---
title: "OpenRTB (DSP) banners"
description: "Plug programmatic demand into a campaign — picking the DSP partner, what the auction options really do, and which fields each placement type shows."
type: "howto"
audience: [network-manager]
keywords: [OpenRTB, DSP banner, programmatic, RTB, second price, mime types, bid request, use placement size]
ui_path: "Account → Advertisers → campaign → Add new banner"
---

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/llms.txt. Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. Append .md to any documentation page URL to get its markdown version.

# OpenRTB (DSP) banners

An OpenRTB banner is not a creative — it is a **bridge to programmatic demand**. When ad selection
reaches it, Epom sends an OpenRTB bid request to the chosen DSP partner; if the partner bids and
wins, the bid's own markup is served.

## Who this is for

Network managers running programmatic demand. The DSP partners you pick from here are configured by
your network administrator in the admin console; see [DSP partners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/admin/dsp-partners.md).

The **OpenRTB** banner type needs the *Open RTB* permission; your network administrator grants it in **Admin →
Users & access → User roles & permissions**. Without it the type is missing from the **Banner type** combo and the DSP fields never show.

## Prerequisites

- The *Open RTB* permission on your role.
- At least one **active** DSP partner with an integration type set — that is what puts it in the
  **DSP** list.

## Steps

1. On the campaign, **Add new banner** → the placement type. OpenRTB is offered on Site,
   Non-standard, Mobile site, Video, Application and Native placements — every placement type that
   takes banners except email.
2. Set **Banner type** to *OpenRTB* and choose the **DSP**. Required.
3. Fill any **partner parameters** that appear. The set is defined by that partner's own
   configuration, and the ones it marks required block the save until filled.
4. Set the auction options — see [what the auction options do](#what-the-auction-options-do).
5. **Save** and link the banner to placements like any other banner.

![A saved OpenRTB banner](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banner-openrtb-dsp/openrtb-banner-form.webp)

## What each placement shows

Verified by opening the form on each placement type OpenRTB accepts:

| Placement | Ad unit | Use placement size | Always 2nd price | Mime types | Adapter template |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Non-standard | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Mobile site | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Application | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| **Video** | **—** | **—** | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| **Native** | **—** | **—** | ✓ | — | — |

On video and native placements the format is dictated by the placement itself, so there is no ad
unit to set and nothing for *Use placement size* to switch between.

![OpenRTB on a video placement](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banner-openrtb-dsp/openrtb-video-fields.webp)

## What the auction options do

**Always 2nd price as +$0.01** changes what happens when your banner is the **only** candidate in
the auction. Normally a lone bid clears at first price — the bid amount. With this on, the
auction is treated as second-price and clears at **the bid floor plus one cent**, capped at the
bid, so the partner pays the floor rather than its full bid. With more than one candidate the
usual auction rules apply. A PMP deal's own auction type overrides this.

**Use placement size** makes the bid request carry each **placement's** size instead of the
banner's own ad unit — and it also makes the banner match placements of any size, since there is
no fixed creative size to compare. Use it for one banner that should bid on everything; leave it
off when the DSP expects a specific slot size.

**Mime types** (video only) is a free-text field listing the video creative formats you will
accept in bids; it goes into the bid request's video object. Left empty, the request offers the
platform's default list of video mime types.

## Options and fields

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| DSP | The partner that receives the bid request. Required. |
| Partner parameters | Extra fields the selected partner defines; the ones it marks required are enforced. |
| Ad unit | The banner's own size for the bid request. Shown on non-video, non-native placements and **never required** for OpenRTB. |
| Use placement size | See above. Absent on video and native. |
| Always 2nd price as +$0.01 | See above. Always shown. |
| Mime types | Accepted video formats. Video placements only. |
| Adapter template | Optional rendering template for the returned markup. Mobile site placements only. |

## Where the DSP list comes from

The **DSP** combo is filled from **Admin → DSP Partners**. Two things about it are easy to get
wrong:

- **It is not filtered by placement type.** Every active partner with an integration type set
  appears in the list on every placement type. (The endpoint takes a placement-type parameter and
  ignores it.)
- **Deactivated partners disappear from the list.** Only a banner that already bids through one
  still shows it, greyed out as *Name — Inactive*, with an inline warning under the field: *"…" is
  deactivated, so this banner sends it no bid requests and serves nothing. Pick another DSP partner
  to put it back in the auction.* Nobody else can pick it.

So a partner missing from the combo is either **deactivated** or has **no integration type
configured**. Both are fixes your network administrator makes on the partner. Over the API,
`GET /rest-api/banner/dspPartners.do` lists the active partners the same way.

Campaign-level **DSP frequency and recency capping** exists specifically for RTB traffic — see the
[capping matrix](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/reference/capping-matrix.md).

## Corner cases and gotchas

> **Corner case:** a banner whose DSP partner was **deactivated** afterwards keeps its selection and
> saves without complaint. The banner stays Active and looks healthy, but it sends no bid requests
> and serves nothing. Read the warning under the DSP field and pick another partner.

> **Corner case:** the ad unit is shown but **never required** for OpenRTB, unlike file banners.
> With *Use placement size* on it is ignored for matching entirely.

> **Corner case:** if the network runs **creative scanning**, a partner's creative can be
> **blocked from serving** even though your banner is active — the runner-up bid wins instead.
> See [creative policy protection](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/creative-policy-protection.md).

> **Corner case:** pricing for OpenRTB banners is effectively **CPM-only** on the banner's Pricing
> card — the auction price, not a manual price list, is what is earned.

> **Corner case:** if the partner's pricing model is **CPC**, clicks are only counted when your
> network administrator has enabled **Wrap click-through** on the partner. Without it the creative links
> straight to the DSP's own click tracker, the ad server never sees the click, and the banner
> reports impressions with zero clicks and zero earnings. See
> [DSP partners (admin)](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/admin/dsp-partners.md).

> **Note:** the **Adapter template** on mobile site placements uses the `CONTENT_ADAPTER` template
> type, which is deprecated in the platform. Avoid building new ones on it.

## Per-role notes

- **Network manager** — picks from the DSP partners your network administrator has already configured. The
  partner list and its parameters live in the admin console, not on this form; see
  [DSP partners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/admin/dsp-partners.md).
- **Can view share** — the DSP combo and the auction options are disabled and the card carries a
  **Read-only** pill.

## Related

- [DSP partners (admin)](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/admin/dsp-partners.md)
- [Protect your inventory from bad creatives and bad traffic](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/use-cases/creative-policy-protection.md)

- [Capping matrix](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/reference/capping-matrix.md)
- [Banner types — decision guide](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banners-overview.md)
- [Epom PMP deal types compared](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/pmp-deal-types-compared.md)