Guide to Ad Serving for AVOD and FAST TV

Ad serving is the process of delivering ads to online audiences through websites, apps, or other digital platforms. Ad serving involves multiple parties, such as advertisers, publishers, ad networks, ad exchanges, and ad servers. In this blog post, we will explain the basics of ad serving for two popular types of streaming TV services: AVOD and FAST TV.

What are AVOD and FAST TV?

AVOD stands for ad-supported video on demand. It is a streaming service that allows users to watch videos whenever they want, with ads included. AVOD services can be free or require a subscription, depending on the content and features they offer.

FAST TV stands for free ad-supported TV. It is a streaming service that offers linear channels that deliver scheduled programming to a mass audience, with ads included. FAST TV services are always free and do not require a subscription.

How does ad serving work for AVOD and FAST TV?

Ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV typically involves the following steps:

1. The advertiser creates an ad campaign and uploads the ad creative (the image, video, or text that makes up the ad) to the ad server. The advertiser can choose from different types of ads, such as banner ads, video ads, native ads, or interstitial ads. The advertiser can also create different versions of the same ad for testing purposes.
2. The advertiser sets the targeting criteria for the ad campaign, such as the audience demographics, interests, behaviors, locations, devices, etc. The advertiser can also set the budget, bid, and schedule for the campaign. The targeting criteria help the advertiser reach the most relevant and qualified users for their products or services.
3. The publisher integrates the ad server’s code (called an ad tag) into their website or app, where they want to display ads. The publisher can also customize the look and feel of the ads to match their content and design. The publisher can also set their own preferences and rules for accepting or rejecting ads from different advertisers or categories.
4. When a user visits the publisher’s website or app, the ad tag sends a request to the ad server for an ad that matches the user’s profile and the publisher’s inventory (the available ad space). The request contains information about the user (such as their IP address, browser type, device type, etc.) and the publisher (such as their URL, page content, etc.).
5. The ad server selects the best ad for the user based on the advertiser’s targeting criteria and the publisher’s preferences (such as price, relevance, quality, etc.). The selection process can involve different methods, such as direct deals (where the publisher agrees to show a specific ad from a specific advertiser), auctions (where multiple advertisers compete for the same ad space), or mediation (where the publisher uses multiple ad servers or networks to fill their inventory).
6. The ad server delivers the selected ad to the user’s browser or app, and records an impression (a count of how many times the ad was shown). The delivery process can involve different formats, such as HTML (where the ad is embedded in the web page), JavaScript (where the ad is loaded dynamically), or SDK (where the ad is integrated into a native app).
7. If the user clicks on the ad, the ad server records a click (a count of how many times the user interacted with the ad), and redirects the user to the advertiser’s landing page (the website or app where the user can take an action, such as buying a product or signing up for a service). The redirection process can involve different methods, such as direct link (where the user goes straight to the landing page), click tracker (where an intermediate URL tracks and verifies the click), or deep link (where the user goes directly to a specific section of an app).
8. If the user completes an action on the advertiser’s landing page, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, the ad server records a conversion (a count of how many times the user performed a desired action), and calculates the revenue for the advertiser and the publisher. The conversion process can involve different methods, such as pixel (where a small image on the landing page triggers a conversion), postback (where a server-to-server communication confirms a conversion), or SDK (where an app-to-app communication confirms a conversion).
9. The ad server generates reports for both the advertiser and the publisher, showing various metrics and insights on how their ads performed. The reports can include data such as impressions, clicks, conversions, revenue, cost per action (CPA), return on investment (ROI), click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate (CR), etc.

What are the benefits of ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV?

Ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV has several benefits for both advertisers and publishers, such as:

• For advertisers, ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV allows them to reach a large and engaged audience of cord-cutters and cord-nevers who prefer streaming over traditional TV. Ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV also allows them to deliver relevant and personalized ads to users based on their preferences and behaviors, and measure their effectiveness and ROI.
• For publishers, ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV allows them to monetize their content and audience with ads that match their quality standards and user experience. Ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV also allows them to optimize their inventory and revenue by using different methods and techniques, such as frequency capping, A/B testing, dynamic creative optimization, retargeting, programmatic advertising, etc.

Conclusion

Ad serving is a key component of online advertising that connects advertisers and publishers through technology. Ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV allows advertisers to display their ads to online audiences who watch videos on demand or live channels, and measure their performance. Ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV also allows publishers to monetize their content and audience with ads that suit their quality standards and user experience. Ad serving for AVOD and FAST TV can also help improve online advertising by using various techniques to deliver more relevant and engaging ads to users.