Learning the Ad Exchange Process

Ad Exchange for display advertising is a complex process, which surprised me during our last class session.  With the complexity and different players involved, I can see that there is real opportunity if I ever decide to become an expert in the field.  In my attempt to understand the Ad Exchange process a bit better, I came across the Everyone Needs To Understand These Media Trading Models (But Few Do) article on adexchanger.com. The article explains the different display media trading models used today, which are represented in the Table of Trading Models image below.  Just to list them out here, the different media trading models are manual, real time guaranteed, media futures, programmatic guaranteed, open market, private market place, header bidding, programmatic direct, and first look.  The author then takes these 9 trading models and organizes them in a visual landscape by focusing on three key business transactions- inventory before trade, managing negotiations, and the deal's final price.  The visual landscape is represented in the Media Transcape image below.  The outcome of this effort shows that there is an upward trend in display ad prices from  an increase in demand within the trading environments, primarily due to real-time bidding and more effective inventory practices.   The author also comments that the technology is 'very much in flux', so we will have to see how the demand and prices change overtime as ad technology changes.