If you search for the definition of “ad server,” you’ll get a lot of different answers. That’s because ad servers have been around for years in the online space and serve different functions depending on who is using them. Online advertisers (buyers) use ad servers to manage their creative and track the performance of their ads across the internet. Publishers (sellers) use ad servers to manage campaigns they’ve sold to run on their sites or mobile apps.
In order to understand how ad serving works in digital out-of-home, you need to know the difference between a CMS and an ad server.
- A traditional CMS (content management system) is a scheduling engine.
- An ad server is a decision-making engine.
What is a CMS for DOOH ads?
A CMS, or content management system, like Vistar Media's Cortex CMS, is a foundational part of the ad-serving process. Think of it as the engine that drives ads to right place, ensuring the ad gets to where it needs to go within the entire digital signage network. In addition to that, the CMS ensures screens are functioning. Without the CMS, it would be impossible to track every screen you own, which could be in the hundreds. Instead, the CMS allows you to track down a malfunctioning screen so you can get it fixed immediately.
What is an ad server?
An ad server is the scheduling engine that allows you to easily manage direct ad buys, loop-based serving and programmatic buys between your revenue opportunities. Whether marketers buy screens directly for loop-based ads or purchase them through a programmatic marketplace, which allows for intelligent targeting, a media owner can zoom out and see all the screens purchased. It's the one place media owners can see how full their inventory is.
What’s the difference between a CMS and an ad server?
Today, you probably use a CMS to manage the ads and content that appears on your screens. Most CMSs are designed to deliver a predetermined schedule or loop. When you sell a campaign, you enter it into your CMS (e.g., “1 spot in your loop for 4 weeks”), select the screens you want to run the ads on, and your CMS pushes a schedule to your screens in the field. Your devices store the schedule, and if everything goes according to plan, your screens loop over the schedule until they get something new from your CMS.
An ad server operates differently. Rather than pushing a predetermined schedule to your screens, your screens “pull” the most relevant ad for each spot in real time by making “requests” to the ad server. You give the ad server rules for each campaign you sell (e.g., “deliver 1MM impressions, in the following zip codes, over the next 4 weeks"). When a screen needs an ad to play, it will ask the ad server in real time for an ad. The ad server will look at all the campaigns it needs to deliver and pick the best one based on the rules you’ve defined.
Both a CMS and ad server are imperative to operating a successful digital out-of-home network — but leave the CMS to manage your content. By limiting your network to only sell a spot in a loop, you're leaving revenue on the table. Optimize your inventory and take the headache out of scheduling with an ad server.
Maximizing your DOOH network with the right tools
If you want to successfully run DOOH ad campaigns, you need to understand the difference between a DOOH CMS and an ad server. While a CMS is ideal for delivering scheduled content across screens, it doesn’t provide the real-time flexibility and dynamic decision-making capabilities that an ad server can offer. However, when pairing a CMS with an ad server, you can have the best of both worlds, allowing you to optimize ad placement, enhance audience targeting, and potentially increase revenue.
An ad server takes your DOOH network to the next level by optimizing each available slot. This means you can dynamically select ads based on real-time criteria and advertiser goals. If you’re looking to maximize the potential of your ad inventory and reduce the complexities of manual scheduling, integrating an ad server is the key to a more responsive and profitable DOOH strategy. To learn more about Vistar’s ad-serving solutions or for a free demo, contact us.
