Overview

Serverside.ai enables integration with both certified third-party ad servers and your own ad server through a generic connector, supporting server-to-server ad requests, SSAI inventory management, and advanced audience targeting. 

This documents provides the requirements, structure, and parameter configuration needed to maximize ad delivery and monetization.

Certified and generic connectors

Serverside.ai provides certified connectors to third-party ad servers and supply-side platforms (full-stack solutions), including:

• Equativ
• Google Ad Manager 360
• Freewheel

In addition to these certified integrations, Serverside.ai also offers a generic connector for fast and easy integration with your own ad server. For more information, see Generic VAST Adapter (GVA).

Server-to-server ad request requirements

Your ad server configuration must meet the following requirements to request ads via a server-to-server connection:

• All video ads must be able to be transcoded: a transcoded ad can be formatted into different adaptive bitrates (ABR) to increase or reduce the number of pixels compressed in that particular ad. The higher the pixel count, the higher the quality of the ad. Only ads that can be transcoded are supported through Serverside.ai.
• All video ads must be VAST-compliant: the IAB’s Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) is a standardized video format that facilitates communication between video players and ad servers, enabling ad delivery across all publishing platforms. All video ads used with SSAI must comply with VAST specifications.
• Set up unique ad units for your SSAI inventory: when creating your SSAI inventory, ensure you configure SSAI-specific ad units. This allows you to track and report SSAI campaign delivery, prevent non-compliant video ads from being targeted to SSAI inventory, and reduce trafficking errors.

SSAI inventory structure in SSP ad server

Inventory refers to the space within your AVOD content and linear programs where video ads are inserted and played back. The structure of your SSAI inventory should mirror the organization of your video offering. 

Depending on your SSP ad server vendor, the structure and hierarchy of your inventory might differ. In general, you’ll have a dedicated account that includes a seat and publisher code, making it recognizable to external DSPs and advertisers. Below this level is the brand, and further below, the supply item level, which allows you to organize your content categories, applications, sites, and device types. 

As a sub-element, you have ad units, where campaigns (also called line items) are managed. This is also the level at which VAST ad tags are generated and targeting is assigned. 

For more information, contact your account manager or your SSP ad server vendor.

Audio normalization

When your video ad content is ingested and transcoded, Serverside.ai reviews the ad’s loudness and normalizes it to broadcast industry standards (ATSC/EBU levels). 

If ingestion and transcoding aren't completed prior to launch, they will occur upon the first monetizable impression. We recommend keeping the stream running in different locations and with different accounts for 24 hours before releasing it on your platform. This ensures that most available ads are conditioned in advance, maximizing monetization for your channel.

Customer targeting using key-value pairs

Custom targeting can be defined using key-values. These pairs are included in ad tags and referenced in campaign targeting settings. When an SSAI ad request is sent from your content with key-values in its ad tags, campaigns targeting those key-values become eligible to serve for that request. 

Key-values can be used for a variety of purposes, for example, to identify content categories, specific programs, commercial breaks, or other types of ad inventory. They can also represent information about viewers who have subscribed to your service, enabling audience-based ad targeting. Such audience data might include gender, age, HHI, or custom persona profiles. 

Key-value pairs can be added at the channel level (globally for all users) or on individual player requests to achieve optimal performance in ad insertion and campaign fulfillment. These values can be as dynamic as needed. Ensure that all key-values are configured within the associated campaign and formatted according to your SSP’s requirements, as the format might vary between vendors.

Example HLS live stream with ad server parameter

Request manifest with ad parameter

GET https://mydomain.com/hls/{channel-id}/master.m3u8

Query parameters

The following query parameters can be included in your SSAI ad requests.

https://mydomain.com/hls/view/:channelId?api-key=:apiKey&ifa=987654321&context=web&player_width=1260&player_height=720&regs[gdpr]=true&custom[gender]=male