Learn Guide 8
Selling agent or SSP?
Both sell a publisher’s inventory to buyers. They do it in very different ways, and most publishers will use both.
What an SSP does
A supply-side platform sells inventory impression by impression. When an ad slot opens, it sends a bid request to many buyers and the highest bid wins, within the floor you set. It is built for scale: many small transactions, decided in milliseconds, with deal IDs for private marketplaces and programmatic guaranteed deals.
What a selling agent does
A selling agent sells plans, not impressions. A buyer’s agent sends a brief: objectives, markets, dates, budget. The selling agent reads it, checks what is available, proposes a plan from your packages and prices, and negotiates. A person on your side confirms, then the plan is booked in your ad server.
Side by side
| SSP | Selling agent | |
|---|---|---|
| What is sold | Impressions, one at a time | A plan: placements, dates, volume, price |
| Who sets the price | The auction, above your floor | You: your rate card, negotiated within your floors |
| What the buyer sends | A bid request | A brief |
| Packages and context | Mostly lost | Kept: the plan is built from your packages |
| Who confirms | Rules, automatically | A person on your side, before anything runs |
| What you need | Volume, an integration, deal set-up | Your catalogue, your rules, your ad server |
| Typical cost | A share of the media | With Fanera, 0% of the media; you pay per brief answered and per booking |
Which one, when
Use an SSP for reach and leftover inventory, sold at auction. Use a selling agent for what deserves a plan: premium packages, mid-sized budgets your team cannot answer, buyers who want negotiated terms. Because the selling agent never goes below your floors, it does not undercut what you sell elsewhere.