Modern technology has drastically changed the field of advertising. For publishers, it used to be a long, drawn-out process of negotiating with ad buyers for available ad real estate – often resulting in spaces left unsold.
Supply-side platforms (SSPs) have changed all that. These powerful yield optimization tools have made the process much faster, more precise, and ultimately far more effective. SSP advertising is in a game of its own.
In the sections below, we will cover the major SSPs and ad exchanges known by publishers in the business.
But before we do, let’s define SSPs and ad exchanges and go over what they do.
What is a supply-side platform? What is an ad exchange?
A supply-side platform – also known as a yield optimization platform – is an advertising technology platform where publishers can easily access, manage, sell, and optimize their ad inventory.
Publishers can sell display, video, and native ad spaces to advertisers on an impression-by-impression or visitor-by-visitor basis using real-time bidding (RTB). With better reporting and transparency, these publishers can better leverage their inventory by giving ad buyers and brands better insight into advertising demand. SSPs can then connect to DSPs and ad exchanges, essentially becoming an all-in-one system that connects supply to demand.
SSPs give publishers the ability to sell their inventory to the best ad networks. An ad network is one type of technology platform that functions as an intermediary between publishers and advertisers. SSPs can connect inventory to ad networks directly or they can connect via ad exchanges. SSPs’ expanded functionalities now even include ad-exchange mechanisms which give publishers the ability to connect to DSPs directly instead of via other ad exchanges.
An ad exchange is a marketplace where digital media can be bought and sold. The ad buyers, agencies, and brands use demand-side platforms (DSPs) to bid on individual ad impressions. That ad inventory being sold by publishers is connected from the supply-side delivered via SSPs.
Ad exchanges allow DSPs and SSPs to manage deals programmatically, often securing bids in under a second when they meet the correct parameters. Beyond real-time bidding, these exchanges have the functionality to serve as a means for publishers and advertisers to manage inventory directly.
To market all available inventory, SSPs send ad impressions to as many potential buyers as possible, with the goal of selling all inventory at the best price. Publishers can optimize their yield by connecting their ad stack to multiple ad exchanges and DSPs. In an instant, the SSP assesses and processes any requirements for creating the right match of a bid to inventory, sending a request to the matching ad server, once located.
Want to learn more about SSPs? Check out this article.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the top players when it comes to SSPs and ad exchanges.
The Best SSP Advertising Companies
Vistar Media
| Founded in | 2012 |
| Headquarters | New York |
| Offices | New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Toronto, Ontario; London, NWI; Sydney, Australia |
| Noteworthy | “We turn geo-temporal data into actionable insight about your consumers’ behavior.” “Our partnership with Vistar is a critical element of Topgolf Media’s success. From a single platform, we’re able to run highly targeted media campaigns across our global network, gain access to reporting metrics to improve yield optimization, and effectively monetize our inventory through their programmatic platform.” – Erin Huard, Director, Digital Partnerships, Topgolf Media |
| Website | https://vistarmedia.com/ |
Vistar Media offers a complete end-to-end programmatic ecosystem with a demand-side platform (DSP), supply-side platform (SSP), and digital signage software integrated to enable data-driven, automated, measurable DOOH transactions. The company currently features over 250 thousand digital screens globally, over 2550 programmatic campaigns completed, and 12 billion monthly impressions available on the Vistar exchange. Vistar is the leading source of programmatic demand for digital out-of-home including partnerships with the world’s leading omnichannel DSPs.
For media owners, the SSP advertising company Vistar Media offers the opportunity to easily manage inventory, command the best price across your ad stock, support direct sales side-by-side with new programmatic revenue, and streamline operations with workflow tools designed for enterprise-scale media owners.
