Glossary A–ZLetter O
OpenRTB
OpenRTB is an open technical specification that defines how sell-side and buy-side platforms exchange bid requests and bids in automated advertising trading.
It is maintained by an online advertising industry body. It was originally designed for websites and apps.
A bid request describes the advertising slot on offer: format, location, time and other characteristics. The buy side responds with a bid and a reference to the creative. Since version 2.6, OpenRTB has included a dedicated object for digital out-of-home advertising, which describes the venue type among other things, as well as an object for the impression multiplier, because a screen reaches many people at once. Screens can thus be traded as a distinct kind of advertising slot alongside websites and apps.
For operators, it is important that their own management system or the connected sell-side platform supplies the necessary details correctly, such as location, screen size and multiplier. Screens also differ from websites in that time can pass between bid and display and the connection is not always available. OpenRTB governs the exchange, not the measurement of impressions or the checking of creatives.