adcp-media-buy by adcontextprotocol

---
name: adcp-media-buy
description: Execute AdCP Media Buy Protocol operations with sales agents - discover advertising products, create and manage campaigns, sync creatives, and track delivery. Use when users want to buy advertising, create media buys, interact with ad sales agents, or test advertising APIs.
---

# 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.

> **Buyer-side basics** — idempotency replay, `oneOf` variants, async `status:'submitted'` polling, error recovery from `adcp_error.issues[]` — live in `skills/call-adcp-agent/SKILL.md`. This skill covers per-task semantics only.

## Overview

The Media Buy Protocol provides 11 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 |
| `get_media_buys` | Retrieve campaign state and status | ~1-5s |
| `sync_creatives` | Upload creative assets | Minutes-Days |
| `sync_catalogs` | Sync product feeds and catalogs | Minutes-Days |
| `list_creatives` | Query creative library | ~1s |
| `get_media_buy_delivery` | Get performance data | ~60s |
| `provide_performance_feedback` | Share outcomes with publishers | ~1-5s |

## 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:**
```json
{
  "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

**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:**
```json
{}
```

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:**
```json
{
  "asset_types": ["video", "image"]
}
```

**Key fields:**
- `asset_types` (array, optional): Filter by asset types (image, video, audio, text, html, vast, etc.)
- `name_search` (string, optional): Case-insensitive partial match on name or description

**Response contains:**
- `formats`: Array of format specifications with dimensions, requirements, and asset schemas

---

### create_media_buy

Create an advertising campaign from selected products.

**Request:**
```json
{
  "brand": {
    "domain": "acme.com"
  },
  "packages": [
    {
      "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:**
- `brand` (object, required): Brand identity - `{ "domain": "acmecorp.com" }`
- `packages` (array, required): Products to purchase, each with:
  - `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 lifecycle state — `pending_creatives` (no creatives assigned yet), `pending_start` (waiting for flight date), or `active` (serving immediately)
- `packages`: Created packages with their IDs

---

### update_media_buy

Modify an existing campaign.

**Request:**
```json
{
  "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_catalogs

Sync product catalogs, store locations, job postings, and other structured feeds to a seller account. Supports inline items or external feed URLs. When called without catalogs, returns existing catalogs (discovery mode).

**Request:**
```json
{
  "account": {
    "account_id": "acct_123"
  },
  "catalogs": [
    {
      "catalog_id": "winter-collection",
      "name": "Winter 2025 Collection",
      "type": "product",
      "items": [
        { "id": "sku-001", "name": "Wool Coat", "price": 299.99, "currency": "USD" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

**Key fields:**
- `account` (object, required): Account that owns the catalogs — `{ account_id }`
- `catalogs` (array, optional): Catalog objects to sync. Omit for discovery mode.
  - `type` (string, required): `offering`, `product`, `inventory`, `store`, `promotion`, `hotel`, `flight`, `job`, `vehicle`, `real_estate`, `education`, `destination`, `app`
  - `items` (array): Inline catalog data (mutually exclusive with `url`)
  - `url` (string): External feed URL (mutually exclusive with `items`)
  - `feed_format` (string): `google_merchant_center`, `facebook_catalog`, `shopify`, `linkedin_jobs`, `custom`
- `delete_missing` (boolean, optional): Remove catalogs not in this sync (use with caution)
- `dry_run` (boolean, optional): Preview changes without applying

---

### sync_creatives

Upload and manage creative assets.

**Request:**
```json
{
  "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:**
```json
{
  "filters": {
    "status": ["active"]
  },
  "limit": 20
}
```

---

### get_media_buys

Retrieve media buy state: status, valid_actions, creative approvals, pending formats, and optional delivery snapshots or revision history.

**Request:**
```json
{
  "media_buy_ids": ["mb_abc123"],
  "include_snapshot": true,
  "include_history": 5
}
```

**Key fields:**
- `media_buy_ids` (array, optional): Specific media buy IDs to retrieve
- `account` (object, optional): Filter to a specific account
- `status_filter` (string or array, optional): Filter by status — `pending_creatives`, `pending_start`, `active`, `paused`, `completed`, `rejected`, `canceled`. Defaults to `["active"]` when no IDs provided.
- `include_snapshot` (boolean, optional): Include near-real-time delivery snapshots per package
- `include_history` (integer, optional): Include the last N revision history entries per media buy

**Response contains:**
- `media_buys`: Array with `media_buy_id`, `status`, `valid_actions`, `packages`, creative approval state
- Optional `snapshot` per package (impressions, spend, pacing)
- Optional `history` entries (revision, timestamp, actor, action, summary)

---

### provide_performance_feedback

Share performance outcomes with publishers to enable data-driven optimization.

**Request:**
```json
{
  "media_buy_id": "mb_abc123",
  "measurement_period": {
    "start": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "end": "2025-01-31T23:59:59Z"
  },
  "performance_index": 1.2,
  "metric_type": "conversion_rate",
  "feedback_source": "buyer_attribution"
}
```

**Key fields:**
- `media_buy_id` (string, required): Publisher's media buy identifier
- `measurement_period` (object, required): Time period with `start` and `end` (ISO 8601)
- `performance_index` (number, required): Normalized score — 0.0 = no value, 1.0 = expected, >1.0 = above expected
- `package_id` (string, optional): Specific package for package-level feedback
- `creative_id` (string, optional): Specific creative for creative-level feedback
- `metric_type` (string, optional): `overall_performance`, `conversion_rate`, `brand_lift`, `click_through_rate`, `completion_rate`, `viewability`, `brand_safety`, `cost_efficiency`
- `feedback_source` (string, optional): `buyer_attribution`, `third_party_measurement`, `platform_analytics`, `verification_partner`

---

### get_media_buy_delivery

Retrieve performance metrics for a campaign.

**Request:**
```json
{
  "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:

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

---

## Testing Mode

Use **sandbox mode** for testing without real transactions. Sandbox is account-level — once a request references a sandbox account, the entire request is treated as sandbox with no real platform calls or spend.

Check whether the agent supports sandbox via `get_adcp_capabilities`:
```json
{
  "account": {
    "sandbox": true
  }
}
```

To enter sandbox mode, set `sandbox: true` on the account reference:
```json
{
  "account": {
    "brand": { "domain": "acme-corp.com" },
    "operator": "acme-corp.com",
    "sandbox": true
  }
}
```

Some sync tasks (`sync_creatives`, `sync_catalogs`) also support a `dry_run` parameter that previews changes without applying them. This is orthogonal to sandbox — you can use `dry_run` in both sandbox and production accounts.

See [Sandbox mode](https://docs.adcontextprotocol.org/docs/media-buy/advanced-topics/sandbox) for full details.