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Microsoft Curate - Create a curated deal line item

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Note

Some clients might see different options when creating a curated deal line item. This documentation covers all options in the workflow. Contact your Microsoft Advertising representative if you have questions about certain options or settings.

A curated deal line item lets you set up a curated deal for a buyer. Curated deals represent a negotiated agreement between a buyer and a curator that combines a curator’s assets with Microsoft Advertising Marketplace supply.

Curated deal line items offer the following features:

  • Pricing: choose between a fixed price, ask price, or market price for your curated deal
  • Margin: configure a percentage of fixed CPM curator margin
  • Inventory targeting: source inventory from seller deals or the open market, targeting categories and domains to curate the impressions you need

Prerequisites

You will need to create or have access to the following buy-side objects:

  • Advertiser: see Working with Advertisers

  • Insertion order (seamless): see Working with Insertion Orders

    Note

    • Legacy insertion orders are not supported with curated deal line items.
    • Insertion orders must be configured with an unlimited budget for curated deal line items
    • Settings you select on the insertion order will apply to all curated deal line items under the insertion order.

Create a new curated deal line item

From the Advertiser Details screen, you can create a curated deal line item from either the Insertion Orders screen or Line Items screen:

Insertion orders screen

  1. From the Advertiser Details screen, click Insertion Orders to view the advertiser's insertion orders.
  2. Click on an insertion order from the list to view the Insertion Order details screen.
  3. In the Line Items section, click New Deal Line Item.

Line items screen

  1. From the Advertiser Details screen, click Line Items to view the advertiser's line items.
  2. Click New Deal Line Item.

Deal type

In the Deal Type section, select Curate a Deal.

Basic setup

In the Basic Setup section, enter the basic details for the curated deal line item.

  • Insertion Orders - The insertion order associated to the line item. If you create the line item from the Insertion Order Details screen, the insertion order is automatically associated. Otherwise, click Edit to associate the line item with an insertion order.

  • Ad Type - Select the type of ad you plan to use. Possible values are  Banner, Video (includes audio types as well), and Native.

    Note

    Selecting Ad Type determines the availability of other settings (e.g., Targeting > Completion Rate Threshold). This is not the setting that filters out any impressions and does not impact auction logic. You can select Media Type under Deal Creative Criteria to control which types of ads are allowed to serve via the curated deal.

  • Name - Enter the name for the curated deal line item. You will later be able to search for and report on the line item using this name. This name is not exposed to the buyer.

  • External Code - If you want to report on the curated deal line item using an external code (rather than the internal ID that Microsoft Advertising assigns automatically), enter the code here. The code can only contain alphanumeric characters, periods, underscores, or dashes. The code you enter is not case-sensitive (i.e., uppercase and lowercase characters are treated the same). No two objects at the same level can use the same code per advertiser.

  • State - Set the state of the curated deal line item. If "Active", the line item will be eligible to serve. Best practice for curators is to set the state to "Active" so that buyers can serve via the curated deal as quickly as possible.

  • Insertion Order Details - Insertion order details for Budget Type, Currency, Total Lifetime Budget, Pacing, Start Date, and End Date display in the gray box (you must select an insertion order to display these values).

  • Budget Type - Budget is set on the parent insertion order.

    Note

    When you create a deal via a line item, the line item will inherit its budget from the parent insertion order, and this will impact the revenue types available on the line item.

Deal details

  1. Select Create a Deal.

  2. Enter a Deal Name (this curated deal name is exposed to the buyer).

  3. Click Edit under Buyer to choose a buyer for the deal.

  4. On the Select Buyer screen, select an available buyer (you can search by Name or ID).

    Note

    You cannot change the selected buyer after the curated deal line item is created and saved.

