Mixi Inc. (TSE: 2121) has announced that the "Vantage" DSP service (http://vntg.jp/) has officially started its operations by connecting to "AdStir" (http://ad-stir.com/).

"Vantage" is an DSP service which utilizes user attribution data from its vast Mixi user-base. "Adstir" is one of the largest Japanese SSP service providers and is owned by United Inc.

The "Vantage" DSP service is an RTB delivery system which is capable of delivering advertisements to major publishers outside  the Mixi social network. It features highly accurate audience targeting based on the rich attribution data of Mixi's vast  base of 12 million monthly active users.

By automatically adjusting its distribution algorithms by analyzing each publisher's unique characteristics and its audience, "Vantage" will maximize ad performance by selecting the most optimal target audience for each campaign.

"AdStir" is an SSP service owned by United Inc. and helps publishers monetizing their traffic by providing yield optimization and RTB capabilities for their mobile websites and apps. AdStir is one of the largest SSPs in the Japanese market with over 5,000 customers.

Ad impressions surpassed 10 billion impressions in April 2013.

Mixi Inc. plans to expand Vantage's distribution capacity by tying up with all major SSPs in the future.

Key Features

--Audience targeting

"Vantage" uses the user attribution data of the social networking service "Mixi" to select the most optimal ad for each user.

As part of Mixi's "User First" policy, it is of course possible for each user to opt out in case they do not wish to have advertisements selected based upon their profile.

It is also not possible for agencies and advertisers to determine the identity of individual users nor do they have direct access to the user attribution data.

* The opt-out function will become available by spring 2013 at the product launch.

--RTB (Real Time Bidding)

RTB is like a stock market for selling and buying display ad space in online media.

For each individual impression for a viewer, the Vantage DSP system will determine in real time the most suitable campaign.

The "Vantage" DSP service will maximize the ROI by automatically calculating the optimal bid price in accordance with an advertiser's expectation regarding each individual impression.

--Distribution to multiple publishers

"Vantage" can distribute ads not only to the Mixi social network but also to multiple major publishers through major SSPs (Supply Side Platforms).

About  SNS 'mixi'  (http://mixi.jp/)

'mixi' is a Social Networking Service (SNS) focused on providing a venue for communication and "the most comfortable bonding" for its users. As of December 2012, number of monthly active users surpassed 12 million (PC + smart phone). Many of them are active on a daily basis.

About Mixi, Inc.  (http://mixi.co.jp/en/overview/)

Mixi, Inc. runs an SNS 'mixi' and 'Find Job !', a website for career changers, with a mission of "enriching people's lives by developing communications".