary to receive free content online. However, it is crucial to strike the right balance between acquisition, retention, and the life-time value of your customers. The current app boom can attract a broader audience to apps; it is vital to keep them engaged and not to exploit their attention too hard.
2. New ways of promotion
Publishers need to be flexible to adapt to new market realities and implement new types of cross-promotion, and giveaways to target untapped segments of the audience.
For instance, Tinder, the world-famous dating app, made free some of their premium features, such as āTinder Passportā and āSecret Admirerā. Despite dating apps losing appeal during the pandemic, Tinder managed to remain in the Top-10 among lifestyle apps.
Glovo, the food delivery app, provided new features for restaurant promotion, and special deals on delivery for restaurants who didnāt have this feature prior to the pandemic. Additionally, Glovo introduced features of groceries and medicines delivery in certain European countries. As a result, Glovo was able to maintain its leadership in the segment of delivery, while UberEats, their direct competitor, had to pull out of 7 markets.
Exploring In-App Header Bidding: Jamppās Spotlight on BidMachine
Last year, Jampp went 100% programmatic for both User Acquisition and Retargeting to provide our clients with improved technology and transparency. Agnostic across the board, Jampp works with a number of select supply partners to secure higher visibility and control over campaign performance. With our newest series, Jamppās Supply Takeover, we hope to shed some light on the technologies that make our partners a great fit, as well as insights about existing challenges and upcoming trends in programmatic.
Supply Takeover #1āāāMeet Bidmachine
In this first edition, we interviewed BidMachineās Fernando Granata, Demand Relationship Manager, and Alberto Nutricati, Head of Account Management.
Tell us a little about BidMachine
BidMachine is an ad exchange powered by in-app header bidding. Together with Appodeal, Bidmachine is a part of a comprehensive suite of mobile app scaling solutions that we offer at Appodeal, our parent company.
While Appodealās ad mediation is meant for those seeking an all-in-one ad monetization platform, BidMachineās focus on programmatic advertising makes it ideal for publishers that want to easily add ad exchange demands to their existing setup.
This same year, BidMachine rolled out an open-source code for those publishers who wish to explore ad exchange technology on their own. We plan to create an open-source community for everyone whoās interested in moving in this direction. We believe that developers should have an open access to code, learn from it and ultimately be free to manage bidding technologies.
What sets you apart from other ad exchanges? What are some of your main differentiators?
We envision BidMachine as a powerful ad monetization source for publishers who might have never thought of ad exchanges as a legitimate way to enrich their monetization. BidMachineās SDK is specifically designed to be easily adopted and integrated by publishers. We understand that difficult integration processes and incompatible codes are the main obstacles for publishers, so we built our SDK to be as light and efficient as possible. We also focused on transparency tools, which are equally important for auctions to be successful. Through us, publishers get access to premium demand from a variety of cutting-edge, top-performing DSPs like Jampp, and level up their apps with quality ads.
At BidMachine, innovation is in our DNA. When we were still a part of Appodeal, we were among the first in the market to introduce a live prototype of in-app header bidding technology, which is now thriving.
Since you bring it up , letās talk header bidding. How do you think it will change the future of the app industry?
We think the benefits of in-app bidding in terms of transparency standards and fairer auction dynamics are evident.
Thanks to the industryās shift to in-app header bidding, we are pleased to see that programmatic DSPs are getting new opportunities to compete fairly in these auctions. Ad demand is becoming increasingly programmatic in nature, and we believe that innovative DSPs like Jampp are in a good position to make considerable progress with more transparency and control than that of ad networks.
How is the industry catching up with this new trend?
The adoption rate of in-app header bidding is steadily growing , and we strive to make it as easy as possible for publishers to access this technology. That is one of the major reasons why we introduced BidMachine as a standalone source, separated from ad mediation.
Whatās the most exciting project your team is working on at the moment?
One of the key projects we are working on is an algorithm to improve the bid requests and price floors that BidMachine sends to DSPs. This will allow us to dynamically change the traffic volumes based on the DSPsā interests.
Additionally, we recently adopted a few transparency tools, such as app-ads.txt, OpenRTB SupplyChain Object, and sellers.json, that greatly contribute to making the programmatic environment more transparent and safe. These last two are actually technical specifications introduced by IAB this summer with the aim of increasing trust in the supply chain. The sellers.json file allows DSPs to verify the app-ads.txt entries provided by the publisher, while SupplyChain Object fully shows the supply path from the publisher to the advertiser with all reseller entities in-between.
App-ads.txt and sellers.json were designed to fight fraud, but theyāre still relatively new. Have you seen any challenges or drawbacks in implementing these technologies? How do you think it affects the in-app landscape?
There are certainly drawbacks to any tactics, but weāve only seen positive effects for app-ads.txt and sellers.json so far. The difficulties are always related to getting everyone on board; otherwise, itās not effective.
Both app-ads.txt and sellers.json are fairly easy to implement and have been very useful for our DSP partners. We embrace any trend aimed at increasing trust and facilitating auctions between publishers and advertisers.
Do you see any upcoming trends that you are excited about?
We are particularly excited about the development and adoption of the hybrid auction modelāāāa combination of second-price and first-price auctions which secures optimal bidding results. We can already observe that the bid shading strategy is getting traction, which indicates a clear shift towards first-price auction.
Many DSPs were used to buying on second-price auction only, as essentially, you place higher bids in the first-price auction. However, bid shading helps to find the most appropriate bid price to minimize expenses while preserving a good chance of winning anyway. To put it simply, the rise of bid shading helps DSPs to avoid paying too much.
When all players accept the first-price auction model, we believe that transparency levels will be at their all-time high and contribute to higher earnings for both publishers and advertisers.
