AppNexus and Rubicon Project have joined forces to launch an independent organisation focused on the development and promotion of open-source header bidding solutions, dubbed Prebid.org.
Header bidding is a programmatic technology used by many publishers to make their digital inventory available to all sources of demand simultaneously before the primary ad server is called – it replaces the traditional ‘waterfall’ or ‘daisy chain’ approach to programmatic trading and has significant benefits for both the buy and sell sides.
The site is open to those supporting “unbiased and efficient” monetisation solutions as well as fair competition in digital advertising. Partners joining Prebid.org commit to its code of conduct setting standards for data, transparency, user experience and header bidding wrapper mechanics.
Prebid.org’s director, and the CTO at Rubicon Project, Tom Kershaw, believes the launch marks “a crucial step forward” when it comes to industry-wide adoption of open-source header bidding tech.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates a collaborative commitment to buyers, sellers, and the advertising ecosystem as a whole as we continue to blaze this trail of sharing and openness in an effort to promote continued growth and monetisation opportunities for all parties,” he explained.
A collaborative community, Prebid.org includes 81 demand partner adapters, five analytics providers, and 191 individuals contributing code all focused on creating solutions to adapt to market and publisher needs.
AppNexus product line manager and Prebid.org chairman, Michael Richardson, highlighted the collaborative nature of the organisation as the “path forward” for programmatic: “Rather than independently competing, duplicating efforts, and wasting resources, we can push for fair competition and better results as a team,” he commented.