Calling all Adtech and Publishers: Discussion of Auction Flow Adtech and Publisher Input Requested

[TheMaskMaker]

In the Fledge call on 5/12 various adtech interests pointed out more complex business needs for the fledge proposal and auction mechanics not represented in the proposal. Michael Kleber of the Fledge Proposal indicated that they did not have complete understanding of the adtech needs involved and recommended discussion in the web-adv group of adtech to more clearly spec out the flows and relationships needed in an auction model.

As per that call, I wish to start a discussion and possibly call for an adtech focused meeting on the topic with publisher participation as well.

Of particular concern (in the Fledge call, see minutes below) were SSP and Publisher-Agent responsibilities to the publisher to earn them the most revenue, and how the theoretical responsible of these groups to earn publisher revenue are unexhaustive of the practical responsibilities, especially involving ensuring transparency and competition to provide publishers value.

We saw even in the Fledge call different needs and opinions from different companies in the same grouping, so there should be a great diversity of details to discuss. Not all ssps or publishers, for example, have the same needs. Integration type, size, power-imbalance and other factors create a variety of needs and duties that should be recorded. We should not leave anyone out.

We should spec out these needs. This could help inform any auction-based privacy proposal, including and especially flesh out the Fledge api readme which has been established to need more specifics as to the api, the data and the responsibilities of each party as indicated in the 4/28 call

Minutes Referenced:
5/12 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kr0hpfQ_Q1LX1aN00D5k_09yV_a7WE9RSn69nS3nZho/edit#heading=h.wrf7s4rh39jg)
4/28
https://github.com/WICG/turtledove/blob/main/meetings/2021-04-28-FLEDGE-call-minutes.md

[michaelkleber]

The referenced minutes from yesterday's FLEDGE call are now posted here.

[peligio]

Sounds interesting, but quite a bit to unpack there. It may be helpful to develop some sort of structure to break down the discussion so that participants can participate when relevant.

The FLEDGE discussions did highlight a level of ambiguity around different scenario handling at the 'seller' end (i.e. there's not just one 'seller'), so any future proposals need to consider the granularity of needs there (Brand safety, creative scanning/review, reporting, pricing/block lists/policy management, consent, demand partner integration/s, etc.). Some of these are mentioned in use cases at WABG and from PRAM, but a fleshed-out view on the flow may be useful.