AdCP Media Buy Protocol

This skill enables you to execute the AdCP Media Buy Protocol with sales agents. Use the standard MCP tools (get_products, create_media_buy, sync_creatives, etc.) exposed by the connected agent.

Overview

The Media Buy Protocol provides 8 standardized tasks for managing advertising campaigns:

Task	Purpose	Response Time
get_products	Discover inventory using natural language	~60s
list_authorized_properties	See publisher properties	~1s
list_creative_formats	View creative specifications	~1s
create_media_buy	Create campaigns	Minutes-Days
update_media_buy	Modify campaigns	Minutes-Days
sync_creatives	Upload creative assets	Minutes-Days
list_creatives	Query creative library	~1s
get_media_buy_delivery	Get performance data	~60s

Typical Workflow

1. Discover products: get_products with a natural language brief
2. Review formats: list_creative_formats to understand creative requirements
3. Create campaign: create_media_buy with selected products and budget
4. Upload creatives: sync_creatives to add creative assets
5. Monitor delivery: get_media_buy_delivery to track performance

---

Task Reference

get_products

Discover advertising products using natural language briefs.

Request:

{
  "buying_mode": "brief",
  "brief": "Looking for premium video inventory for a tech brand targeting developers",
  "brand": {
    "domain": "example.com"
  },
  "filters": {
    "channels": ["video", "ctv"],
    "budget_range": { "min": 5000, "max": 50000 }
  }
}

Key fields:

• buying_mode (string): Required discriminator - "brief" or "wholesale"
• brief (string): Natural language description of campaign requirements
• brand (object): Brand identity - { "domain": "acmecorp.com" }
• filters (object, optional): Filter by channels, budget, delivery_type, format_types

Response contains:

• products: Array of matching products with product_id, name, description, pricing_options
• Each product includes format_ids (supported creative formats) and targeting (available targeting)

---

list_authorized_properties

Get the list of publisher properties this agent can sell.

Request:

{}

No parameters required.

Response contains:

• publisher_domains: Array of domain strings the agent is authorized to sell

---

list_creative_formats

View supported creative specifications.

Request:

{
  "format_types": ["video", "display"]
}

Key fields:

• format_types (array, optional): Filter to specific format categories

Response contains:

• formats: Array of format specifications with dimensions, requirements, and asset schemas

---

create_media_buy

Create an advertising campaign from selected products.

Request:

{
  "buyer_ref": "campaign-2024-q1-001",
  "brand": {
    "domain": "acme.com"
  },
  "packages": [
    {
      "buyer_ref": "pkg-video-001",
      "product_id": "premium_video_30s",
      "pricing_option_id": "cpm-standard",
      "budget": 10000
    }
  ],
  "start_time": {
    "type": "asap"
  },
  "end_time": "2024-03-31T23:59:59Z"
}

Key fields:

• buyer_ref (string, required): Your unique identifier for this campaign
• brand (object, required): Brand identity - { "domain": "acmecorp.com" }
• packages (array, required): Products to purchase, each with:
  • buyer_ref: Your identifier for this package
  • product_id: From get_products response
  • pricing_option_id: From product's pricing_options
  • budget: Amount in dollars
  • bid_price: Required for auction pricing
  • targeting_overlay: Additional targeting constraints
  • creative_ids or creatives: Creative assignments
• start_time (object, required): { "type": "asap" } or { "type": "scheduled", "datetime": "..." }
• end_time (string, required): ISO 8601 datetime

Response contains:

• media_buy_id: The created campaign identifier
• status: Current state (often pending for async approval)
• packages: Created packages with their IDs

---

update_media_buy

Modify an existing campaign.

Request:

{
  "media_buy_id": "mb_abc123",
  "updates": {
    "budget_change": 5000,
    "end_time": "2024-04-30T23:59:59Z",
    "status": "paused"
  }
}

Key fields:

• media_buy_id (string, required): The campaign to update
• updates (object): Changes to apply - budget_change, end_time, status, targeting, etc.

---

sync_creatives

Upload and manage creative assets.

Request:

{
  "creatives": [
    {
      "creative_id": "hero_video_30s",
      "name": "Brand Hero Video",
      "format_id": {
        "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
        "id": "video_standard_30s"
      },
      "assets": {
        "video": {
          "url": "https://cdn.example.com/hero.mp4",
          "width": 1920,
          "height": 1080,
          "duration_ms": 30000
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "assignments": {
    "hero_video_30s": ["pkg_001", "pkg_002"]
  }
}

Key fields:

• creatives (array, required): Creative assets to sync
  • creative_id: Your unique identifier
  • format_id: Object with agent_url and id from format specifications
  • assets: Asset content (video, image, html, etc.)
• assignments (object, optional): Map creative_id to package IDs
• dry_run (boolean): Preview changes without applying
• delete_missing (boolean): Archive creatives not in this sync

---

list_creatives

Query the creative library with filtering.

Request:

{
  "filters": {
    "status": ["active"],
    "format_types": ["video"]
  },
  "limit": 20
}

---

get_media_buy_delivery

Retrieve performance metrics for a campaign.

Request:

{
  "media_buy_id": "mb_abc123",
  "granularity": "daily",
  "date_range": {
    "start": "2024-01-01",
    "end": "2024-01-31"
  }
}

Response contains:

• delivery: Aggregated metrics (impressions, spend, clicks, etc.)
• by_package: Breakdown by package
• timeseries: Data points over time if granularity specified

---

Key Concepts

Brand identity

Brand context is provided by domain reference:

{
  "brand": {
    "domain": "acmecorp.com"
  }
}

The agent resolves the domain to retrieve the brand's identity (name, colors, guidelines, etc.) from its brand.json file.

Format IDs

Creative format identifiers are structured objects:

{
  "format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_300x250"
  }
}

The agent_url specifies which creative agent defines the format. Use https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org for standard IAB formats.

Pricing Options

Products include pricing_options array. Each option has:

• pricing_option_id: Use this in create_media_buy
• pricing_model: "cpm", "cpm-auction", "flat-fee", etc.
• price: Base price (for fixed pricing)
• floor: Minimum bid (for auction)

For auction pricing, include bid_price in your package.

Asynchronous Operations

Operations like create_media_buy and sync_creatives may require human approval. The response includes:

• status: "pending" - Operation awaiting approval
• task_id - For tracking async progress

Poll or use webhooks to check completion status.

---

Error Handling

Common error patterns:

• 400 Bad Request: Invalid parameters - check required fields
• 401 Unauthorized: Invalid or missing authentication token
• 404 Not Found: Invalid product_id, media_buy_id, or creative_id
• 422 Validation Error: Schema validation failure - check field types

Error responses include:

{
  "errors": [
    {
      "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
      "message": "budget must be greater than 0",
      "field": "packages[0].budget"
    }
  ]
}

---

Testing Mode

For testing without real transactions, agents may support:

• X-Dry-Run: true header - Preview without side effects
• Test products with test: true flag
• Sandbox environments

Ask the agent about testing capabilities before creating real campaigns.