Private Marketplace FAQs

What is a private marketplace?

A private marketplace is an exclusive RTB auction where a publisher invites select buyers to bid on its inventory at agreed upon rates.

How does a publisher create a private marketplace in SFP?

Instructions can be found here

Why would a publisher create a private marketplace?

Private Marketplaces enable publishers to scale their native revenue by capturing incremental programmatic budgets without sacrificing control or pricing. With Private Marketplaces, publishers have more control over which buyers are accessing their inventory via RTB and at what prices. As a result, publishers can offer inventory that they otherwise might reserve for direct buys to programmatic buyers at premium rates.

What is a Deal ID?

A Deal ID is the unique parameter passed in the bid request to the specified DSP(s) that enables the buyer to identify private marketplace inventory and bid accordingly. The Deal ID is ONLY sent to the specified DSP and is unique to each and every deal.

Why does a publisher need a Deal ID?

A publisher needs a Deal ID because it signals to the buyer when a certain impression is eligible for private marketplace buying. Because every Deal ID is unique, buyers use Deal IDs to target specific private marketplaces and bid at the agreed upon rates.

Deal IDs are particularly useful with inventory that is either a) non-transparent or b) not available in the open exchange. In both of these instances, a Deal ID is used to discretely communicate to the buyer the availability of exclusive inventory.

What price should the buyer enter in the DSP?

The buyer should enter the agreed upon rate plus the DSP's fees. So, if the deal is priced at $10, and the DSP charges a 15% fee, the buyer should enter $11.51 to ensure the bid clears the $10 deal floor.

How does a publisher get paid for a private marketplace?

Sharethrough pays the publisher directly for all private marketplace deals. We do not charge a revenue share on private marketplace deals; we only charge a vCPM tech fee.

Can a publisher set up multiple private marketplaces?

Yes, a publisher can set up as many private marketplaces as they want.

Can a publisher use the same Deal ID with multiple buyers?

Yes, a publisher can use the same Deal ID with multiple buyers. That said, a publisher can only choose one DSP and price floor per Deal ID. If the buyer wants to use a different DSP or pay a different price, the publisher must setup another private marketplace deal and generate a unique Deal ID.

How does a publisher know if a private marketplace is delivering?

SFP will report on both impressions and viewable impressions within 24 hours of delivery.

Does a private marketplace compete in the open exchange?

A priority deal does not compete in the open exchange. Priority deals will be given first right of refusal before the impression is sent to the open exchange.

Can a publisher prioritize a private marketplace ahead of their direct sell campaigns?

Yes. If a publisher wants to prioritize a private marketplace ahead of their direct sell campaigns, they can create a placement specific to private marketplaces, block all other demand from serving on that placement, and then traffic that placement in their ad server at a higher priority. In the event that the private marketplace deal does not fill the impression, they can then pass the impression back to their ad server, at which point one of their directly sold campaigns will serve.

A private marketplace isn't delivering. What should I do?

A private marketplace can fail to deliver for a number of reasons. Follow these troubleshooting steps before reaching out to support for additional help:

• Is the deal setup correctly? Does it have the correct placements assigned? Does it have the correct price floor? Is the correct DSP selected?
• Is the placement seeing traffic? Are we sending bid requests to the specified DSP?
• Is the buyer targeting the Deal ID through their DSP?
• Is the buyer bidding at or above the agreed upon rate?
• Is the DSP taking fees from the buyer's bid that are causing the bid to come in below the floor?
• Is the buyer bidding with a non-approved creative?

Can a publisher sell a private marketplace on a CPM or CPC basis?

No. SFP only supports private marketplaces on a vCPM model.