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MediaMath will stop buying from supply partners that play auction games, preferring to create an economic incentive for fair, transparent programmatic auctions and put an end to auction manipulation.

The DSP sent an open letter Wednesday morning to its 50 directly integrated suppliers. The full letter is reproduced at the end of this article.

“Auction manipulation has always been against our code of conduct, but we are sick of having these conversations over and over again,” said Anna Hewitt, director of supply products at MediaMath.

The letter asks the exchanges to sign a document with a 13-point checklist of behavior they pledge to avoid. The checklist prohibits behavior such as bid caching and misuse of the wrapper, sending duplicate bid requests, masking domains or adding data to the bidstream.

It also prohibits multiple types of floors: DSP-specific floors and soft floors that non-transparently increase clearing prices in second-price auctions.

Recognizing that it can’t anticipate all possible ways suppliers can game auctions, the letter also asks them to affirm that they “will not attempt in any way to mislead, deceive, or otherwise engage in practices that are inconsistent with these principles.”

If exchanges get caught manipulating the auction, MediaMath will kick them out for a set period, which will vary depending on the crime. To re-enter, the exchange will have to be vetted extensively.

MediaMath wants the penalty for auction games to outweigh the short-term benefits. Plus, by punishing bad actors, good exchanges can flourish. MediaMath expects a few exchanges will be able to sign without making any changes to their current practices.

“You can’t make the fine for parking illegally less than the cost of parking in a garage for the day. Otherwise they are going to manipulate the auction,” said Lewis Rothkopf, general manager of media and growth channels at MediaMath.

Repeat offenders won’t be able to earn their way back in. MediaMath will give suppliers a single shot at redemption, but no third chance.

“It’s no mere ‘slap on the wrist.’ That’s given them the idea that it’s OK to play games and they have an advantage until they are caught,” Hewitt said.

MediaMath has become stricter toward suppliers. In the past year, it permanently stopped buying from a handful of exchanges for practices that hurt its marketers.

For example, MediaMath stopped buying from exchanges that didn’t abide by its “two hops” policy. Implemented a year ago, it discourages reselling by prohibiting exchanges from offering impressions that have passed through more than one intermediary (the second "hop").

MediaMath also permanently kicked out a supply partner that sold video inventory on sites that didn’t have any video and then violated a different rule after MediaMath turned it back on again.

In contrast, many DSPs have traditionally policed auction games by asking an exchange to stop a practice once it’s been found out, or briefly pausing spend with an exchange.

But as the auction games continue to flourish – and get more complex – MediaMath has had enough.

“Bid caching was an example of finding the tiniest needle in a big haystack,” Hewitt said. MediaMath doesn’t want another exchange to dream up the idea of the next bid caching, but to focus on driving outcomes for its marketer clients.

“This has to stop, she added. “This mindset of myopically focusing on taking away market share from competitors, versus orienting yourself toward the marketer and the consumer, has to stop.”

The open letter to MediaMath’s clients is reprinted here:

_Recipients: All directly integrated SSPs of MediaMath_

_Subject line: An Open Letter to SSPs About the Way We Conduct Business_

_It's been a challenging time for our industry, and for digital media more broadly: Congress continues to probe the activities of social media giants, again putting tech companies in the hot seat. The role of the “platform company” was spotlighted yet again as part of the seismic shift taking place in the marketing world. You can see aftershocks of this throughout ad tech: although not social platforms, our respective companies happen to be platforms as well, and we each have a critical role in maintaining the integrity of our own market. At risk is the ongoing sustainability of our industry. We can’t wait for government intervention to bring about true transparency and accountability._

_Fighting over market share has diminishing returns when the pie starts shrinking due to an erosion of trust. Look elsewhere for an analogy: who “trusts” the cryptocurrency markets right now? We are facing a choice: clean up our act as an industry or hand the keys over to the Walled Gardens, who can apparently afford to apologize and move on when they experience lapses._

_ Marketers are tired of games, and don’t want to hear yet another explanation about something obscure in the auction that has inadvertently subtracted value from their marketing efforts. In response, MEDIAMATH IS ROLLING OUT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO MAKE EVEN MORE CLEAR OUR CURRENT PROHIBITIONS AGAINST AUCTION MANIPULATION, AND ANY SUPPLY SIDE TACTICS THAT SOLELY EXIST TO UNDULY DISADVANTAGE OTHER SSPS. We believe that SSPs can add the most value when they put their energy towards improving marketer outcomes, instead of myopically focusing on killing each other at any cost._

