Opera Mediaworks introduces OMAX 2.0, with expanded programmatic capabilities for publishers and advertisers

SAN MATEO, Calif. and BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Opera Mediaworks, the world's largest mobile advertising platform, today announced OMAX (Opera Mediaworks Ad Exchange) 2.0, a real-time marketplace for efficient, automated buying and selling of mobile media.

The only comprehensive platform to serve both advertisers and publishers, Opera Mediaworks adds innovative new features, delivering additional value to the supply and demand sides of mobile advertising.

Mobile publishers using the AdMarvel ad-serving and mediation platform, along with publisher relationships from other Opera Mediaworks companies, can open up their inventory to real-time bidding (RTB), creating not just scale but also a competitive environment to drive better monetization.

Through OMAX 2.0, publishers now have access to several new demand-side platforms (DSPs), facilitated by new audience segmentation and expanded targeting capabilities, designed to improve monetization of publisher properties.

This kind of increased access and operational efficiencies in media transactions are the primary reason publishers and advertisers are turning to programmatic buying, according to a November IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) survey of 250 digital media executives. Some 72% of publishers said they use programmatic buying technologies now, and 83% said they intend to leverage it over the course of the next two years.

Publishers of mobile applications have encountered many obstacles in transitioning to RTB. OMAX 2.0 helps bridge many of the gaps that are unique to smartphones and tablets in order to provide better controls in leveraging RTB to drive new monetization opportunities.

A leading concern for publishers, and cited as the no.1 concern of the group above, is brand safety -- which is why the majority of Opera Mediaworks customers can choose the option to set up private marketplaces for their inventory with "programmatic direct" on OMAX. This brings in diverse demand sources while still maintaining publisher control. Opera Mediaworks customers using the AdMarvel tech stack own premium properties and drive a considerable amount of brand equity through their content. OMAX follows the same brand safety measures these publishers have been accustomed to getting via their ad-serving solutions.

With "programmatic direct" on OMAX, mobile publishers can:

• Control which parties can bid on their inventory. Within the broadcaster, publishers can choose to display the auction to a single party or set of parties. They can also filter out particular demand sources, such as competitors (e.g., one gaming publisher blocking ads from another) or brand advertisers with whom they already have a direct relationship.
• View creative before it appears on their properties. Within the RTB 2.1 specification, each bidder participating in the OMAX 2.0 platform must submit a creative ID with each auction. Publishers can then view the creative and choose to approve or block it.
• Enjoy the speed and efficiency of a traditional RTB open auction. Setup and use is in a matter of minutes, not days, and ad traffic can start flowing immediately.

"OMAX truly gives our publishers an advantage over their competitors when it comes to monetization of inventory," says Mahi de Silva, CEO, Opera Mediaworks. "It is an equally big step for our demand-side partners. Connecting their trading desks to OMAX will give them direct access to inventory from Opera's network of premium publishers, and allow them to select segments of the audience, now over half a billion strong -- so they are paying only for consumers that they intend to reach."

Opera Mediaworks has lined up over 20 select partners for the launch of OMAX 2.0, including Turn Inc., Airpush, Amazon and Drawbridge.

To know more about OMAX 2.0 from Opera Mediaworks representatives at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 24 to 27, please contact [email protected].

About Opera Mediaworks

Opera Mediaworks powers the mobile ad economy. Technology and service innovation has helped us become the world the biggest brand-focused mobile ad network, and the world's leading ad tech platform, delivering monetization tools to the biggest and best publishers around the globe. This comprehensive end-to-end platform offers solutions for brands, agencies, publishers and application developers. Our mission is to deliver relevance in the medium where relevance matters most - on mobile devices. We improve efficiency through technology, innovation, transparency and trust, to create an open and vibrant marketplace for publishers and advertisers across the globe.

Opera Mediaworks includes AdMarvel, a mobile ad server and mediation platform; OMAX a mobile ad exchange, Mobile Theory, a premium mobile ad network in the United States; 4th Screen Advertising Ltd., a premium ad network in the United Kingdom; and Mediaworks Performance, a results-driven, mobile ad network. Also included are impressions served within Opera mobile properties, including the Opera Mini Smart Page and the Opera Mobile Store. Opera Mediaworks is part of the Opera Group.

SOURCE Opera Mediaworks