We are also excited to continue developing an in-house solution to help publishers operate their own exchange without having to invest an overwhelming amount of time and resources. With an in-house exchange (or an open-source solution) the publisher can offer inventory directly to DSPs, cutting out the middleman. Frankly speaking, we think that in-house ad tech is the future of mobile app publishers.
Speaking of trends that advertisers love to hear about, what formats are the top performers at the moment? Does this vary a lot per region?
Last quarter, we released an In-app Performance Index with Appodeal, showing how various ad formats perform in different regions, as well as their eCPMs across ad networks and ad exchanges. Weāve found that rewarded videos remain a top-performing ad format across all regions, with ads like playables slowly catching up (at least when it comes to the gaming vertical).
Surprisingly, more conventional ad formats like display and native ads are making a solid comeback. A few years ago, it seemed like those formats were doomed, likely to be replaced by newer and more dynamic formats, but we find that they are still very relevant. In fact, we recently reincorporated native ads to our ad format family.
Moving on to a slightly less popular topic, albeit a necessary one: fraud. How has in-app fraud evolved over the past years?
SDK spoofing has become more widespread. To give a little context, with SDK spoofing, fraudsters generate fake installs with stolen data from real devices. It is very important for us to ensure safety for publishers and demand partners, since we understand that the fear of fraud goes both ways. To this end, we have developed internal mechanisms against fraud on both ends.
So how do you fight fraud on your end?
In order to protect publishers, we put forward measures to check creatives and make sure the demand partners are following our advertising policies. We have a select team checking upon SDK integrations to see whether impressions actually took place within an app. Furthermore, if any issues do arise, we work very closely with all our publishers to ensure immediate resolution .
As for protecting our demand partners, we have a dedicated fraud team that investigates suspicious app stats and behaviors, thoroughly checking all apps before activating and making them eligible for demand. We make sure to check whether the app is a COPPA app, whether there are incentivized placements or real money being offered in the app (which we do not allow), whether there are ad placements that lead to forced clicks or actions, and whether the app has any illegal content. Upon SDK integration, we ensure that the impressions really happen and run rendering tests for OpenRTB/API integrations.
How do you choose the publishers you work with? What makes them a good fit for BidMachine (Appodeal)?
We have a thorough selection process to make sure our publishers and our demand partners are well matched. All our publishers receive full integration support to secure that all processes are smooth from the get-go. That is especially important since we plan to start supporting Private Marketplace, which will allow publishers and advertisers to make direct deals. These personalized deals will result in more optimal matches.
More and more of our publishers integrate via SDK, guaranteeing a more compelling performance, less crashes, and more transparency. DSPs prefer to connect with publishers that are SDK-based, since they can check their app-ads.txt and verify the authenticity of traffic.
When it comes to working with DSPs, how do you select your partners?
It is very important for us to partner with companies that have a similar vision when it comes to transparency standards, reputability, and genuine drive. We partner with diverse DSPs to provide publishers with options they canāt normally access with traditional setups. When it comes to technical requirements, we work with DSPs that are technically capable of supporting CPM responses either via API or OpenRTB integrations. Generally, our DSP partners are able to efficiently scale spend, work at high QPS, and have an accurate and transparent tracking system.
BidMachine Unveiled as Open-Source: Transforming Mobile Ad Monetization Strategies
We are making our programmatic ad exchange, BidMachine, available as open-source. Powered by in-app header bidding, BidMachine now enables mobile app publishers to connect directly with ad demand sources with unprecedented access, efficiency, and transparency.
"Since introducing our own ad exchange, BidMachine, as a part of BidMachine set of monetization products in 2017, weāve helped mobile app developers around the globe scale their businesses programmatically. Last year, we began testing a cutting-edge in-app header bidding technology that provides insights into the true value of ad inventory and optimises every ad request, making mobile ad monetisation efficient in a way it has never been before,ā said Alberto Granata, General Manager at BidMachine.
BidMachine currently has a reach of over 25 million daily average users (DAU) through over 10,000 mobile apps, serving over 1.2 billion impressions monthly.
BidMachine supports both traditional bidding with DSPs and in-app header bidding compatible ad networks and comes readily available with over 70 active DSPs and 14 in-app header bidding powered ad networks. All major ad formats, including rewarded videos, as well as integration via SDK, API, S2S/JS tags and OpenRTB are all supported.
Following years of extensive research and development, the release of in-app header bidding technology in 2018 immediately showed optimistic results for the ad tech industry. However, as in-app header bidding technology is typically embedded within third-party ad mediation solutions, publishers were unable to access this technology directly. With BidMachine going open-source, publishers now have this direct access, which grants them even more control over their monetization strategy and saves them from spending valuable time and money building their own in-house ad exchange.
Mobile app businesses can now conveniently take this unique in-app header bidding technology in-house with the option to have it on either client- or server-side. They can also start benefiting from real-time bidding data and getting the best impression prices immediately through BidMachine.
āWe believe that putting the power of in-app header bidding ad exchange in the hands of mobile app businesses is a massive step forward for the industry. Publishers will be able to establish direct and trustful relationships with ad demand sources and avoid fluctuating middlemen fees. Following our mission of making the industry transparent and fair, we are planning to open source all Company components in the near futureā, ensures Alberto.
Since an open-source model might not be the ideal fit for every mobile app business, BidMachine also provides a managed service option for those interested in more expert hands-on optimisation and customisation of their in-house in-app header bidding solution, for a predictable monthly fee. This upgraded service includes helping publishers with ensuring overall compatibility with ad demand sources, integration of new demands as well as taking care of timely maintenance and technology updates.
BidMachine is distributed under GNU General Public License v3.0. and can be found open-sourced on Github.
