As of Summer of 2019, OpenX has officially shut down their ad server product, in order to focus on programmatic and video.
This means that current OpenX ad server users will soon need to find an alternative. Most will undoubtedly flock to Google Ad Manager (previously DFP, or DoubleClick for Publishers), but there are many reasons why this strategy may not work for everyone.
To be clear, OpenX is not going under. This is a move that smartly acknowledges how the publisher-side ad server industry has evolved over the last couple years.
As background, OpenX was founded in 2008 as an ad tech software company. By 2013 they had seen 44,000% growth and were the second largest ad server, behind Google.
Since then, a lot has changed in the ad server market, and Google is solely to blame. After their acquisition of DoubleClick in 2007, Google did a fantastic job improving this product and creating an ad server for both the long-tail and the large media brands, making it hard for others to compete.
During this period OpenX focused more and more resources on fleshing out their programmatic ad products, including their ad exchange and SSP, instead of doubling down on their ad server arm.
Google thus destroyed what was once (in the early 2010s) a diverse and crowded ad tech industry. In fact, in the last few years, their three largest ad server competitors have all shut down or pivoted, with Atlas being bought then closed by Facebook in 2016; AppNexus/Xandr focusing on programmatic ads, header bidding, and ad server capabilities for networks; and now OpenX.
It should also be noted that OpenX's ad server was originally a hosted solution of a free open source ad server they released. This ad server still exists, but is no longer affiliated with OpenX and goes by Revive Adserver. It's unlikely the OpenX announcement means much for Revive users.
With this surprise announcement, OpenX users now have a choice: find another out-of-the-box ad server or build their own, fully-customized ad server.
The right choice for many is switching to Google Ad Manager. It's going to be the cheapest, simplest, and most similar option. But it won't be ideal for everyone. The below table looks at the pros and cons of migrating to GAM versus starting from scratch and designing a bespoke ad product.
What you care aboutGoogle Ad ManagerBuild your own ad serverProgrammatic adsYou get instant access to AdSense (Google's ad network), AdX (their ad exchange), and many other programmatic integrationsYou'll have to integrate these ad codes with your product (which could involve troubleshooting)Launching ASAPGoogle Ad Manager is easy to implement, and the learning curve is not steepBuilding your own ad server could take a while, requires engineers, and involves continual maintenanceCostFree for anybody with fewer than 90MM monthly impressions. Costs increase rapidly for larger usersAt very high volume may be cheaper than paying a third-party ad server, but there are hidden costs around engineering time, server costs, and moreResponse TimesIs JavaScript-based - so using them will slow down your page (1s-2s)Will be server-side - so will be much faster (100ms-200ms)Native advertising units or sponsored listingsGAM offers limited native ad customization - if you want sponsored listings or true native ads, look elsewhereSince you're building the system with your content in mind, you can have the ad experience be as native to organic content as possibleData Management PlatformGAM does not come with a DMPYou can build your own database for incorporating user-level information in ad targetingWhite-labeled, self-serve ad platformCreating your own platform like Google's, Facebook's, and Amazon's is not possible on the back of GAMDesign the platform with your branding, domain, and CSS - as well as integrate it with any user portals you already haveAd BlockingAd blocking tools would block any promotions displayed through GAM - including programmatic ads, direct deals, and internal promotions. Industry estimates are about 25%-40% of people use an ad blocker, depending on the countryWith Kevel you can use integrated, user-friendly native ads and proxy impressions/clicks to get around ad blockers and monetize those users
Definitely!
Google Ad Manager is best for companies that:
Building your own ad server is best for companies that:
Building an ad server from scratch is quite difficult, but it doesn't have to be: working with ad serving APIs like those offered by Kevel makes it easy to build your own ad server in just weeks. You get all the benefits of a fully-customized, server-side ad server without all the work.
Brands use Kevel to build platforms for sponsored listings, native ads, internal promotions, and e-mail ads. Kevel powers the ad serving infrastructures behind Yelp, Mozilla, Bed Bath and Beyond, Ticketmaster, Wattpad, WeTransfer, Strava, and many more.
Kevel won't be for most OpenX users, but if you used OpenX's ad server and didn't find it flexible enough, it may be the right time to build your own. Reach out if you'd like to learn more.