  5. Click Add.

  6. Enter the deal code in Code (optional, this is typically used by external buyers for deal mapping).

  7. Enter a description for your deal in the Description  box (optional).

Details for the newly created or existing deal display in Deal Details including:

  • Deal ID - ID of newly created deal (the Deal ID for newly created deals does not display until the line item is saved).
  • Auction Type - Auction Type is always set to "Open Auction" for curators.
  • Price Type - Determined by Revenue Type:
    • CPM = "Fixed Price"
    • Dynamic CPM = "Standard"
  • Ask Price - Determined by Fixed or Floor Price (set in Revenue Type)

Note

You may select Choose Existing when creating a curated deal, but this is not recommended unless you have already inactivated the original line item associated with the deal. For ease of maintenance, it is recommend that you use only one curated deal line item per curated deal. If you do choose to use an existing curated deal for this curated deal line item:

  1. Click Select Deal to choose an existing deal.
  2. On the Select a Deal screen, select a deal (you can search by Name or ID) and click Select.
  3. Edit the Deal Name if desired. Please note that this name is shared with the buyer.

If you select the wrong deal you can click Deselect to open the Select a Deal screen again and select the deal you want.

Revenue type

Use the Revenue Type to define how the buyer will pay you. Select one of the following revenue types:

  • CPM ("fixed price" deals) - The curated deal line item competes in the auction at a fixed price whenever the buyer bids above that price.

    • Fixed Price - Enter the amount that the buyer will pay you per thousand impressions.

  • Dynamic CPM ("standard auction") - The curated deal line item competes in either a first or second-price auction at the price bid by the buyer, whenever the buyer bids above the ask price.

    Select either:

    • Set Floor Price - Enter the hard floor that will apply to the buyer of the curated deal.
    • Use Market Price - Select this to use the seller’s yield management floors if available; if not available, open auction pricing is used.

Margin type

Use the Margin Type settings to configure the curator margin you wish to take on each impression.

Select either:

  • Percentage - The percentage of the buyer’s bid which will be taken as curator margin.
  • CPM - A fixed CPM deducted from the buyer’s bid which will be taken as curator margin.

Budget

The Budget Type for curated deals must be Unlimited Budget.

Flights

Flights let you set up limited deals with start and end dates as well as “evergreen deals” with no end date. To create one or more flights:

  1. Select either Set Dates or No End Date.

    • Set Dates: Enter a Start Date and End Date for each of the line item's flights. The hour settings for Start Date and End Date will default to 12:00 AM and 11:59 PM respectively (you can override the defaults). Flights may not overlap one another. All flight dates must fall within the billing period dates of the parent insertion order and be a minimum of one day in duration.
    • No End Date: Enter the Start Date for the line item. You may not create additional flights for this line item because it has no end date.

  2. Click Add Another Flight if you want additional flights (this option is not available if you select No End Date).

    Note

    You cannot change the Start Date of a flight once that date has passed. You can, however, add multiple flights to any curated deal line item.

Supply strategy

Curated deal line items can package supply from the open exchange or through deals negotiated directly with sellers. Selecting Deals will allow you select specific deals associated with your account in the Targeting section below. Selecting Open Exchange allows you to curate supply sellers make available to buyers on the open exchange.

Payment model

The Payment Model for curated deal line items is preset to Pay Per Impression.

Inventory and brand safety

You can specify the following inventory and brand safety settings for the curated deal line item.

Inventory

Universal categories

Universal categories are defined by Microsoft Advertising. When Microsoft Advertising reviews inventory, we apply these categories based on the inventory's content. For example, a car dealership placement group would be assigned to the "Autos & Vehicles" category. Sellers can apply universal categories when self-reviewing inventory as well.

By default, your curated deal line item will target all universal categories. However, you can narrow your targeting to include or exclude specific universal categories:

  1. On the Universal Categories tab, include or exclude custom categories.

    • The Categories lists shows all top-level universal categories defined by Microsoft Advertising. You can either include or exclude top-level categories or drill into a category to view its child categories.
    • The Sub-Categories list shows all child universal categories in the context of their parent categories. You can either include or exclude sub-categories.

