Auction tiering in online advertising auction exchanges

• US 9,947,029 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AppNexus Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Collette, Jonathan, Dilling, Andrew S., Vu, Theresa
• Primary Examiner(s): Coppola, Jacob C
• Application Number:
  US13/538,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20140006170A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,118 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A method holding an auction for impressions in an online advertising platform includes defining auction tiers, with each tier having associated attributes. The tier attributes include a tier priority, an eligible bidder list, and a minimum bid threshold. Bids for the impressions are received from impression buyers, each bid being associated with an impression bidder and a bid value. For each received bid, the highest priority tier for which the tier attributes are satisfied by the bid attributes is determined, and that tier is associated with the bid. After assigning each bid to a tier, the highest priority tier with at least one bid is selected as the active auction tier. The winner of the auction is then determined based on the bids associated with the active tier.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of holding an auction for one or more impressions in an online advertising platform, the method comprising:

providing an online advertising platform comprising a transaction management server in a data center, wherein the data center includes a local network over which co-located subsystems in the data center communicate;

co-locating with the transaction management server in the data center plurality of bidder subsystems each associated with respective impression buyers to reduce latency and redirects in performing by the online advertising platform an auction to serve an impression to an impression consumer;

defining, by the transaction management server, a plurality of auction tiers, each tier having associated tier attributes comprising;

(i) a tier priority,

(ii) an eligible bidder list, and

(iii) a minimum bid threshold; and

in a single auction event for a sale of one or more online advertising impressions;

receiving, at the transaction management server, a request from an application executing on a device of an impression consumer for an advertisement to be served to the impression consumer; and

performing in real-time by the transaction management server, during a period of time between receiving the request and the advertisement being served to the device of the impression consumer, an auction to determine an advertisement to serve to the impression consumer, wherein performing the auction comprises;

receiving, at the transaction management server, over the local network, from one or more of the bidder subsystems, at least one bid for the impressions, each bid having associated bid attributes comprising an impression bidder and a bid value;

for one or more of the bids;

identifying, by the transaction management server, a respective first tier having a highest tier priority for which the tier attributes are satisfied by at least the bid attributes, the identifying comprising;

 

(a) selecting, as an evaluated tier, a highest priority tier in the plurality of auction tiers;

 

(b) validating that (i) the impression buyer of the bid is in the eligible bidder list for the evaluated tier, and (ii) the bid value satisfies the minimum bid threshold for the evaluated tier;

 

(c) upon determining that the validating is successful, associating the evaluated tier with the bid; and

 

(d) upon determining that the validating is unsuccessful, selecting, as the evaluated tier, a next highest priority tier in the plurality of auction tiers, and repeating step (b) until the validating is successful or there are no further tiers; and

associating the identified first tier with the bid;

selecting, as an active auction tier, a tier having a highest tier priority for which there is at least one associated bid;

determining, by the transaction management server, whether a budget associated with the active auction tier has been exceeded based on one or more of the bids associated with the active auction tier, wherein the budget is a monetary spend budget or an impression volume budget; and

determining, by the transaction management server, a winner of the auction event based on the bids associated with the active auction tier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the auction event is a real-time bidding auction event.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the tier attributes further comprise an eligible brand list, wherein the bid attributes further comprise a brand, and wherein the brand of a received particular bid is in the eligible brand list of the first tier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the tier attributes further comprise a tier budget, and wherein the bid value of a received particular bid does not cause a remaining budget of the tier budget of the first tier to be exhausted.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the tier attributes further comprise one or both of a required flight date and a required flight date range, wherein the impressions comprise a flight date, and wherein the flight date of the impressions satisfies the required flight date or flight date range of the first tier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tier attributes further comprise a required target, wherein the impressions comprise a target profile, and wherein the target profile satisfies the required target of the first tier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the bid attributes further comprise a brand.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying further comprises:

(e) upon determining that the validating is unsuccessful for all tiers in the plurality of auction tiers, assigning a lowest priority level to the bid, the lowest priority level representing a global auction event in which all of the impression buyers are eligible to bid.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more impression attributes associated with the impressions to be auctioned, and wherein identifying the first tier having the highest priority further comprises determining whether the first tier attributes are satisfied by at least the bid attributes and the impression attributes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the impression attributes comprise one or both of a flight date and a flight date range.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the impression attributes comprise at least one of a supply target profile and a user target profile.

