Traditionally, what was sold in these “virtual auction rooms” was advertising space; however, today, one increasingly sells “ready-to-target” audiences instead of advertising space.
Ad exchange
An ad exchange is a platform that automatically runs the buying and selling of media advertising impressions; the price of impressions is determined through automated bidding, between buyers (advertisers, media agencies…) who connect to ad exchanges via DSPs, and inventory sellers (publishers) who connect via SSPs.