How do you add a deal ID to a buying platform and confirm it bids?
Part of Curated deals and PMPs
The short answer
To add a deal ID, record it in the buying platform's deal or inventory library with the exact exchange, format, price type, rate, currency and dates the seller confirmed. Then target that entry in an active line item, check that bid requests carrying the ID arrive, and log the ID in a shared deal register for reuse.
Key takeaways
- Collect the full hand-off before typing anything, because some fields, such as the exchange and inventory format, cannot be edited after the entry is saved.
- A deal entry does nothing until an active line item targets it, and some platforms target open auction inventory by default.
- A deal register with the ID, exchange, seat, terms, dates and owner turns a one-time setup into something the next flight can reuse safely.
What details should come with a deal ID before it is entered?
A deal ID on its own is a string of characters. The buying platform needs several other values to store it correctly, and an entry built on guessed values looks valid but does not match the seller's setup. Ask for every field below in one written message from the seller or curator.
| Field | Why the buying platform needs it | What goes wrong without it |
|---|---|---|
| Deal ID, copied as text | It is the key matched against each bid request | A transposed character produces an entry that never sees traffic |
| Exchange or SSP name | The platform stores the deal against one exchange connection | The entry sits on the wrong exchange and cannot be moved later on some platforms |
| Inventory format | Display, video, audio or native decide which creatives can serve | Creatives are filtered out, or the format must be re-entered as a new record |
| Price type and rate | Fixed price and auction deals are stored differently | Bids go out below a fixed price, or an auction floor is treated as a price |
| Currency | The rate is read in the currency the seller used | A CAD rate is read as USD, or the reverse |
| Start and end dates | The platform will not bid outside the deal's dates | The line item launches before the deal is live and sees nothing |
| Allowed seat and advertiser domains | The seller restricted the deal to named buyers | Bids are rejected even though the entry and targeting look right |
How do you add a deal ID to a buying platform?
Platforms call the same object a deal, an inventory source or a deal library item, so the steps below are generic. As one documented example, Google's Display & Video 360 help (opens in a new tab) describes a manual entry under Inventory, then My Inventory, with fields for name, ID, exchange, inventory format, creative requirements, rate type, rate, dates and the advertisers that may use it. It says the ID, exchange and inventory format cannot be changed after saving.
Add one deal ID to a buying platform
- Check that the exchange is switched on for your account. Display & Video 360's exchange settings page (opens in a new tab) says an exchange must be enabled before its inventory can be targeted in line items or added when creating a deal.
- Look for a synced copy first. Google's synced deals page (opens in a new tab) says synced deals appear in Negotiations with an Action required status, and that a deal created by hand from its ID is not synced automatically. Accept the synced copy instead of typing a duplicate.
- Create the entry from the written hand-off. Paste the ID rather than typing it, then set the exchange, format, price type, rate, currency and dates from the seller's message.
- Name the entry so a stranger can read it. Include the seller, the client, the format and the flight.
- Limit who can use it. Grant access only to the advertisers the deal was agreed for, so a different client's campaign cannot pick it up by mistake.
- Save, then reopen the entry. Compare every saved value with the hand-off before any line item points to it.
Definition
- Inventory source
- The buying platform's record of a deal that line items can target. It stores the deal ID with its exchange, format, terms and dates.
How do you target a deal in a line item without buying everything else?
Saving a deal entry does not tell any campaign to use it. Google's inventory source targeting help (opens in a new tab) says a Display & Video 360 line item with no inventory source targeting targets open auction inventory on all enabled exchanges, and that deals are targeted only when the deal, or a deal group, is added.
So a line item that adds the deal but leaves open auction switched on can spend on the open market too. When the brief calls for deal-only delivery, remove open auction there and keep any open market buying in a separate line item.
IAB Tech Lab's Deals API specification (opens in a new tab) adds that deal criteria are not guaranteed to be reflected in bid requests carrying the deal ID, and that buyers should always apply matching targeting on their side. A deal agreed for two states carries that geography in the line item too.
How do you confirm a deal is receiving bid requests?
Confirm activation as a chain of stages and check each one before blaming the next. A deal can be saved but untargeted, targeted but outside its dates, or receiving requests with no bids.
Google's troubleshooting help (opens in a new tab) describes a line item view that can be narrowed to one targeted deal and shows total available requests, bid responses, impressions won and win rate, with those totals available within an hour. Other platforms may give the same answer through a deal report split by day.
