Broadsign’s Reach Adds Ability For Media Owners From Multiple Supply Platforms To Bid On Ad Buys

July 19, 2022 by Dave Haynes

Broadsign has introduced an interesting new wrinkle with its Reach programmatic digital out of home platform – code that creates more availability by allowing multiple supply-side ad platforms to bid on ad slots.

Broadsign Reach Header Bidder, the company says, “enables media owners to consolidate and manage programmatic bids from multiple third-party supply-side-platforms (SSPs). Rather than the current practice of reserving a one-to-one slot for each SSP partner, the solution enables a one-to-many approach that allows media owners to simplify ad operations, maximize yield value, and increase fill rates regardless of the SSP handling the transaction.”

The driver for Header Bidder was how media owners are increasingly working with multiple SSPs. Typically, Broadsign explains in announcing the service, ad slots are allocated for for each SSP, which the software company says reduces the overall yield on the available inventory across all channels. “The new solution provides an alternative, streamlined approach, combining pDOOH demand from multiple SSPs into one slot in the ad loop and choosing the winning bid to play based on Broadsign’s fair play auction logic. Native integration with Broadsign Control also translates to a smoother, more immersive ad viewing experience for audiences, with media owner access to features like gapless playback, screen synchronization, pre-emptible campaigns, and pre-caching for faster ad loading and optimization.”

The service was first tested out in a beta program with some OOH media owners who were already working with Broadsign, including Australian DOOH operator QMS. “The Broadsign Reach Header Bidder is a big step in the right direction. pDOOH continues to be an enhancer to OOH and with its ongoing growth and demand from existing and new spenders in the category, this solution helps our business continue to focus on delivering client campaigns with precision, context, and impact,” says David Sutherland, QMS General Manager of Programmatic.

“Continued programmatic DOOH growth is essential to the future of OOH but requires industry-wide collaboration and innovation. The Broadsign Reach Header Bidder aligns with our mission of making it easy for media owners to tap into all available revenue streams, even if from a different platform,” says Edith Gagne, Vice President, Programmatic Success, Broadsign. “Consolidating programmatic demand from multiple SSPs into one environment will drive increased efficiency and optimized yield management, helping to fuel programmatic DOOH momentum overall.” 

The good news for existing Broadsign Reach users is that Header Bidder is available to them at no additional cost.

I like to include my thoughts on the relevance and value of these sorts of things, but I started going cross-eyed at “maximize yield value” and “fair play auction logic.” The programmatic DOOH world has its own jargon and a whole bunch of companies doing pretty much the same thing (as is very much the case with CMS software providers!). A lot of DOOH providers and ad supply platforms means complication and friction in the ad planning and execution process, so anything that makes it easier for media companies to get their ad inventory more heavily booked (or fully sold!) is undoubtedly welcome.