Overview 

Once you've configured the targeting settings for your upcoming deal in the Media Planning module, click Create a deal to move forward with the next steps in the deal creation process. These include configuring the deal settings, such as the deal name, start and end dates, and buyer seat; setting up the pricing details to define how the deal will be transacted; and finally, retrieving the deal ID, which serves as the unique identifier and confirms that the deal has been successfully created.

Access

To access Create a new deal page, once you've configured the targeting settings for your upcoming deal in the Media Planning module, select Create deal.

Configure deal settings

In the Settings section, follow these steps:

1. In the Name field, define the name for the campaign. 
2. In the Currency field, select from the following supported currencies: AED, ARS, AUD, BGN, BRL*, CAD*, CHF, CLP, CNY, COP, CZK, DKK, EGP, EUR*, GBP*, HKD, HRK, HUF, IDR, INR, JPY, KRW, MXN, NOK, NZD, PEN, PLN*, RON, RUB, SEK, SGD, TRY, TWD, UAH, and USD*. The selected currency is saved as your default and will be automatically applied the next time you log into Maestro. The currencies marked with an asterisk (*) are available by default. Use of any other supported currency requires prior approval from Equativ. ⚠️Warning: once a currency is selected and the deal is created, it cannot be changed. To request a change, contact Equativ directly.
3. In the Start date field, define the start date for the deal. 
4. In the End date field, define the end date for the deal. 
5. In the Buyer seats field, select buyer seats.

Buyer seats are accounts in a DSP that allow buyers to participate in the bidding process. Each ad opportunity is presented to all available seats, which then decide whether to participate in an auction. Upon identifying the highest bid within the DSP, the winning seat's bid is sent back to the supply side. 

By selecting buyer seats you make a deal eligible for DSP seats of a specific agency. If your desired seat isn't listed, contact your Equativ representative.

6. In the Partner seats field, select a partner seat to target the whole DSP. ⓘ Note: partner seat selection might not be available for all accounts. Contact your Equativ representative if you don't see this option. 

Automatic DSP synchronization

If you select Google DV360, Xandr Invest, or The Trade Desk as buyer or partner seats, the Automatic DSP Synchronization option is displayed. If enabled, deals having a buyer seat on one or multiple of these DSPs are being synchronized automatically with these DSPs. The deal synchronization process runs every ten minutes. 

This automatic synchronization applies to Programmatic guaranteed deals, Preferred deals, Private auctions, and Auction package deals, but only when the deal targets at least one specific buyer seat within the DSP. Deals targeting the DSP as a whole aren't automatically synchronized. Platform-specific limitations apply: for Xandr, only one buyer seat can be targeted per deal, while DV360 allows targeting only buyer seats owned by the same administrator.

Automatic synchronization is of particular relevance in case of meta-deals as you can enable automatic synchronization for the meta-deal but disable it in the child deals. As soon as you select a buyer seat or a partner seat from one of the DSPs supporting automatic synchronization, the Automatic DSP Synchronization option is displayed and enabled by default.  For more information about meta-deals, see Create meta-deals.

You can enable automatic synchronization after deal creation. However, once enabled, it cannot be turned off. If you need to disable automatic synchronization for an existing deal, you must delete this deal and create a new deal with the Automatic DSP Synchronization option disabled.

7. In the Identification settings field, set the external deal ID and the seller name. ⚠️Warning: you can configure the seller name only when Automatic DSP synchronization is enabled. For more information, see Automatic DSP synchronization. 

External deal ID

You can set your custom external deal ID instead of using an auto-generated one. This feature lets you enter your own ID, which is especially useful for reselling deals with a common, well-known ID across different platforms or for preserving an existing ID when needed. It provides greater flexibility compared to using an auto-generated ID.

To configure custom external deal ID, follow these steps: 

1. In the Automatic DSP synchronization section, expand the Identification settings tab. 
2. In the External deal ID (optional) field, enter the deal ID.

Seller name

You can define a custom seller name that will appear in DV360 and The Trade Desk DSPs, replacing the default Maestro company name or the seller name defined at the company level. This feature lets you control how your deal is presented in those DSPs, either under a given name or brand.

To configure custom seller name for Google DV360 or The Trade Desk, follow these steps:

1. In the Automatic DSP synchronization section, expand the Identification settings tab. 
2. In the Seller name (optional) field, enter the seller name. 

If needed, the seller name can be reset by clearing the Seller name field, which will revert it to the seller name set at the company level—or to the Maestro company name if no company-level default is set.