12. A system for holding an auction for one or more impressions in an online advertising platform, the system comprising:

an online advertising platform comprising a transaction management server in a data center, wherein the data center includes a local network over which co-located subsystems in the data center communicate, a plurality of bidder subsystems each associated with respective impression buyers and co-located with the transaction management server in the data center to reduce latency and redirects in performing by the online advertising platform an auction to serve an impression to an impression consumer, the transaction management server comprising at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions and at least one processing unit for executing the instructions stored in the memory, wherein execution of the instructions programs the at least one processing unit to perform operations comprising;

defining a plurality of auction tiers, each tier having associated tier attributes comprising;

(i) a tier priority,

(ii) an eligible bidder list, and

(iii) a minimum bid threshold; and

in a single auction event for a sale of one or more online advertising impressions;

receiving, at the transaction management server, a request from an application executing on a device of an impression consumer for an advertisement to be served to the impression consumer; and

performing in real-time by the transaction management server, during a period of time between receiving the request and the advertisement being served to the device of the impression consumer, an auction to determine an advertisement to serve to the impression consumer, wherein performing the auction comprises;

 

receiving, at the transaction management server, over the local network, from one or more of the bidder subsystems, at least one bid for the impressions, each bid having associated bid attributes comprising an impression bidder and a bid value;

 

for one or more of the bids;

identifying a respective first tier having a highest tier priority for which the tier attributes are satisfied by at least the bid attributes, the identifying comprising;

 

(a) selecting, as an evaluated tier, a highest priority tier in the plurality of auction tiers;

 

(b) validating that (i) the impression buyer of the bid is in the eligible bidder list for the evaluated tier, and (ii) the bid value satisfies the minimum bid threshold for the evaluated tier;

 

(c) upon determining that the validating is successful, associating the evaluated tier with the bid; and

 

(d) upon determining that the validating is unsuccessful, selecting, as the evaluated tier, a next highest priority tier in the plurality of auction tiers, and repeating step (b) until the validating is successful or there are no further tiers; and

associating the identified first tier with the bid;

selecting, as an active auction tier, a tier having a highest tier priority for which there is at least one associated bid;

determining whether a budget associated with the active auction tier has been exceeded based on one or more of the bids associated with the active auction tier, wherein the budget is a monetary spend budget or an impression volume budget; and

determining a winner of the auction event based on the bids associated with the active auction tier.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the auction event is a real-time bidding auction event.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the tier attributes further comprise an eligible brand list, wherein the bid attributes further comprise a brand, and wherein the brand of a received particular bid is in the eligible brand list of the first tier.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the tier attributes further comprise a tier budget, and wherein the bid value of a received particular bid does not cause a remaining budget of the tier budget of the first tier to be exhausted.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the tier attributes further comprise one or both of a required flight date and a required flight date range, wherein the impressions comprise a flight date, and wherein the flight date of the impressions satisfies the required flight date or flight date range of the first tier.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the tier attributes further comprise a required target, wherein the impressions comprise a target profile, and wherein the target profile satisfies the required target of the first tier.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the bid attributes further comprise a brand.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the identifying further comprises:

(e) upon determining that the validating is unsuccessful for all tiers in the plurality of auction tiers, assigning a lowest priority level to the bid, the lowest priority level representing a global auction event in which all of the impression buyers are eligible to bid.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the impression bus is further for receiving one or more impression attributes associated with the impressions to be auctioned, and wherein identifying the respective first tier having a highest tier priority further comprises determining whether the first tier attributes are satisfied by at least the bid attributes and the impression attributes.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the impression attributes comprise one or both of a flight date and a flight date range.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the impression attributes comprise at least one of a supply target profile and a user target profile.