Ad-supported publishers are actively seeking opportunities to diversify their programmatic revenue streams and capture brand advertising budgets from demand-side platforms (DSPs). The operational output of this diversification goal is the creation of duplicate auctions for a single impression. Faced with auction duplication, enterprise marketers, agencies, and DSPs are pursuing supply path optimization initiatives with the goal of consolidating their bidding to a short list of high efficiency supply paths. This diversification vs. consolidation market dynamic is reshaping the ways publishers and advertisers transact and creates the need for a data-driven view into the pathways that create the most attractive economics for both buyers and sellers.

Jounce is a consulting business with a narrow focus on the advertising technology space. We partner with the world’s largest media buyers as they deploy data-driven programmatic supply strategies. Through these buy-side partnerships, we have developed the largest and most diverse data set that describes the ways in which programmatic advertisers participate in RTB auctions. It is comprised of four data sources:

To enable the most comprehensive possible understanding of each supply path for each publisher, we draw on these data sources and segment all available supply paths into five categories:

Jounce will conduct a one-time supply path audit of the specified domain, which will segment the universe of the publisher’s supply paths into these five categories. For each category, we will then provided quantified answers to the following questions:

1. What volume of display and video bid requests do DSPs receive?

2. How often does a qualified DSP bid fail to win an impression due to either (a) excess supply chain fees or (b) points of technical failure?

3. When marketers do win impressions, what clickthrough rate, viewability, and video completion rates do they observe?

To enable the publisher to more easily take action on these insights, we will also produce an enriched ads.txt file that labels the classification, payment chain, bidsteam activity, and performance metrics for each authorized supply path.

Jounce will synthesize all data during a 1 week research process and will then provide a detailed 30-40 page written report to the publisher. Once the publisher has had an opportunity to review Jounce’s report, we will then lead a 1-2 hour working session to discuss and debate the report’s insights as well as the actions that the publisher can take to improve its programmatic yield. Jounce does not require any data or systems access from the publisher to perform this audit.

Following the initial audit, the publisher may choose to engage Jounce Media to provide automated daily updates of all report charts through a web-based dashboard. The publisher may also engage Jounce to develop custom ad hoc analytics based on insights of the initial audit. These activities are beyond the scope of the phase 1 audit.