Kubient
| Founded in | 2017 |
| Headquarters | New York |
| Offices | New York, NY; Moscow, Russia |
| Noteworthy | “Creating a new generation of audience automation platforms that harnesses data to connect brands across all digital channels, and ad formats.” “Our tech + audience specialists enable our partners to optimize the supply chain so they maximize the value of their audience, media budgets, and inventory yield. Enabling brands to stop buying placements and start reaching an audience of one at scale, and publishers from selling their site inventory to monetizing their audiences.” |
| Website | https://kubient.com/ |
Shifting digital advertising towards audience-based marketing, Kubient created the Audience Cloud, a single-entry, open marketplace for advertisers and publishers to reach, monetize, and connect to target audiences digitally with full-stack audience advertising. Their modular, end-to-end, cloud-based infrastructure features advanced, data-driven tools to buy and sell audiences. Kubient’s programmatic ecosystem features pre-bid ad fraud prevention for added transparency.
Kubient’s flexible end-to-end marketplace and audience platform gives advertisers and media partners the data-driven power to conduct hyperlocal geotargeting, display verified creative with proprietary Proof-of-Play (POP) tech, increase return on ad spend, and ultimately connect campaigns to the right audiences.
PubMatic
| Founded in | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Redwood City, CA |
| Offices | Redwood City, CA; New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; London; Hamburg; Munich; Milan; Stockholm; Amsterdam; Sydney; Tokyo; Singapore; Pune |
| Noteworthy | “The PubMatic platform empowers independent app developers and publishers to control and maximize their digital advertising businesses and enables advertisers to drive ROI by reaching and engaging their target audiences in brand-safe, premium environments across ad formats and devices.” |
| Website | https://pubmatic.com |
PubMatic’s cloud infrastructure and supply-side platform empower app developers and publishers to boost revenue and provide media buyers with the power to increase ROI with better engagement and reach. In addition to its 14 offices and eight data centers worldwide, PubMatic boasts access to more than 400 DSPs, ad networks, and ad exchanges.
Advertising inventory within PubMatic’s expansive network translates to better pricing and more premium partnerships. Its unified optimization engine provides superior analytics and reporting in order to better optimize advertising and yield in real-time. Comprehensive private marketplace (PMP) offerings make it easy for publishers to manage and package audiences and inventory for buyers with total control. PubMatic’s suite of ad quality tools provides peace of mind, by monitoring and preventing low-quality ads that could take away from the user experience.
Google Ad Manager
| Founded in | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, CA |
| Offices | Mountain View, CA; Austin, TX; Boulder, CO; Atlanta, GA; Ann Arbor, MI; Chicago, IL; Kitchener, ON; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Montreal, QC; New York, NY; Seattle, WA…etc. |
| Noteworthy | A complete platform to grow ad revenue and protect your brand wherever people are watching, playing or engaging. |
| Website | https://admanager.google.com/home/ |
Undoubtedly one of the most recognized names on this list, Google Ad Manager offers a complete platform to manage all ad content, analyze precise and thorough reporting, make better data-driven decisions, and grow revenue. Google Ad Manager for publishers is the result of merging its ad server Google FDP and ad exchange Google AdX into one powerful platform.
Google Ad Manager makes it easy to stay on top of all ad sources in one convenient location with out-of-the-box support for video, native, and custom ads. Ad Manager is also notably certified by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) for prevention against privacy, malware, and fraud.
Verizon Media
| Founded in | 2017 |
| Headquarters | New York, NY |
| Offices | Toronto, ON; Montreal, QC; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; New York, NY…etc |
| Noteworthy | A publisher-built SSP for better results |
| Website | https://www.verizonmedia.com/advertising/publishers |
Designed by publishers for publishers, Verizon Media’s SSP offers a streamlined, scalable supply solution packed with publisher expertise to earn the maximum revenue from ad content. Additionally, the SSP is connected to a host of successful ad exchanges and hundreds of top advertisers including unique Verizon Media demand.
From header bidding to guaranteed campaigns, Verizon Media’s SSP supports all transaction models. Their unified reporting solution includes rich data on buyer behavior, allowing publishers to view and manage their performance from one convenient location, optimizing their audiences, and gaining better insight into revenue drivers.