8. Select + Add frequency capping to define the maximum number of impressions that can be shown to a single user within a specific time frame: per hour, per day (from 00:00 to 23:59), per week, or across the entire campaign duration. For example, setting a cap of 2 per day means each unique user will see ads from this deal no more than twice each day.

• In the Alternative ID provider field, select an alternative ID provider whose user identification technology is to be used for the frequency capping. User IDs are crucial for frequency capping to work: ad servers assign a persistent, unique user ID to each user and record which user ID has viewed a deal at which time. With these records, the frequency capping can then be enforced. For example, if the user with the user ID 1234567 has viewed a deal that has a frequency capping of 1 impression per day, then this user might view the given deal at maximum once per day. Traditionally, the user IDs are stored in cookies and synched between systems. However, due to the ongoing deprecation of third-party cookies, alternative ID providers have emerged, offering alternative methods to identify users, using so-called alternative IDs, sometimes also referred to as extended IDs. 
• In the Frequency capping field, select the number of times/impressions each unique user might see an ad from this deal. 
• In the Impressions per field, select the period for which the frequency capping is applied. 

For more information about the targeting of users identified through alternative ID providers, see Alternative ID provider targeting.

Configure pricing settings

Personas

Users operate under two different models depending on how they handle inventory and pricing: 

With margin: curators who operate on a revenue-sharing model, where they aggregate inventory to create targeted packages for their customers.

Without margin: users without margin purchase inventory directly without revenue sharing. Your access to margin on the Maestro platform depends on your company's settings. Based on these settings, you might or might not have the ability to apply margins.

Market floor

In the market floor pricing model, no minimum (floor) price is set for a deal, letting you bid on ad space where publishers haven't established a price floor. The final cost is determined by market demand. The Maestro platform provides a recommended bid CPM based on market conditions to guide your bidding strategy.

For users with access to margin, the deal price is calculated by taking the publisher's recommended bid price and adding the margin on top.

Recommended bid CPM

The recommended bid CPM value is based on the median CPM calculated after you have set up your targeting criteria in the Media Planning module. Our recommended bid price ensures competitiveness at 50% of Equativ’s available inventory.

Setup

To set up a market floor, in the Pricing section, select Market floor. The Pricing Summary section on the right will display the recommended bid CPM for your deal. If you are a curator, you can apply additional costs. For more information, see Users with access to margin.

Users with access to margin

Users with access to margin can bid flexibly and apply their own curator margin to the market floor.

When a margin is added, the system recalculates the recommended bid CPM accordingly by adding the specified percentage to it. The new computation is displayed in the Pricing Summary section on the right.

To apply a margin, enter the given value in the Additional costs field.

Custom floor

In the custom floor pricing model, you set your own minimum price (floor price) for the inventory. It determines the starting point for your bids in the auction.

Deal floor price

The Maestro platform offers a deal floor price based on the median CPM that is calculated after you have set up your targeting criteria in the Media Planning module.

Setup

To set up a custom floor, in the Pricing section, select Custom floor. The Pricing Summary section on the right displays the deal floor price and the final media price.

To change the floor price, enter the new value in the Floor Price field.

If you are a curator, you can apply additional costs. For more information, see Users with access to margin.

Users with access to margin

Users with access to margin can bid flexibly and apply their own curator margin to a custom floor. When a margin is added, the system recalculates the final media price accordingly by subtracting fixed costs and margins. The new computation is displayed in the Pricing Summary section on the right.

To apply a margin, enter the given value in the Additional costs field.

Media price

Media price is the final amount paid to the publisher, which is the minimum price after deducting any applicable fees.

The media price is calculated by first subtracting the fixed costs from the deal floor price, and then subtracting the curator margin from the remaining amount.

Example of custom floor calculations

In this example, the initial deal floor price recommended by the Maestro platform is €0.59. With a curator margin of 10%, the media price for the publisher is calculated as €0.53.

Calculations:

Curator Margin: €0.59 (deal floor price) × 10% (curator margin) = €0.059.

Media Price: €0.59 (deal floor price) - €0.059 (curator margin) = €0.531 (media price).

Fixed price

In the fixed price model, you set a fixed price for the customers.

To change the fixed price, enter the new value in the Fixed Price field.

If you are a curator, you can apply additional costs. For more information, see Users with access to margin.

Setup

To set up a fixed price for your deal, in the Pricing section, select Fixed price. The Pricing Summary section on the right displays the recommended deal price and the final media price.

Users with access to margin

Users with access to margin can set a fixed price for their customers, specifying the margin to be included. When a margin is added, the system recalculates the final media price accordingly by subtracting fixed costs and margins. The new computation is displayed in the Pricing Summary section on the right.

