Ad Mediation

How Does Ad Mediation Work?

When a user opens your app and reaches an ad placement, the app sends an ad request to the mediation platform. The mediation platform then uses one of two primary methods to decide which ad network gets to display the ad:

1. The Waterfall Model (Traditional)

In the waterfall method, the publisher manually ranks ad networks in order of historical eCPM (from highest to lowest). The mediation platform asks the top-ranked network if it wants to fill the ad. If the network passes, the request «falls» to the second network, and so on, until the ad is filled.

• Pros: Easy to understand and set up.

• Cons: Slower, and the historically highest-paying network might not actually offer the best price for that specific user in real-time.

2. In-App Bidding (Advanced)

Also known as header bidding for mobile, in-app bidding allows all participating ad networks to bid on the ad impression simultaneously in real-time. The network with the highest bid instantly wins the placement.

• Pros: Maximizes revenue by creating a highly competitive, flat auction. It reduces latency and eliminates the inefficiencies of the traditional waterfall.

Key Benefits of Ad Mediation for App Publishers

Implementing ad mediation is a standard best practice for mobile app monetization. The primary benefits include:

• Maximized Fill Rates: By plugging into multiple networks, you ensure that there is almost always an ad available to display to your users, reducing the chance of an empty, unmonetized screen.

• Higher eCPMs and Revenue: Increased competition among multiple ad networks naturally drives up the price advertisers are willing to pay for your inventory.

• Centralized SDK Management: Instead of writing code to integrate 10 different ad network SDKs into your app (which causes app bloat and slow load times), you only need to integrate one mediation SDK.

• Unified Reporting: Publishers can view performance data across all their ad networks in a single dashboard, making it easier to analyze monetization strategies.

Ad Mediation vs. Ad Network: What’s the Difference?

While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably by beginners, they serve entirely different functions:

• An Ad Network (like Google AdMob, AppLovin, or Unity Ads) connects advertisers who want to buy ad space with publishers who have ad space to sell.

• An Ad Mediation Platform sits above ad networks. It does not sell ads directly; rather, it acts as a smart router that forces multiple ad networks to compete against each other for the publisher’s inventory.

How Ad Mediation Integrates with Affise MMP

While ad mediation platforms maximize your ad revenue, growing an app profitably requires understanding how that revenue stacks up against your user acquisition (UA) costs. This is where Affise MMP (Mobile Measurement Partner) becomes crucial.

To get a complete picture of your app’s financial health, Affise MMP offers robust Ad Revenue Aggregation.

Here is how Affise MMP supports your ad mediation strategy:

• True ROAS Calculation: By passing user-level ad revenue data from your mediation platform into Affise MMP, you can accurately calculate the Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and Lifetime Value (LTV) of your acquired users.

• Granular Attribution: Affise MMP links the ad revenue generated by a specific user back to the exact UA campaign, creative, and channel that brought them to your app.

• The Financial Source of Truth: Affise seamlessly aggregates your UA ad spend alongside your mediation ad revenue in one unified dashboard, allowing growth marketers to optimize campaigns based on actual profitability rather than just install volume.