A Deal ID, otherwise known as Deal Identifier, is a unique number that is usually generated for a programmatic direct deal, for instance an auction or preferred deal by a publisher’s supply-side platform.
It enables buyers to identify the publishers in the auction and base the decision of the inventories they purchase on pre-negotiated terms. Simply put, it is a great way for advertisers to ensure that they’re buying the correct inventories from publishers.
So essentially, Deal ID is something that has become important for both publishers and advertisers who are selling and buying media programmatically.
How does Deal ID work?
In a private auction, a limited number of premium ad inventories are made available by publishers for selected advertisers. The publisher negotiates terms by sending a proposal to the buyer, and both must be satisfied.
When this is finalised, the publisher’s server creates a Deal ID. This ID is passed along with the bid request, which helps demand-side platforms to recognise the bid and deal.
When the auction begins, the publisher sends a bid request with the same Deal ID to the demand partners. As soon as this is received by the buyers’ side it is matched with the ID provided to them and then they can participate in the auction.
A preferred deal is a one-to-one selling and buying advertising model in which the publisher sells a fixed amount of ad inventories at a fixed CMP rate to one advertiser. As in a private auction, the publisher sends a Deal ID to the advertiser via the first-party platform, for instance the ad server. When the buyer’s side receives the bid request with Deal ID, they return the bid response with the same ID.
What are the benefits of Deal ID?
- Deal ID is a good way for matching buyers and sellers according to pre-negotiated criteria. An example of the terms in the criteria could be the minimum amount a buyer can bid, section of the site and many more.
- Deal ID can be used by publishers to differentiate deals to a buyer’s objectives.
- Using Deal ID also offers greater control and flexibility over premium ad inventories to both publishers and advertisers.
- Not all advertisers are allowed to buy inventories, and only buyers with the Deal ID can ultimately bid and win the impressions, meaning there is better ad campaign quality.
- It allows increased transparency since the publisher and advertisers are already aware of who will be buying their inventories and who will be targeted by an ad.
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