To apply a margin, enter the given value in the Additional costs field.

Media price

Media price is the final amount paid to the publisher, which is the minimum price after deducting any applicable fees. The media price is calculated by first subtracting the fixed costs from the deal floor price, and then subtracting the curator margin from the remaining amount.

Carbon compensation

You can choose to contribute 0.05 in your selected deal’s currency toward Scope3’s high-quality carbon removal projects, such as reforestation and biochar. These projects are selected and managed in partnership with Carbon Direct, following rigorous scientific standards that ensure permanence, verifiability, and environmental and social integrity.

Your contribution helps neutralize the emissions associated with your ad by funding the removal rather than the avoidance of carbon from the atmosphere, supporting meaningful, long-term climate impact.

To support carbon compensation, select the Carbon compensation toggle.

For more information, see the Carbon Compensation article by Scope3 Support.

Configure budget allocation 

Budget allocation lets Maestro users, particularly curators, define budgets directly for a deal instead of relying on budgets set by DSPs. This provides greater control and flexibility in managing how deals are sold.

Budget allocation covers the following scenarios: 

• Budget allocation for a standalone deal: budget is set directly on the deal and controls how it is delivered. 
• Budget allocation for a meta-deal: after linking multiple deals under a meta-deal, budgets can be defined at both the meta-deal level and the targeted deal level (child deal level). For more information about meta-deals, see Create meta-deals.

  If you remove a child deal from its meta-deal, the budget link between them is also removed. The child deal retains its own budget (if it has one), and that budget isn't affected by the removal.

   
• Budget allocation for child deals that are also standalone: in some cases, a deal can act both as a standalone deal and as a targeted deal (child deal) within a meta-deal. In this scenario, the deal has two separate budgets: one defined independently, and one defined within the meta-deal context. Each budget governs delivery within its own scope. For more information about meta-deals, see Create meta-deals.

When configuring budget allocation, you define delivery capping, volume, and delivery mode. Delivery capping sets daily or overall limits for budget or units (impressions), volume specifies the total amount to be delivered, and delivery mode controls how those limits are spent over time.

Delivery capping 

To configure delivery capping, in the Delivery capping field, select one of the following options: 

• Overall Budget: the maximum sum you are willing to spend throughout the duration of the deal delivery. 
• Overall Units: the maximum number of impressions that you want to deliver. 
• Daily Budget: the maximum sum to spend on your deal per day. 
• Daily Units: the maximum amount of impressions to be delivered per day. 

  You must select at least one capping criterion, and the maximum you can select is four.

   

Volume 

To configure volume, in the Volume field, enter the desired value. This defines the total number of units (impressions) or total budget to be delivered for the deal. 

Volume in meta-deals: the volume defined at the meta-deal level determines the overall delivery. For example, if the meta-deal has a total budget of €100, but the combined budgets of the linked (child) deals total €150, the system will still only deliver up to €100, as limited by the meta-deal’s volume.

Delivery mode 

To configure delivery mode, in the Delivery mode field, select one of the following options: 

• Choose Even if you would like to spread the advertising budget and engagement (impressions) evenly throughout the selected campaign timespan (daily or overall). 
• Choose Asap to spend your daily budget quickly and reach your delivery goals as soon as possible. 

You can combine the delivery capping and delivery modes. For example, you can set the overall budget or units to Asap to deliver the value as soon as possible, and combine it with daily budget or units set to Even to deliver a deal consistently and optimally throughout the day.

Retrieve deal ID

When you are ready with your deal’s settings, follow these steps to retrieve a deal ID:

1. Select the Create button. 
2. At the top of the page, copy the generated deal ID and paste it into your DSP in order to target this deal ID in your campaigns.
3. Optional: To see the details of your deal, click the View Deal Summary button. 

You can later use the deal ID to find your deal in the Maestro platform. 

Miscellaneous

• If, after clicking the Create a deal button in the Media Planning page, you receive the message "Your targeting is too narrow and your deal won't have enough reach", it means your current targeting settings are too restrictive or don’t include enough selected segments. This reduces the number of available auctions below the recommended threshold required to activate a deal. To resolve this, consider broadening your targeting parameters—for example, by adding more segments or expanding your geographic, device, or inventory selections—to ensure the deal has sufficient reach and can be successfully created. For more information, see Set targeting criteria.
• If the Create button is disabled, even though all necessary settings have been selected, you might need to clear your cookies. To do this in Google Chrome, go to chrome://settings/siteData, search for buyerconnect.smartadserver.com, and delete the cookie associated with it. After clearing the cookie, refresh the page and try again to enable the button.