Glossary A–ZLetter A
Ad exchange
An ad exchange is an electronic marketplace on which advertising slots are traded automatically in auctions between sellers and buyers.
It receives offers from the sell side, collects bids and determines the winner. All this happens in fractions of a second.
In screen networks, the sell side reports a free slot in the loop to the exchange, for example on a screen in a railway station at a particular hour. The exchange passes the request on to connected buying platforms that bid on behalf of advertisers. The highest valid bid wins, and the creative is delivered and shown later. The line between exchange and sell-side platform is blurred; many providers combine both.
Operators should be aware that an exchange only brokers the deal: the operator on site remains responsible for what finally appears on the screen. Rules on which industries and buyers are admitted, and on whether creatives are checked before they play, are therefore important. It is also worth looking at which fees arise between the buyer's price and the operator's revenue.