The Commerce Desk not too long ago made waves with the rollout of OpenPath, its direct-to-publisher providing, and its plan to show off Google Open Bidding, a one-two punch in provide path optimization (SPO).

Each of those SPO strikes may reshuffle the advert shopping for ecosystem, making publishers much less reliant on SSPs and reducing off a income supply for Google’s Open Bidding.

However does OpenPath actually characterize a seismic shift? And the way fearful ought to supply-side platforms be about being singled out as expendable hyperlinks within the provide chain?

The DL on SPO

The Commerce Desk’s SPO strikes present media shopping for platforms are severe about discovering options that foster direct connections between advertisers and publishers.

Proponents of SPO need to remove pointless take charges, cut back information leakage and improve value transparency so publishers hold a higher share of advert income and advertisers see increased win charges.

Regardless of being disintermediated by The Commerce Desk, Google says it’s in favor of something that works for the writer from a monetization standpoint so long as it additionally drives outcomes for the advertiser – even when meaning a platform “optimizes” away from Google.

“Google has been centered on enabling an ad-supported internet, monetization for publishers and outcomes for advertisers,” Dan Taylor, Google’s VP of worldwide adverts, stated on stage in late February at AdExchanger’s Trade Preview occasion. “If we stick a bunch of charges within the center that stop that from occurring, that’s not good for anyone.”

Navigating OpenPath

With OpenPath, The Commerce Desk can bypass SSPs to entry writer stock immediately as long as the writer makes use of Prebid.

The Commerce Desk seems as an possibility inside the writer’s Prebid wrapper, permitting the writer to ship bid requests on to its DSP, not not like how an SSP sends requests to an advert change, stated The Commerce Desk’s VP of writer stock improvement, Will Doherty.

So … does that make The Commerce Desk an SSP or an change?

The Commerce Desk has little interest in changing into both, Doherty instructed AdExchanger. The corporate has been pushing again towards the thought it’s attempting to chop SSPs out of the provision chain solely. Publishers can proceed to make use of SSPs through OpenPath in the event that they select to.

“SSPs cowl a large floor space throughout areas, codecs and writer varieties,” Doherty stated. “They’re additionally crucial to standing up industry-wide initiatives, like UID 2.0.”

Winners and losers

However what good is an SPO resolution if it doesn’t take away pointless bloat from the provision path?

Life received’t change all that a lot for SSPs with so much to supply publishers by the use of yield administration, media varieties and stock administration options like non-public marketplaces. However people who don’t ought to in all probability be involved.

“SSPs should be greater than only a pipe,” stated FatTail CEO Doug Huntington.

The Commerce Desk is explicitly not providing yield administration companies to its OpenPath writer companions, which means SSPs that lean into their yield options ought to be positive.

There’s a whole lot of room for SSPs to proceed to supply worth within the provide chain, stated PubMatic CCO Jeff Hirsch, quoting Commerce Desk CEO Jeff Inexperienced.

PubMatic’s precedence has been to pursue SPO relationships that enable it to work intently with patrons, Hirsch stated.

“We assist them determine precisely what they should see within the provide chain to be efficient and work with publishers to then stability that and maximize their yield,” he stated.

Pricing transparency and eliminating charges

SPO is supposed to extend pricing transparency by eliminating gamers that resell impressions or misrepresent bid costs to extend their take charge. However publishers utilizing OpenPath will nonetheless should pay charges to The Commerce Desk. It stays to be seen whether or not publishers can pay decrease charges total.

“It’s fascinating that The Commerce Desk is charging a price, as a result of our understanding was that they have been at all times going to be on the advertiser facet,” Huntington stated. “For those who’re charging a price, you’re now on each side – so who’s finally representing the writer’s curiosity?”

Some {industry} insiders have additionally expressed doubt that working with the DSP this fashion will maximize their yield. Reducing charges in comparison with SSP take charges could not make up for the constructive results these SSPs can have on yield.

The change we wanted?

If SSPs can proceed to be beneficial companions for publishers, does OpenPath really characterize a brand new world for SPO?

Direct-to-publisher connections that bypass SSPs are uncommon, however they aren’t new. For instance, though Criteo Direct Bidder has supplied direct connections to publishers for years, publishers nonetheless use SSPs. GroupM’s Premium Market product tackles SPO by providing advertisers a direct connection to writer stock, though it depends on SSP companions reminiscent of Magnite or PubMatic.

The SSP’s position in these SPO options means that the true pattern is sustained consolidation down to a couple trusted companions reasonably than the wholesale elimination of SSPs, stated Magnite CRO Sean Buckley.

“This theme of consolidation goes to drive spend towards scaled, well-resourced firms with broad-based capabilities on the provision facet,” Buckley stated. “For those who’re solely working with one or two companions, it turns into extra achievable to construct these complete SSP partnerships round yield administration, billing and reconciliation and [other] companies.”

Living proof, though GroupM culled its complete variety of partnerships, it now spends proportionately extra with them.

“That’s how the {industry} will shake out,” stated GroupM international head of funding Andrew Meaden.

The writer POV

However what about publishers? Eradicating Open Bidding could also be a boon to bigger publishers, but it surely may find yourself being a burden for smaller ones.

Publish-OpenPath, publishers that aren’t immediately linked to The Commerce Desk will lose the income they gathered by way of Open Bidding, FatTail’s Huntington stated.

The true worth of SPO from the writer’s perspective, nonetheless, will come from making demand interoperable in Prebid and permitting for absolutely programmatic sell-side advert servers, stated Information Corp VP of Information, Identification and Advert Tech Stephanie Layser.

If DSPs immediately integrates into header bidding wrappers, she stated, the “public sale bottleneck collapses, and you’ve got one much less step.”

“The issue is that the biggest gamers tie their demand to their header bidding resolution, and so they don’t interoperate with different header bidding options,” Layser stated. “In the event that they did, publishers would have alternative and higher yield.”