PubMatic

Drive measurable advertising performance with PubMatic's AI-powered, agentic platform — built for buyers, publishers, and commerce media across CTV and mobile.

PubMatic syncs upload the users in an audience segment to PubMatic over SFTP so you can target them in advertising campaigns. Each sync registers your segment with PubMatic automatically, then uploads the matching users — there's no separate taxonomy sync to schedule ahead of time.

Supported syncing

Both sync types send incrementally: each run uploads only the users added to or removed from your query result since the last run, as separate addseg and removeseg files. For more information about sync modes, refer to the sync modes docs.

Connect to PubMatic

To connect PubMatic to Hightouch you need an SFTP account and a Data Partner ID (DPID), both provided by your PubMatic Account Manager during onboarding. The onboarding email includes the SFTP hostname, username, password, DPID, and the directories to upload to.

1. Go to the Destinations overview page and select Add destination.

2. Select PubMatic from the destination catalog.

3. Enter the following credentials, then select Continue:

   • SFTP Host: the regional PubMatic SFTP hostname from your onboarding email. Use the region closest to your user base for fastest ingestion.
   • SFTP Port: defaults to 22.
   • Username and Password: your PubMatic SFTP credentials.
   • Data Partner ID (DPID): your PubMatic-assigned data partner ID.
   • Data File Path: the directory where audience data files should land, typically Reports.
   • Taxonomy File Path: the directory where segment registration files should land, typically taxonomy. This must be different from the Data File Path — PubMatic separates the two file types by folder.
   • HEM Data File Path: the directory where hashed email files should land, typically hem. PubMatic requires HEM data in its own directory. Fill this in only if you run Hashed email (HEM) audience syncs.

Sync configuration

The Audience data and Hashed email (HEM) audience sync types work the same way: Hightouch registers your segment with PubMatic, then uploads the matching users. You configure the segment on the sync itself, so each sync targets a single segment.

Register a segment

PubMatic ingests user data only for segments that already exist in its taxonomy. Both sync types register their segment from the fields below before uploading any users, so a new segment always exists before its data arrives.

Hightouch re-registers the segment on the first sync run, on a full resync, and whenever you change any of these fields. That way edits — a rename, a new price, or a new segment ID — reach PubMatic on the next run without a separate step.

Audience data

Audience data syncs upload the users in a registered segment, keyed on an advertising identifier you choose. Each run uploads a gzipped TSV file to your Data File Path.

Select the user identifier

Use User ID Type to tell PubMatic what kind of identifier is in your mapped User ID column. Select one of the presets — Cookie, MAID (IDFA/AAID), UID 1.0 by TTD, ID5, RampID by LiveRamp, Shared ID, Panorama ID by Lotame, Intent IQ, or IP Address — or enter a custom identity partner ID assigned to you by PubMatic.

Map fields

Map your source columns to PubMatic fields:

Each uploaded row contains your DPID, the mapped User ID, the segment ID, IP address and country (if provided), and the selected User ID Type. Files are named with your DPID, a timestamp, and a content checksum so PubMatic can deduplicate uploads.

Hashed email (HEM) audience

Hashed email audience syncs upload users keyed on a hashed email address instead of an advertising identifier. PubMatic resolves the hashed emails into the identifiers you target. Each run uploads a gzipped TSV file to your HEM Data File Path.

Configure email hashing

Use the hashing options to tell Hightouch whether your mapped Email column is already hashed:

• If the column holds raw email addresses, Hightouch normalizes each address and hashes it for you.
• If the column is already hashed, Hightouch sends the values as-is.

Then set Which algorithm are your emails hashed with? to SHA-256 or MD5. This sets the algorithm Hightouch uses when it hashes raw emails, and tells PubMatic which hash type you're sending.

Choose target identifiers

Use Target UID type to tell PubMatic which identifiers to resolve the emails into: Cookie, MAID (IDFA/AAID), or Cookie and MAID. This field is optional — leave it empty to use the default target configured with your PubMatic Account Manager at onboarding.

Map fields

Map your source columns to PubMatic fields:

Tips and troubleshooting

Validate your setup

After your first sync completes, verify the upload in PubMatic:

• Check that the files landed in the configured directories using your SFTP client — audience data in the Data File Path, hashed email data in the HEM Data File Path, and the segment registration file in the Taxonomy File Path. Hightouch uploads files with a .UPLOADING suffix and renames them once the transfer completes, so only fully renamed files should appear.
• Ask your PubMatic Account Manager to confirm that PubMatic ingested the files. Data files reference a segment by its segid, so any segment PubMatic hasn't finished processing is dropped on PubMatic's side until registration completes.

Common errors

To date, our customers haven't experienced any errors while using this destination. If you run into any issues, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to help.

Live debugger

Hightouch provides complete visibility into the API calls made during each of your sync runs. We recommend reading our article on debugging tips and tricks to learn more.

Sync alerts

Hightouch can alert you of sync issues via Slack, PagerDuty, SMS, or email. For details, please visit our article on alerting.