OpenX is one of the oldest independent ad technology companies on the web. By 2014 it had been operating for about seven years, which made it younger than AdSense but a serious alternative for publishers who wanted more control over who bought their impressions.
What OpenX is
OpenX is a real-time advertising technology company. Its platform combined an ad server, a real-time bidding exchange and yield optimization for advertisers and digital media companies. In practice that meant a publisher could run direct campaigns, plug in ad networks and let exchange buyers bid on every impression from one dashboard. The company worked across desktop, mobile and native formats.
Partnerships that shaped it
- 2009: technology partnership with Microsoft Advertising.
- 2012: partnership with Dentsu in Japan, and Samsung AdHub chose OpenX technology for mobile advertising.
- 2013: partnerships with AdTruth for privacy-friendly device recognition and with Vox Media for brand advertising.
- February 2014: OpenX and Airpush joined forces on a mobile ad exchange combining OpenX's RTB exchange with Airpush's network.
Why publishers chose OpenX
Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 ranked OpenX the third fastest-growing software company in North America, with revenue growth of more than 44,000 percent between 2008 and 2012. In 2013 it had the second-largest publisher ad server install base after Google. The company said 96 percent of the top 100 brand advertisers and 58 percent of comScore 100 publishers worked with it, running around 250 billion monthly transactions and 12 billion daily bids. Its main competitors were Google's AdX and DoubleClick, AppNexus and the Facebook Exchange.
| Payment terms | Net 90 |
|---|---|
| Minimum payout | $100 |
| Pricing | CPM and CPC |
| Platforms | Desktop, mobile, tablet, smartphone |
| Ad units | Video, banner, pop-up, slider |
| Accounts | One account, unlimited websites |
| Support | 24/7 for publishers and advertisers |
What advertisers got
Advertisers made one consolidated payment for inventory across the exchange, set their own bid floors and could deliver ads to every device in standard sizes such as 320×50, 300×250, 728×90 and 160×600. Large buyers could connect their own bidding technology through OpenX's open APIs, while smaller ones used a self-serve account.
Exchanges and gambling demand
Programmatic exchanges like OpenX matter to gaming and betting publishers for one reason: competition. Online casinos and sportsbooks are among the highest bidders in many regulated markets, but they buy selectively and by country. An open exchange lets those buyers compete with brand advertisers for the same impression, which lifts the clearing price on sports, poker and casino-related pages. Our guide to gambling ad networks for publishers explains which exchanges and networks accept that traffic and how they price it. To turn exchange revenue into a comparable number, use the eCPM formula.
SiteAdWiki verdict (2014): a strong choice for mid-size and large publishers who want an independent ad server plus exchange demand. The long Net 90 payment terms are the main drawback for small sites.
