Manufacturers and media companies depend on Google’s Advert Alternate (AdX) unit to purchase programmatic adverts from a variety of publishers. However they’ve by no means had a lot luck negotiating the charges on that advert stock. Given AdX’s dominant place within the market, they could as nicely have been speaking to a brick wall.
Earlier this yr, execs at AdX, which is a part of Google Advert Supervisor (GAM), opened a niche in that wall for the primary time. The change has been providing media companies post-auction low cost offers since January, Digiday has discovered.
Starting this previous spring, AdX reps have been providing media companies entry to a program that unlocks reductions on media funding as soon as sure spending thresholds have been met. “They’re partaking with consumers greater than they ever have earlier than,” mentioned one company media purchaser, who exchanged candor for anonymity.
“Like the remainder of the business, our sell-side merchandise are increasing relationships with companies to ship worth to publishers and company companions in new methods,” mentioned a Google spokesperson in an emailed assertion.
AdX is a programmatic market operated by Google that connects manufacturers with advert stock from third-party publishers. Media consumers entry its stock by a demand-side platform (DSP), sometimes Google’s personal DV360.
Regardless of the quantity of advert spend that flows by the change and the rise in offers between media companies and different supply-side platforms (SSPs) lately, AdX has been a closed e-book so far as companies are involved.
“I’ve been on this business for nearly 20 years now, and the primary time I spoke with a human being at AdX was March of this yr,” mentioned Scott Ensign, chief technique officer at indie media company Butler/Until.
The truth is, proof given by Luke Lambert, companion, head of popularity advertising and marketing and insights at Omnicom’s Amazon-dedicated Confluence unit in the course of the latest treatments section of Google’s antitrust trial advised the specifics of AdX’s charges weren’t outlined within the holding firm’s contracts with the agency. The implication was that even main media companies aren’t capable of calculate the precise proportion they find yourself paying Google on AdX investments, placing the change successfully out of scope in relation to SPO efforts.
Starting within the second quarter of 2025, AdX’s icy facade began to thaw. “A rep approached me after I used to be talking at an occasion within the spring and knowledgeable me, a lot to my shock, that they’re going to be doing direct agreements, reductions, doubtlessly different rebates and industrial preparations,” mentioned Ensign.
Different media consumers, talking anonymously, mentioned Google staffers had been approaching company executives to gauge their curiosity in a pilot post-auction low cost program way back to January.
In response to one, the corporate supplied their company entry to a “beta” low cost scheme between January and April. Following that trial interval, they mentioned they signed as much as an annual settlement with AdX with extra intensive post-auction reductions. They didn’t talk about particular pricing.
The consumers didn’t share the precise proportion reductions Google supplied their companies, however every confirmed they have been organized in three tiers. The primary tier utilized a minor low cost to any investments made, whereas larger tiers supplied extra intensive financial savings reserved for companies spending a minimum of $50 million-$100 million with AdX.
AdX execs had additionally sought out company recommendation on new options, the primary purchaser mentioned. “Now [when] they wish to launch some new merchandise, they are going to invite consumers to [offer] suggestions with the product groups approach earlier within the course of,” they advised Digiday.
Although the reductions have been welcome, they don’t seem to have prompted companies to extend their (already appreciable) spending with AdX. Prior agreements with different SSPs, typically involving extra beneficiant incentives, stay the main focus. “[The AdX program is] not as aggressive as the opposite SSPs’ post-auction reductions, nevertheless it’s higher than nothing,” mentioned the primary purchaser.
“We have been already doing fairly a bit with them. Now we have different SSP relationships that we wish to nurture extra, so we’re placing extra time and vitality into these versus Google,” the second purchaser mentioned.
Butler/Until had not taken up the AdX provide thus far as a result of its consumer combine — the company works with many pharmaceutical advertisers — means it doesn’t at the moment make use of the change’s stock, Ensign mentioned. When taking into consideration pre-existing preparations with different SSPs, he mentioned that “it’s unclear to me the hole that AdX would fill in our provide technique.”
The post-auction low cost program seems to be a part of a broader hearts-and-minds marketing campaign waged by Google executives.
In September, Decide Leonie Brinkema discovered that Google violated U.S. antitrust legal guidelines by monopolizing the markets for writer advert servers with DoubleClick for Publishers, and advert exchanges, by way of AdX, by tying the pair collectively. A 2024 ruling additionally branded its search enterprise a monopoly.
Towards that backdrop, execs inside its GAM unit have been working to courtroom companies with sweeteners together with post-auction reductions, whereas its different companies have moved to supply extra transparency and higher reporting options for merchandise just like the now-ubiquitous Efficiency Max.
“Google is sensible to be tentatively exploring paths to strengthen its advert tech providing within the eyes of companies by providing slightly bit extra wiggle room on pricing than it has traditionally,” mentioned Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, senior analyst, adtech, at Forrester.
Permitting media outlets to strike low cost offers with AdX could be one other approach for Google to shore up purchaser and model confidence and be sure that, within the occasion of a break-up, its supply-side companies may higher fend for themselves.
There’s additionally the competitors to contemplate. “Google’s advert tech rivals aren’t going to simply stand idly by and let a chance to doubtlessly acquire market share slip by their fingers,” mentioned Mitchell-Wolf. Whereas Google’s advert revenues far exceed these of its closest programmatic friends, it’s spent this yr enjoying catch-up on its advert tech providing for CTV and streaming stock.
“They advised me [that] they’d simply listened to the market. They thought they’d fallen behind versus their rivals and that had pissed off some folks,” mentioned the primary purchaser. “Whether or not there’s different causes behind that, I’m unsure, however they positively have shifted.”
Replace: This text has been amended to make clear the connection between AdX and GAM
