How do you handle discrepancies or errors in win notices from different SSPs or exchanges?

1 What are win notice discrepancies or errors?

Win notice discrepancies or errors occur when the information or data in the win notice does not match the actual ad delivery or the expected outcome. This could mean a win notice indicates an ad impression was won at a certain price, but the ad server reports a different price or no impression at all. Additionally, a win notice might contain invalid or missing data such as an incorrect ad ID, wrong timestamp, or malformed URL. These discrepancies or errors can have serious consequences for both buyers and sellers, such as underdelivery or overdelivery of ad impressions, inaccurate reporting and analytics, mismatched billing and payments, reduced trust and transparency between parties, and lowered ad quality and user experience.

2 What causes win notice discrepancies or errors?

Win notice discrepancies or errors can occur due to various causes, depending on the source, format, and transmission of the win notice. Technical issues, such as network latency or bugs in software or hardware, can lead to missing or corrupted data. Human errors, like typos or misconfigurations, can result in incorrect data in the win notice. Fraudulent activities by bad actors can also generate fake or invalid win notices. All of these issues can significantly impact the programmatic media buying process.

3 How do you detect win notice discrepancies or errors?

Detecting win notice discrepancies or errors as soon as possible is the first step to handle them. You can compare the data from the win notice with other sources, such as the ad server, DSP, or SSP. Utilize tools or platforms to aggregate and reconcile the data from different sources, and flag any discrepancies or anomalies. Additionally, monitor the key performance indicators (KPIs) of your ad campaigns for deviations or drops. Furthermore, audit the quality standards of the win notices and ad inventory, such as format, content, delivery, and verification of ads. Use tools or platforms to check and validate quality standards and report any violations or issues.

4 How do you resolve win notice discrepancies or errors?

The second step to handle win notice discrepancies or errors is to resolve them quickly and efficiently. You can communicate with your programmatic media buying partners, such as SSPs, exchanges, DSPs, or ad servers, to identify and confirm the source and scope of the discrepancy or error. Additionally, you can adjust the settings of your ad campaigns, such as budget, bid, frequency, or targeting to compensate for or correct the discrepancy or error. Moreover, you can request compensation or refund from your programmatic media buying partners if the discrepancy or error has caused a significant loss or damage to your ad campaigns. Tools or platforms can be used to facilitate communication and collaboration between parties, automate and optimize campaign settings, calculate and negotiate the compensation or refund amount, and process and verify payment transactions.

5 How do you prevent win notice discrepancies or errors?

The third step to handle win notice discrepancies or errors is to prevent them from happening again in the future. This can be done by establishing clear agreements with your programmatic media buying partners, such as terms and conditions, policies and procedures, service level agreements (SLAs), or key value pairs (KVPs). Additionally, implementing best practices and standards for the process, such as OpenRTB protocol, IAB Tech Lab guidelines, Ads.txt initiative, or Sellers.json file can provide common and consistent rules and specifications for the win notices and ad inventory. Finally, testing and optimizing regularly can help identify and fix any potential or existing issues or errors in your win notices or ad inventory. Tools or platforms can be used to create and manage agreements, support and enforce best practices and standards, and perform and automate testing and optimization tasks.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?