• by Tobi Elkin  @tobielkin, April 26, 2016

Programmatic ad-tech provider OpenX on Tuesday reported 300% growth in header bidding in first-quarter 2016, with mobile representing 50% of total global volume, an 180% increase year-over-year. During Q1 2016, OpenX also introduced real-time guaranteed (RTG), launched OpenX Bidder for Mobile Apps and announced a server-to-server container solution to better manage multiple header bidding tags.

“Q1 has been all about cranking our already leading position in header bidding, continuing our intense focus on building the highest quality marketplace, massively scaling our mobile business and laying the foundations for new business models like Real Time Guaranteed all so that we can deliver on our mission to maximize revenue for our publishing customers,” stated Tim Cadogan, OpenX CEO.

Cadogan declined to comment on how Google’s recent move to make its First Look product available to all DoubleClick for Publishers clients globally and to test exchange bidding in Dynamic Allocation, might impact the future of header bidding. However, the company's president, John Gentry, told Real-Time Daily via email: "We're constantly evolving our product offering to customers' growing needs. We expect to see continued growth in header bidding and mobile over the next year."

OpenX said that OpenX bidder generated 95% more revenue than the average header bidding partner, and OpenX had the highest revenue contribution for 89% of publishers. It said that OpenX header bidder clients, on average, experience sustained revenue lifts ranging from 20% to more than 50%.

OpenX said it returns 50% higher CPMs on mobile apps than on mobile web. OpenX launched OpenX Bidder for Apps in February in order to maximize demand and increase competition for mobile app inventory, ultimately driving higher yield for mobile app publishers. OpenX said it’s now certified as a Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project partner enabling publishers and their consumers to benefit from a faster and unencumbered user experience.

Earlier this year, OpenX reported net revenue of $140 million, positive net income, and 40% organic year-over-year growth for FY 2015.