Document Type
Discussion Paper
Publication Date
7-22-2021
CFDP Number
2291
CFDP Pages
36
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Code(s)
D44, D47, D83, D84
Abstract
In digital advertising, a publisher selling impressions faces a trade-off in deciding how precisely to match advertisers with viewers. A more precise match generates efficiency gains that the publisher can hope to exploit. A coarser match will generate a thicker market and thus more competition. The publisher can control the precision of the match by controlling the amount of information that advertisers have about viewers. We characterize the optimal trade-off when impressions are sold by auction. The publisher pools premium matches for advertisers (when there will be less competition on average) but gives advertisers full information about lower quality matches.
Recommended Citation
Bergemann, Dirk; Heumann, Tibor; and Morris, Stephen, "Selling Impressions: Efficiency vs. Competition" (2021). Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers. 2629.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cowles-discussion-paper-series/2629