    Note

    When you exclude a top-level category, its sub-categories are not available for further inclusion or exclusion.

    Note

    When targeting more than one universal category, the categories have an OR relationship. For example, if you target the "News" and "Finance" categories, you will bid on inventory that is in either category. The inventory does not need to be in both categories.

  2. Click Add.

Seller categories

Seller Categories are defined by sellers. Sellers create these and apply them to slices of their inventory to package their inventory for specific buyers or curators to target.

By default, your curated deal line item will target all custom categories. However, you can narrow targeting to include or exclude specific custom categories that sellers exposed to you via the open exchange:

  1. On the Custom Categories tab, include or exclude custom categories.

    Note

    When targeting more than one custom category, the categories have an OR relationship. For example, if you include "Custom Category 1" and "Custom Category 2", you will bid on inventory that is in either category. The inventory does not need to be in both categories.

  2. Click Add.

Seller inventory

By default, your curated line item will target all sellers. However, you can narrow targeting to include or exclude specific sellers. Additionally, if a seller has chosen to expose their publishers via the open exchange, you can include or exclude specific publishers:

  1. On the Seller Inventory tab, include or exclude sellers.
    • Click on a seller to view the publishers they have exposed for targeting and include or exclude specific publishers.

Inventory type

To set which inventory types you wish to target, select one of the following from the menu. By default, your line items will target all inventory types (i.e., App & Web):

  • App & Web - To run on both inventory types. This is the default setting.
  • App Only - To run in applications installed on mobile tablets, phones, and Windows 8 devices.
  • Web Only - To run on standard web sites and those optimized for browsers on mobile devices.

Blocklist

Select one or more blocklists (by default, the AppNexus Blocklist will always be applied). Any inventory in the blocklists you apply will automatically be excluded and not bid on by this line item. You may select from Network/member-level blocklists or create a blocklist directly (see Inventory Lists) from the line item. Once applied, you can also view or export the blocklist.

Allowlist

Select an allowlist you would like to apply to this line item. You may select from network/member-level allowlists or create an allowlist directly (see Inventory Lists) from the line item. Once applied, you can also view or export the allowlist.

Note

The use of inventory lists (i.e., allowlists or blocklists) will constrain whatever Inventory Type selections you make. For example, if you target an Allowlist, the Inventory Type option you select will be limited to only those domains/apps in that Allowlist. If you target a Blocklist, the Inventory Type option you select will serve on everything but the domains/apps in that Blocklist.

Ads.txt

Do not use (not supported for curated deal line items).

Targeting

You can target curated deal line items in the same way you can target augmented line items. See Buy-Side Targeting for detailed setup information on targeting. See Inventory Performance Targeting for more information on best practices for inventory performance targeting.

Note

Cross-device enhanced by Microsoft will be automatically enabled for your curated deal at no cost if you target a segment. If you prefer not to benefit from cross-device on your curated deal, please contact your account representative to opt out of this feature.

Note

Thresholds (Viewability Threshold or Completion Rate Threshold) create a hard limit for curated deal line item targeting. Any impressions with a predicted view or completion rate below the threshold won’t be matched on the curated deal. Because the threshold you choose is the minimum view/completion you will achieve, expect to see an average view/completion rate 10-15% higher than the threshold you set.

Geography

To quickly target countries, click in the Geography field and select the relevant checkboxes. To set up more advanced geography restrictions click Additional Geo Restrictions. See Additional Geo Restrictions for more details.

Deal creative criteria

You can edit the following creative attributes for a curated deal by clicking Edit under the attribute, selecting the appropriate values, and clicking Set:

  • Media type

Reporting labels

Enter any reporting labels if desired. Reporting labels let you associate a person or other metadata with advertisers. You can then run reports using these labels. See Reporting Guide for more information.

Comments

Enter any comments for this curated deal line item.

Save the curated deal line item

Click Save to save the curated deal line item or Save and Duplicate to save the curated deal line item and duplicate the settings to a new line item.