Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

How Server-Side Bidding Can Hide Pricing Tricks

There are always tradeoffs in ad tech

An interview with:
Eric Berry
CEO, Co-Founder
TripleLift

Many publishers are selling their inventory through server-side bidding because it helps them improve their page speeds. But unlike browser-based header bidding, where bidding code is more visible to all parties involved, server-side bidding operates in a nontransparent environment because its code is only visible to the companies who control the server-to-server connections between disparate tech vendors. Eric Berry, CEO and co-founder of native ad platform TripleLift, spoke to eMarketer’s Ross Benes about how server-side bidding could change the pricing dynamics of programmatic ad buying.

eMarketer:

Why is pricing different in server-side bidding compared to browser-based header bidding?

Eric Berry:

With client-side header bidding there is a self-verifying mechanism that ensures, with some exceptions, the prices are accurate and there's nothing but a genuine auction going on. In a server-side header bidding world, you just generally don't get that. There's an infinite set of possibilities that you could be doing that make things complicated or reduce transparency between the buyer and the publisher.

eMarketer:

How might server-side bidding be used to hide pricing tricks?

Eric Berry:

Some SSPs pay on gross before fees are taken and some SSPs pay on net after fees are taken and [browser-side header bidding products] adjust the bid prices according to whether the SSP is putting in a bid at gross or net. But it’s not clear in server-side bidding that the bid adjusting is occurring. A vendor could submit impressions as gross and beat out those who submit as net through accounting as opposed to the reality of what the publisher is getting paid. It's such a nuance between gross and net that nobody would know what's going on.

eMarketer:

Why wouldn’t people be able to spot this in server-side bidding?

Eric Berry:

Nobody can audit your auction.

eMarketer:

Have you seen any companies use server-side bidding to hide their true prices?

Eric Berry:

I cannot know for sure that anyone is doing this, and I’m certainly not naming any names.

Interview conducted on August 14, 2018