IAB Tech Lab Announces Changes to OpenRTB Specification Update Cadence

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Nov 09, 2023, 13:45 ET

More Frequent Updates Make the Specification More Agile, User-Friendly, and Responsive to Industry Needs

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Focusing on being more responsive to the fast-paced, dynamic changes in the digital advertising ecosystem, IAB Tech Lab, the global digital advertising technical standards-setting body, announced a significant shift in its release cadence at the end of 2022. The OpenRTB specification transitioned from a single annual release to a more agile and responsive approach with multiple, smaller releases based on industry needs, resulting in two full releases and one additional release planned for December of 2023

"IAB Tech Lab is committed to fostering an ecosystem that promotes meaningful conversations based on features rather than version numbers," said Hillary Slattery, Director of Programmatic, Product, IAB Tech Lab. "Our move to more frequent, nimble releases and the introduction of provisional attributes are significant steps towards achieving this goal."

Historically, IAB Tech Lab released a comprehensive, nearly 100-page OpenRTB specification update once a year. This annual approach posed challenges for industry stakeholders, as it made it challenging to pinpoint meaningful updates relevant to their businesses and to incorporate updated functionality into their roadmaps efficiently.

The transition to smaller, more frequent releases ensures that industry participants can access and implement changes promptly and with greater precision. This approach better supports the rapid evolution of the digital advertising ecosystem and enables businesses to stay up to date with the latest developments.

In 2023, IAB Tech Lab made significant strides in enhancing the OpenRTB specification to serve the advertising community better. These updates included:

Enhancements to Better Identify Made for Advertising (MFA) Inventory:

Improved signaling for instream video that closed existing loopholes to help buyers accurately assess the value of video inventory.
Introduction of the "Object: Refresh" attribute, allowing for identifying ad unit refreshes, including when, why, and how often they occur.

Connected TV (CTV) Advancements:

Addition of support for duration floors, enabling the signaling of minimum CPMs in podded bidding scenarios.
Updated implementation guidance pertaining to deal hierarchy in programmatic environments.

By December 2023, IAB Tech Lab expects to introduce further improvements to its CTV offerings, including:

Mainlining the "ifa_type" attribute to indicate the persona of the party sending an identification.
The first Provisional Attribute, "Pod Deduplication", empowers sellers to instruct buyers not to bid when certain brands are ineligible to participate within an ad pod, in line with predefined rules.
Addition of attributes in the bid request and bid response to standardize signaling pertaining to Google's Protected Audience Auctions.

To streamline the integration of new attributes into the OpenRTB specification, IAB Tech Lab is introducing a provisional attribute mechanism. Proposed attributes that gain sufficient support from the Programmatic Supply Chain Working Group and receive quorum support from the Commit group will be directly incorporated into the OpenRTB specification as provisional attributes. This will simplify the adoption process for successful additions to the specification, ensuring that valuable updates are accessible to the industry promptly.

"The introduction of provisional attributes streamlines the process of incorporating valuable updates, allowing us to stay ahead and better serve our clients," said Bill Simmons, VP Product at The Trade Desk. "We are excited to be part of this progressive transformation within the OpenRTB specification and look forward to the positive impact it will have on our advertising community."

For more information about these changes or to stay updated on the OpenRTB specification, please visit https://iabtechlab.com/standards/openrtb/.

About IAB Technology Laboratory
Established in 2014, the IAB Technology Laboratory (Tech Lab) is a non-profit consortium that engages a member community globally to develop foundational technology and standards that enable growth and trust in the digital media ecosystem. Comprised of digital publishers, ad technology firms, agencies, marketers, and other member companies, IAB Tech Lab focuses on solutions for brand safety and ad fraud; identity, data, and consumer privacy; ad experiences and measurement; and programmatic effectiveness. Its work includes the OpenRTB real-time bidding protocol, ads.txt anti-fraud specification, Open Measurement SDK for viewability and verification, VAST video specification, and Project Rearc initiative for privacy-centric addressability. Board members/companies are listed at https://iabtechlab.com/about-the-iab-tech-lab/tech-lab-leadership/. For more information, please visit https://iabtechlab.com.

SOURCE IAB Tech Lab