ironSource vs. Vungle

Although IS is mostly utilized for apps in the gaming vertical, and the bulk of their publishers are also in the gaming vertical, we have had some success using its DSP. As a non-gaming app, we occasionally struggle to find a reliable source of constant inventory and growth. However, with IS, we've found a few good pockets (publishers) that appear to back out extremely well for us.

Vungle works well for branding and performance as video is a high impact format that and that has good CTRs and CVRs. However, for advertisers without a lot of budget, Vungle may not be a good option as the CPMs on the exchange are very high. For branding there are alternatives that have a more developed product, where video can be targeted near content the user may like, like Teads.

Incentivized

• Great reporting
• Dedicated AM to help get the best use of the product
• Exclusive deals with big publishers

Incentivized

• You can work on a CPI basis on the network level.
• Strong in the US. A lot of inventory there.
• SSP integration very fast and good technical team.

Incentivized

• Very small inventory for iOS in Latin.
• Sometimes does not deliver at the set targets.

Incentivized

• Product development. They have not evolved their product significantly still offering the same videos they had 3 years ago.
• Slow to respond to product questions.
• Not enough scale on APAC GEOS.

Incentivized

I would say is a standard video SSP. The reporting dashboard is well designed and easy to use and throttling options are standard. They seem to be confident about their inventory and they don't really evolve their product and add new betas or create audiences or do anything out of the ordinary.

Incentivized

Their support team is a bit slow. You have to re-send your email questions constantly because the first email never gets a reply. Their core business is still the ad network which does not involve a lot of human interaction so they are still working on how to evolve their account management team to be an exchange.

Incentivized

Very good service. Self serve platform in compared with the other apps. Would recommend it to try new channels.

Incentivized

Vungle stands out as the only video only exchange. It is their main selling point and they have carved out a nice niche that differentiates them from the rest of SSPs. Their main competition, in my opinion, is Teads, which has focused the product more towards branding in order to monetize better for its publishers by getting higher bids.

Incentivized

• Helps us deliver on our campagins, improving ROI
• Inventory quite expensive, decreasing ROI
• Not transparent on margins, which is not good for the business

• We have gotten good CPAs, but we have had to bid high CPMs.
• They were reluctant to do a rebate deal, which is something standard once you hit a certain volume of spend, which worsened ROI.
• No buy sides fees, which is a big plus for profitability.

Incentivized