_We understand that there is tough competition on the supply side. That’s good! Finding new ways to make marketing work better, and the innovation it spurs is what makes all of our jobs exciting. Our industry is stronger when we align towards common goals. Novel developments that update auction mechanics or OpenRTB that allow marketers to better deliver their message to consumers in a clean, non-intrusive, low-load environment are unquestionably a good thing. Through our industry associations, let’s come together to make it happen via a transparent standard._

_Where there is money and limited consequences, there will exist the risk of abuse. AS IT RELATES TO OUR PLATFORM, WE ARE MAKING THOSE CONSEQUENCES FAR MORE CLEAR AND UNAMBIGUOUS. Establishing a Code of Conduct starts with open participation, but if any member violates these polices, or even the spirit of this letter, that platform is out of the club. There will be a defined penalty of cessation of spend for an extended period of time, without early release, and reentrance is only accepted after extensive vetting. There are no third chances. PROTECTING OUR CUSTOMERS, END CONSUMERS AND THE INDUSTRY ITSELF NECESSITATES TAKING THIS STRONG STANCE._

_Furthermore, if you see something, say something. If you run a clean shop, but others engage in old, questionable practices, tell us. Let the buyside level the playing field.  If you are honest about a tactic your platform employs, or are unsure about a practice, also say something. Just as you do at the border, when in doubt, declare. _

_To continue your eligibility for MediaMath’s Open Auction, __please confirm your adherence to the principles outlined on this linked form__. _

question: What is MediaMath's strategy in preventing auction manipulation?

answer: They sent a letter with a 13-point checklist of behavior they pledge to avoid.

question: What type of behavior does the checklist prohibit?

answer: Bid caching, misuse of the wrapper, sending duplicate bid requests, masking domains or adding data to the bidstream as well as multiple types of floors.

question: How does multiple types of floors contribute to auction manipulation?

answer: DSP-specific floors and soft floors that non-transparently increase clearing prices in second-price auctions.

question: How does MediaMath anticipate new methods of auction manipulation?

answer: It knows that it can't anticipate all possible ways suppliers can game auctions, to accommodate this the letter also asks them to affirm that they will not attempt in any way to mislead, deceive, or otherwise engage in practices that are inconsistent with these principles.

question: What course of action will MediaMath take when exchanges are caught to manipulate the auction?

answer: MediaMath will kick them out for a set period, this will vary depending on the crime. To re-enter the exchange will have to be vetted extensively.

question: What is the purpose of punishing bad actors?

answer: To enable good exchanges to flourish.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: MediaMath is drawing a line in the sand with regards to auction manipulation. It sent a checklist to its 50 directly integrated suppliers that commits them to a certain code of conduct. If the code of conduct is broken the supplier will be kicked out for a period dependent on the crime.


split: train

text:
The Celebration

Sarah slipped out onto the balcony of her loft.  From the twelfth floor, Chicago was a Lite-Brite cityscape, each building and monument pegged into the grid.  Metered and regular, from what appeared in the streets as a tangle of twisted metal and cement, a careful design emerged.  Sarah enjoyed this view of Chicago.  It didn't make her nervous.  From ground level, the chaos overwhelmed her.  Perhaps she just thought about it too much.

Leaving the building, into the street, Sarah set out down East 21st, headed toward Michigan Avenue.  Her bag held a bottle of wine, a corkscrew, a tube of lipstick, and five crumpled ones.  A napkin from Armadillo Red, tucked into her back right pocket, gave directions to park bench six blocks from her building.

On a bench in Grant Park, a man sat waiting.  He filled out the crossword puzzle from a three-day-old newspaper.  He had been troubled for the last two hours by number 27 across.  A kitchen gadget, 7 letters.  Blender didn't fit, microwave was too long, and he didn't have enough interest in culinary arts to know of any others.  Frustrated, he pulled out his watch, noting that the person he was waiting for had three minutes to arrive.

