Campaign Targeting

Overview

You can attach structured targeting intent to a campaign when creating or updating it through the V3 MCP surface (save_campaign on /mcp/v3). Targeting records what the campaign intends to reach — geography, language, device type, daypart, and demographic dimensions — and persists that intent with the campaign object.

Campaign targeting is stored and returned on the campaign workspace. When you create a media buy with save_media_buy, its targeting can narrow the V3 campaign overlay but can never widen it.

Passing targeting to save_campaign

The targeting parameter is optional. Omit it to leave targeting unset; include it to attach one or more dimensions:

{
  "targeting": {
    "geo": [
      {
        "requirementId": "geo-us-only",
        "strength": "required",
        "include": ["US"]
      }
    ],
    "device": [
      {
        "requirementId": "ctv-preferred",
        "strength": "preferred",
        "include": ["ctv"]
      }
    ],
    "language": [
      {
        "requirementId": "en-only",
        "strength": "required",
        "include": ["en"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Each dimension is an array of requirement entries. A requirement entry has:

Field	Type	Description
`requirementId`	string	A stable, caller-assigned ID for this requirement. Use it to identify the entry in future updates.
`strength`	`"required"` \| `"preferred"`	Whether the dimension is a hard constraint or a preference.
`include`	string[]	Values to target (must include at least one).
`exclude`	string[]	Values to exclude (optional).

Supported dimensions

Dimension	Values
`geo`	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes (e.g. `"US"`, `"CA"`) and DMA codes
`language`	BCP-47 language tags (e.g. `"en"`, `"fr"`)
`device`	`"ctv"`, `"mobile"`, `"desktop"`
`dayparts`	Day-of-week and hour-of-day slots
`demographics`	Demographic segment identifiers

Reading targeting back

After save, targetingOverlay appears on the campaign workspace returned by save_campaign and by get(kind: "campaign"). Existing campaigns with no targeting set omit the field entirely. The deprecated targeting field keeps its existing behavior: it is returned verbatim only when the campaign has stored legacy targeting.

Updating targeting

Pass targeting in a save_campaign update to replace the stored targeting intent. Partial dimension updates replace the entire targeting object — each call is the full desired state, not a patch.

Campaign targeting and media buys

save_media_buy applies the campaign targeting overlay as a guardrail to each product’s targetingOverlay. An explicit product targetingOverlay supplies that buy’s targeting, and campaign targeting still narrows it: overlapping values are kept, and a product value outside the campaign returns CONFLICT. A product can omit a campaign field to inherit it, or narrow it where the field has defined containment rules. It cannot widen the campaign audience. signal_targeting is excluded from the overlay because it is a priced, product-scoped selection that will come through the signals path. Typed signal_targeting_groups remains supported. On a V3 media-buy product overlay: Deprecated. Numeric codes replace names. Removal will be announced in release notes at least 14 days ahead; planned for 2 November 2026 (AI-10440). Codes must be in the Nielsen DMA dictionary; unknown codes return nearby code candidates. For country, region, metro, postal, language, browser, device type, and device platform includes, the buy uses the overlap. Excludes are combined. A buy’s demographic age range is intersected, unknown ages are included only when both overlays allow them, and accepted age bases are intersected. The stricter age restriction wins. Each buy daypart must fit wholly inside a campaign daypart on the same clock; dayparts are never clipped or converted between timezones. For proximity, named places, and other structured values without a containment rule, a product must omit the field or repeat the campaign value exactly. If the included values for the same field do not overlap, save_media_buy returns a CONFLICT error. The error names the field and includes the campaign and product values so you can correct one of them. It does not create a media buy that targets everywhere. Omit a product geography field to inherit the campaign’s value for that field. Language, device, daypart, and demographic campaign intent now participate in this guardrail. A demographic overlay still cannot dispatch while seller transport is on AdCP 3.1, so save_media_buy rejects it before seller contact.

Campaign audiences and catalogs

save_campaign also accepts audienceConfig and catalogId. Use audienceConfig.targetAudienceIds to include up to 100 audience IDs and audienceConfig.suppressAudienceIds to exclude up to 100 audience IDs. On an update, deleteMissing: true replaces both lists; otherwise, supplied IDs are added to the existing lists. catalogId is the public catalog ID returned by the catalog read surfaces; pass null on an update to remove it. Both fields are stored and returned by get(kind: "campaign"). Campaigns with an audience or catalog cannot launch yet because those objects are not available to sellers. The campaign readiness response names this blocker. Remove the field to launch without it, or wait for seller object delivery support.

Rollout and release check

This is available immediately on the public V3 save_campaign and get(kind: "campaign") surfaces; it has no separate customer enrollment or feature flag. The Buyer V3 API release owner verifies the release through the automated PR Acceptance Tests catalog contract proof, then confirms in the released environment that a campaign can save and read back an audience or catalog and that a launch attempt returns the seller-sync blocker. The release check passes only when all three behaviors agree: save persists the requested IDs, get returns them, and launch stays refused while seller sync is unavailable. Treat a missing readback value, a launch that succeeds, or a blocker other than the seller-sync refusal as a mitigation trigger. Roll back the release or remove the audience/catalog from the affected campaign; do not override the blocker or treat the objects as delivered.

Backward compatibility

targeting is deprecated, but its behavior is unchanged. targetingOverlay is the new V3 targeting field. Its removal is a separately announced change (AI-10440) with at least 14 days’ notice. Existing calls and campaigns are not affected.

Start here

Buy media

Sell media

Help and updates

Campaign Targeting

Overview

Passing targeting to save_campaign

Supported dimensions

Reading targeting back

Updating targeting

Campaign targeting and media buys

Campaign audiences and catalogs

Rollout and release check

Backward compatibility

​Overview

​Passing targeting to save_campaign

​Supported dimensions

​Reading targeting back

​Updating targeting

​Campaign targeting and media buys

​Campaign audiences and catalogs

​Rollout and release check

​Backward compatibility

Overview

Passing targeting to save_campaign

Supported dimensions

Reading targeting back

Updating targeting

Campaign targeting and media buys

Campaign audiences and catalogs

Rollout and release check

Backward compatibility