What is multi-format impression?
A multi-format impression is a single Imp that offers more than one media type at once, for example a banner and a video, or a native ad and a banner, so buyers with different creative types can compete for the same slot. The exchange picks one winner, and in OpenRTB 2.6 each bid states which media type it is in Bid.mtype.
Also called: multi-format, multiformat imp, mixed media impression.
How it works
Each media type is a sibling object on the impression: Imp.banner, Imp.video, Imp.audio, and Imp.native. Any combination is allowed, and every imp needs at least one. The bidder chooses which format to bid with and returns markup for that format only. Bid.mtype uses 1 for banner, 2 for video, 3 for audio, and 4 for native.
Floors are the hard part. Imp.bidfloor is one number for the whole impression, and core OpenRTB has no floor per media type, so a seller that wants video to clear higher than banner needs an extension, separate deals, or separate imps. Video.durfloors and Audio.durfloors (2.6-202309 and later) price by creative length, which helps only for the time-based formats.
Pitfalls: bids without mtype, which force the exchange to guess from the markup; an mtype naming a format the imp never offered; video markup returned against a banner win; and code on either side that reads only the first media object it finds. Most multi-format bugs show up only when a request and its response are checked together.
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Related terms
Every term is in the glossary.