Multi-step ping

This article shows how to give a buyer more than one ping before the post. Use it when a buyer needs to qualify a lead first and price it second, or when the price depends on something only the buyer's first answer can tell you.

Most buyers need one ping. Add a second step only when a single call cannot get you both the qualification and the bid.

How the steps run

Every buyer's step 1 runs, then every buyer's step 2, and so on, before the post to the winner. Steps run in parallel across buyers and in order within a buyer.

Only the last step produces the buyer's final answer. Earlier steps are qualification and pre-checks, and their job is to gather information or drop the buyer out early.

Prerequisites

• A buyer whose delivery method is Ping/Post
• The buyer's endpoint and expected request shape for each step
• A sample response from each step, so you can configure response mapping against real data

Add a step

1. Go to Campaigns, open the campaign, and open the Buyers tab.
2. Open a Ping/Post buyer and find the ping configuration.
3. Click Add Ping Step.
4. Use the step bar at the top to move between steps.
5. Give the step a Step Name. It shows up wherever the step is referenced, so name it after what it asks.
6. Set the Ping URL, Request Method, Payload Type, and Response Type for that step.
7. Build the request body for the step.
8. Configure response mapping for the step. See Response mapping.
9. Save, then run Test Integration.

Pass data between steps

A later step can read an earlier step's response:

{{$ping_step_1:data.quality_score}}

The editor only offers steps that run before the one you are editing, so you cannot reference a step that has not happened yet.

This is the point of multiple steps. Step 1 asks the buyer to score the lead, and step 2 sends that score back so the buyer can price it.

Price across steps

Each step has its own price mapping. The buyer's bid is whatever the most recent step that returned a price said.

A step that returns nothing leaves the previous price standing. That means a final qualification step that answers with a plain yes does not wipe out the bid an earlier step gave you.

Consent bidding

Where a buyer's ping reply carries a list of brands for one-to-one consent, that configuration belongs on the last ping step, because the last step is the one that returns the real bid.

Expected result

Test Integration walks through each step in order and shows the request and response for every one. A test lead's timeline shows one ping entry per step, with the last step carrying the price that went into distribution.

Troubleshooting

• A later step's reference came back empty. The step number is wrong, or that earlier step's response did not contain the path. Check the earlier step's real response first.
• The bid disappeared. The last step that returned a price is the one that counts. Confirm your price mapping is on the step that actually carries the bid.
• A buyer drops out after step 1. Its step 1 response mapped to a rejection. That is the point of a qualification step, but check the mapping if you did not intend it.
• Steps are running in the wrong order. Steps run in the order shown in the step bar. Check you edited the step you meant to.
• The buyer answered but nothing was read. Each step has its own response mapping. Configuring step 1 does not configure step 2.