Sarah, realizing the time, began to walk more briskly.  She turned down Hendricks and kept toward the curb, avoiding those staking out various doorways and dark inlets.  She kept her eyes on the sidewalk, except to occasionally glance ahead at those approaching.  A man, older, dressed for an evening out, turned the corner half a block ahead.  Sarah, startled, pulled the corkscrew from her bag.  She glanced up more frequently as they approached.  Twenty paces. Now fifteen. Now ten.  She gripped the makeshift weapon tightly in her left hand.  As they passed each other on the sidewalk, she shifted her body toward the man.  Swinging forward, she pushed and twisted in one fluid motion, sinking the metal deeply into his chest. Sarah stepped back and watched him crumple.  The man lifted his head.  He saw Sarah, but his expression did not change.  He pulled the stainless steel from between his ribs, and the blood began to rush from his body.  Sarah waited until his eyes were empty, then snapped away from the scene.  She was going to be late.  Picking up the corkscrew, she stepped around the body and down the sidewalk.

As she approached the man on the bench, he suddenly realized that "toaster" was the word he required.  Scribbling it in and wedging the paper between the bench slats, he silently congratulated himself, then focused on the matter at hand.  Sarah was seething.  "Why? Why like that? Why didn't you tell me, bastard!"  He replied, "I thought it would be interesting.  Besides, it's like ripping off a band-aid.  Sometimes it's better when you have to do it quick.  Either way, I see that it's been done."  Sarah was silent for a moment, and then extended her hand.  "Give me the envelope".

He handed her a manila folder.  Sarah sat down on the grass beside the bench, and spread the contents under a streetlight's glow.  Photographs of the man she had just buried her corkscrew in fanned out like a silent film.  He was shown leaving various cafes, trailed by a different escort each time.  There were snapshots of the man entering Porsches and exiting hired cars.   A copy of his passport listed his name as "Victor Bartoshevich", a Belarusian national.  A birth certificate, for one Sarah Yurevich, bore his signature.  A copy of a wire transfer, made twenty-seven years ago, indicated that $50,000 had been drawn from he and his first late wife's joint checking. The recipient was a hitman who helped facilitate "alternatives to divorce" for those in positions of power and influence.  Victor Bartoshevich, a notoriously private man, would have been shocked to see his own paper trail.

Victor left the cafe on Hendricks at precisely 2:30am, as had become his routine over the past few months.  Rochelle always worked on Tuesdays, and she had better tits than money could ever buy.  Victor paid for them by the hour.  After a night of indulgence, Victor would stumble the block back home.  Aging and "out of the business", he had reconciled with the most hostile of his enemies long ago, and had been enjoying retirement his own way.   Namely, walking alone through the streets of Chicago after dark, and ignoring his estranged daughter's attempts at contact.

Sarah placed the envelope into her purse, and pulled out the bottle of Merlot.  Wiping the corkscrew on the newspaper, she then maneuvered it into the cork, using the same push-twist familiar from thirty minutes prior.  Taking a swig from the bottle, she passed it up to the man on the bench.  They drank the wine and finished the crossword together.  Through the trees they could see the flashing blue lights like fireworks, and imagine the sirens as their parade.

title: Flash Fiction: The Celebration

question: What does the story say about the relationship between Sarah and the man on the bench?

answer: Based on the context of the story, it appears the man is Sarah's partner in crime. It seems that the man orders her to kill a mark, after which they analyze the details of the individual once the assignment has been successfully executed. In this case, Sarah was to kill a man named Victor Bartoshevich, a retired Belarusian native. Even though Sarah is an assassin, the man determines her method of execution.

question: What does the story say is the relationship between Victor Bartoshevich and Sarah?

answer: Nothing.

question: What does the story say about why Victor Bartoshevich was Sarah's target?

answer: Victor Bartoshevich, the mark, was a retired Belarusian who wanted to spend his retirement going out with different escorts and walking the streets of Chicago late at night. He also made attempts to make peace with those he had wronged while active in 'business.' However, Victor was the target for Sarah's execution assignment because it appeared that he may have stepped on the wrong toes back in the day. It seems one of such people he offended was Sarah's partner, making him a target, and based on the very detailed trailing of his movements, Sarah succeeded in taking him out using a corkscrew.