OpenX
| Founded in | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Pasadena, CA |
| Offices | Pasadena, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; London; Munich; Krakow; Tokyo |
| Noteworthy | We create programmatic marketplaces where premium publishers and app developers can best monetize their content by connecting with leading advertisers that value their audiences. |
| Website | https://www.openx.com |
OpenX is an integrated tech platform combining a supply-side platform, ad server, and real-time bidding exchange in one. App developers and premium publishers can monetize their content with scalable solutions by connecting to high-yielding ad exchanges, thereby maximizing the value for not only marketers and their brands but also demand partners. Their programmatic platform offers efficient services and maximum value to players involved on the supply and demand sides.
By offering a single-source location for programmatic auctions, OpenX’s SSP enables publishers to feature all their inventory in a single place and get the maximum prices for bids with powerful Demand Fusion tech. Various selling models are available, including private marketplaces for premium inventory and direct buyer relationships. Publishers can employ select filters that support their campaign goals and ensure the delivery of only high-quality ads. OpenX also provides customizable reports with actionable data and insights that publishers can use to drive better decision-making.
Amazon Publisher Services
| Founded in | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
| Offices | Seattle, WA; Arlington, VA; Atlanta, GA; Brooklyn, NY; Boulder, CO…etc |
| Noteworthy | Transparent Ad Marketplace Improve revenue with no impact on latency with one call to our cloud-based marketplace. Enjoy zero fees and direct relationships with programmatic buyers. Unified Ad Marketplace Easily grow earnings with one simple cloud header bidding integration. A single contract gives you access to unique demand from Amazon and other advertisers. Connections Marketplace Effortlessly connect with ad-tech services to help grow your business. Integrations require no extra development work and come with APS customer support. |
| Website | https://aps.amazon.com/aps/index.html |
Amazon Publisher Services offers a suite of cloud-based services with tech solutions from Amazon. Their specialized services include the Unified Ad Marketplace, Transparent Ad Marketplace, and Connections Marketplace. Amazon’s Transparent Ad Marketplace is a server-to-server marketplace that features revenue-boosting solutions that include header bidding, auction-level reporting, and access to a preferred partner network with a trusted partner.
Unified Ad Marketplace is an invitation-only service designed for web publishers with header bidding solutions and access to unique demand from Amazon and SSPs with one contract, one integration, and one payment method. The APS Connections Marketplace is a services marketplace that gives publishers the ability to review and test with helpful vendors across different categories without having to do any development work.
Xandr: formerly AppNexus Publisher
| Founded in | 2007 |
| Headquarters | New York, NY |
| Offices | New York, NY; Atlanta, GA; Mexico City, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Miami, FL; Stockholm, Sweden; Milan, Italy; Montreal, Canada…etc |
| Noteworthy | From the former AppNexus marketplace and enterprise technology, to AT&T’s data assets, clypd’s technology platform, to our partnership with AT&T and WarnerMedia, we’ve joined together to move the industry forward and to solve advertising’s greatest challenges. The connections we make through advertising fund award-winning journalism, music, video, and games-all at little or no cost to the consumers who enjoy open access to premium content. |
| Website | https://www.xandr.com |
Xandr boasts itself to be “the innovator at the intersection of digital and TV…solving for the greatest challenges for buyers and sellers.” This former AppNexus marketplace and enterprise technology partnered its resources with AT&T and WarnerMedia, combining with AT&T’s data assets and clypd’s technology platform. Xandr’s open, end-to-end platform features strategic selling solutions for publishers with holistic inventory management controls, unique data, and differentiated buyer demand.
Xandr features a number of programmatic solutions including Xandr Invest, Xandr Curate, and Xandr Marketplace, where programmatic bidding enables scaled, sophisticated campaigns on premium inventory on all screens. Xandr Monetize gives media companies the power to maximize the potential of their inventory and improve their consumers’ experience.
