OpenX Becomes First Ad Exchange to Support The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s “Rising Stars” Ad Units

Leading provider of digital ad technology enables the buying and selling of new IAB Standard Ad Unit Portfolio through global OpenX Market

LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2012 OpenX Technologies, Inc. (OpenX), one of the world’s leading providers of digital advertising technology, today announced that it will support the buying and selling of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) new online ad units through OpenX Enterprise, the company’s Software as a Service ad serving product for large publishers, and OpenX Market, a leading Real-Time Bidding (RTB) enabled advertising exchange platform. The new Standard Ad Unit Portfolio will include six new ad units (the “Rising Stars”) and are the first such units to be approved by the IAB since 2003.

The Rising Stars units are designed to meet marketers’ communications needs across the purchase funnel and to drive forward and create new opportunities for dynamic brand advertising. These six new interactive ad units have been developed and tested in partnership with leading publishers and agencies in the digital world. Since their introduction in 1996 and most recent update in 2003, the IAB Standard Ad Units helped to create the modern, scalable digital advertising industry. Today more than 80 percent of display ads sold follow IAB standards. The new Standard Ad Unit Portfolio was released at the fifth IAB Annual Leadership Meeting Ecosystem 2.0: Beyond Time and Space, this Sunday.

OpenX Market is designed to help publishers maximize revenue and to help advertisers much more easily reach their target audiences across large numbers of publishers. Advertisers benefit by having a simple way to buy across the enormous pool of primary inventory available from OpenX’s large publisher base. Moreover, OpenX’s just-announced acquisition of breakthrough Supply-Side Platform LiftDNA will provide significant benefits to buyers of ad inventory. In particular, the combination of OpenX Market and LiftDNA by OpenX™ creates a massive pool of RTB enabled inventory totaling more than 100 billion ad impressions per month. The reach, scale and quality of this inventory provides one of the largest buying sources on the internet.

Since its launch in 2009, OpenX Market has seen significant growth and adoption by those recognizing the precision and strength of ad exchanges and the quality of both buy-side and sell-side customers that OpenX attracts. OpenX Market achieved a year-over-year revenue growth rate of nearly 700% in 2011.

“The IAB’s new selection of ad units should dramatically improve the digital ad industry,” said Jason Fairchild, chief revenue officer, OpenX. “Publishers are starting to see the value in running a smaller number of high-impact ad units, driving more user engagement and higher overall CPM gains of 300-400% for these new units compared with the more traditional units based on initial use. OpenX Market – as the first ad exchange to adopt the Rising Stars – will facilitate the publisher shift to these new units, and help bring scale to the buying opportunities.”

“With the six brand-friendly Rising Stars display ad units just becoming part of the IAB Standard Ad Units Portfolio, it is exciting to see adoption take a big step forward with this move by OpenX,” said Peter Minnium, head of brand initiatives, IAB. “This marks the first time an ad exchange has committed to the buying and selling of these dynamic and immersive formats. We look forward to others joining OpenX in embracing these units, since they are set to drive the entire interactive industry forward.”

About OpenX

OpenX is one of the world’s leading providers of digital advertising technology, enabling businesses to manage and maximize their ad revenue. OpenX products, including OpenX Enterprise, OpenX Market and LiftDNA by OpenX™ provide a comprehensive revenue serving platform by combining ad serving, an ad exchange and a breakthrough approach to yield optimization.

OpenX Technologies, Inc. is based in Los Angeles and is backed by leading investors including Accel Partners, Index Ventures and SAP Ventures. For more information, please visit www.openx.com.

OpenX and LiftDNA by OpenX are trademarks of OpenX Limited.