A buyer agent has a goal and a budget. To turn that into a live campaign it has to do four things in order: find what is for sale, agree to buy some of it, keep an eye on it, and check it actually delivered. The Media Buy module names each of those steps as a task.
The lifecycle
- 1Discover: get_products asks the sales agent what inventory is available, with formats, pricing, and targeting.
- 2Create: create_media_buy places the buy against chosen products, budget, and flight dates.
- 3Manage: update_media_buy changes it; get_media_buys lists what the buyer has running.
- 4Measure: get_media_buy_delivery reports pacing and delivery so the agent can adjust.
A product is the unit of inventory a sales agent offers. It carries the same ideas you already know from header bidding: placements, formats (banner, video), targeting, and availability. The buyer agent reads products the way a media planner reads a rate card, except a machine does the reading and the booking.
| Task | Who calls it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| get_products | Buyer agent | Lists available products with formats, price, and targeting |
| create_media_buy | Buyer agent | Books inventory against a budget and flight |
| update_media_buy | Buyer agent | Changes budget, dates, or targeting on a live buy |
| get_media_buy_delivery | Buyer agent | Returns pacing and delivery for measurement |
Quick check
A buyer agent wants to know whether a running campaign is on pace halfway through its flight. Which task does it call?
Pricing models
A buy specifies how it is priced. AdCP supports the models the industry already uses, so an agent can match the model to the goal. You have met CPM throughout this course; the rest extend the same idea to other outcomes.
| Model | Charged per | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| CPM | Thousand impressions | Reach and awareness |
| vCPM | Thousand viewable impressions | Paying only for ads with a chance to be seen |
| CPC | Click | Response and traffic |
| CPV / CPCV | View / completed view | Video engagement |
| CPP | Point of reach (rating point) | TV-style audience planning |
| FLAT_RATE | Fixed fee | Sponsorships and takeovers |
Note
The pricing model is part of the agreement, not an afterthought. A buyer agent optimizing for completed video views asks for CPCV; one buying a homepage takeover asks for FLAT_RATE. The protocol carries the choice so both sides settle correctly.
Quick check
A brand wants to pay only when its video ad is watched all the way through. Which pricing model fits?