![from left: Gloria Eichler, CPO at smartclip, Christian Osterhues, VP of People & Culture, and Shira Leffel, VP of Marketing & Product Education at smartclip](https://smartclip.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/preview-leadership-thumbnail-smartclip-new-1.jpg)
7 June 2024
Last modified: 14 March, 2022
A term used in the smartx ecosystem and a key element of a demand business rule (DBR), the deal type sets out which auction mechanism will be used to decide the final price paid for programmatic ad inventory. There are a number of deal types – first-price auction, second-price auction, direct deal, etc. – and which type is used will depend on what the buyer’s demand-side platform (DSP) supports. The deal type must be communicated upfront to the buyer before any deals take place.