Header bidding with IMA SDK (Beta)

This feature is in Beta
Features in Beta phase might not be available in your network. Watch the release notes for when this feature becomes generally available.

Head bidding trafficking for the IMA SDK

Header bidding trafficking (HBT) supports in-stream video inventory served client-side using the IMA SDK. This feature is on by default for HBT partners who have IMA SDK inventory enabled for header bidding on web and mobile web. 

Setup and availability

There is no additional development work; the IMA SDK automatically receives bid values from the Prebid tag. Once enabled, HBT functionality will replace legacy header bidding line items.

Availability is as follows:

In scope	Out of scope
IMA HTML5 client-side SDK	Remaining IMA client-side SDKs, including Android, Cast, iOS, tvOS, and IMA DAI SDKs

 

The IMA SDK will collect client-side Prebid signals (including bid request max duration, skippability, and category exclusions). Prebid can support a video ad pod integration with Google Ad Manager. The header bidding trafficking IMA SDK works with both standard and optimized video ad pods. If any required HBT signals are missing, the IMA will revert to the legacy PPLI implementation.

Protections

Partners who do not want their IMA SDK video inventory run through HBT can opt out by creating an inventory exclusion rule for the "Header bidding" demand source.

Line Item setup without a cache

To support situations where publishers do not leverage a server for caching VAST XML files for the web inventory, the HTML5 IMA SDK will source files directly from the clientside Prebid object.

A new Prebid specific protocol has been created to enable this functionality. The new Prebid protocol follows the format prebid://?adid=%%PATTERN:key%% and needs to be applied in the Creative user interface in Ad Manager. 

1. Navigate to the Creatives tab.
2. Select VAST Creatives.
3. Click New Creative.
4. Click Redirect.
5. Add or update your VAST tag URL using the prebid://?adid=%%PATTERN:key%% format. The key should be hb_adid_BIDDERCODE for setups with per-bidder line Items, and hb_adid otherwise.
   1. For example, if this creative is associated with line items specific to hb_bidder=pubmatic, the URL should be prebid://?adid=%%PATTERN:hb_adid_pubmatic%%
   2. If the line items aren’t specific to any bidder, it should be prebid://?adid=%%PATTERN:hb_adid%%
6. Update all other required fields.
7. Click Save and preview.

Fees

Ad Manager charges video ad serving fees, in addition to the standard ad serving fees. This update aligns the fee structure with the price priority line items used for IMA traffic.

Reporting

Report on video IMA SDK activity for header bidding trafficking using the following dimensions:

• Request type: Review the "Video tag" value.
• Demand channel: Review the "Header bidding" value.
• Video SDK version: Review the IMA SDK version that’s running.