The Deals API names the buyer side stages in its BuyerStatus object, reported per seat. The values give a shared vocabulary for status calls with the seller, even between platforms that do not use the API.
| Value | Specification meaning | What the trader checks next |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Pending approval | Accept or review the deal in the buying platform |
| 1 | Buyer has approved; a non guaranteed deal is ready for bid requests | Point an active line item at it |
| 2 | Buyer has rejected | Confirm the rejection was intended |
| 3 | Ready to serve; the deal is in a campaign | Watch for requests on the start date |
| 4 | Active; the deal is serving impressions | Compare delivery with the plan |
| 5 | Paused | Find out which side paused it and why |
| 6 | Complete | Remove it from active line items and archive the entry |
Why does a new deal show no bid requests?
Zero requests points to a problem before the auction, not to price. Work through these setup errors before asking the seller to check their side.
| Setup error | How it shows up | First check |
|---|---|---|
| The deal has not started | Zero requests on every day before the seller's start date | The start date and time zone in the hand-off |
| Requests arrived before the deal existed | Display & Video 360 lists a filtered reason for requests sent before the deal was created | When the ID was generated against when traffic began |
| The synced copy was never accepted | The deal waits in a negotiation or inbox view | Any Action required or pending item for that seller |
| The exchange is off for the account | The deal cannot be targeted, or targeting saves with no supply | The account's enabled exchanges list |
| Wrong exchange or format on the entry | The entry never matches traffic | Both values against the hand-off; recreate if wrong |
| Seat not on the deal | Requests or bids under the deal are not accepted from your account | The seat string the seller allowed against your account's seat |
If every check passes and requests are still zero after the start date, send the seller the deal ID, exchange, seat and dates checked, and ask them to confirm the deal is active. Our deal ID guide covers requests that arrive but bring no wins.
How should deal IDs be stored for reuse?
Deal IDs arrive by email, get pasted into one line item and are forgotten until the next flight. A shared deal register gives the team one place to see what is active, what has ended and who owns each deal.
What one row of a deal register should hold
- The deal ID exactly as sent, with its entry name in each buying platform.
- The exchange, the seller and the seat the deal allows.
- The price type, rate and currency, with the date of written confirmation.
- The start and end dates, or a note that the deal is evergreen.
- The site list version or package the deal was built from.
- The owner, the status at last check and the date of that check.
What does a clean deal setup look like on a real brief?
Fictional example
A closet and storage retailer launches a private auction in Minnesota and Wisconsin
An unnamed retailer of closet systems and garage storage wants display ads beside home organization and renovation content in Minnesota and Wisconsin, in English, for a six week fall flight. Its agency agreed a USD private auction with a home and lifestyle publisher group.
The seller's first message gives a proposal number instead of the deal ID, so the trader asks for the ID the bid requests will carry. A synced copy of the deal is already waiting in the buying platform, so the trader accepts it instead of creating a second entry and checks its format, rate and dates against the email.
The trader builds one line item that targets only the deal, removes open auction, adds Minnesota and Wisconsin as geography and bids above the floor. On the start date the troubleshooting view shows available requests and bid responses, and the deal goes into the agency's register with its seat, dates, list version and owner.
How does PlacementGraph help before the deal ID arrives?
Frequently asked questions
Can the exchange or format of a saved deal entry be changed?
On Display & Video 360, no. Its help says the ID, exchange and inventory format of a manually added inventory source cannot be changed after saving, and that an entry cannot switch between fixed and auction types. When one of those values is wrong, create a new entry from the hand-off and archive the old one.
Does adding a deal ID start spending money?
No. A deal entry has no budget. Spending starts only when an active line item with budget targets the deal, the deal's dates have started and the platform wins impressions under it. A forgotten line item, not the entry, is the place to look for unexpected deal spend.
How soon after setup should bid requests appear?
Requests arrive only after the deal's start date and once a line item targets it. Display & Video 360 says its troubleshooting totals appear within an hour, with targeting detail taking longer and not shown for the current day. A full day of zero requests after the start date is the signal to run the setup checks.
Can one deal ID be added in two buying platforms?
Only if the seller allowed a seat in each one. A deal is set up for named buyer seats on one exchange, and each buying platform bids through its own seat. Ask the seller to add the second seat, then enter the ID in the second platform as a separate record in the deal register.
Sources
- Add an inventory source to Display & Video 360 (opens in a new tab)Google, Display & Video 360 Help
- About synced deals (opens in a new tab)Google, Display & Video 360 Help
- Managing exchanges (opens in a new tab)Google, Display & Video 360 Help
- Inventory source targeting (opens in a new tab)Google, Display & Video 360 Help
- Troubleshoot your deals and line items (opens in a new tab)Google, Display & Video 360 Help
- Deals API Specification version 1.0 (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab, GitHub
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.