Did you know that buying ads wasn’t always instantaneous? Now that advertisers and publishers can trade online, the process has been streamlined greatly. With the rise of DSP programmatic and related technologies, you can get your ad placed practically as soon as you place an order. The old ways of media buying still exist, but are you also willing to give DSP programmatic a try? The first thing you need to do is to learn more about it. To help you with this, we have comprehensively covered this topic in this post. By the end, you should be able to select the best DSP for you and fully utilize its features.
What is a Programmatic DSP?
A programmatic demand-side platform (DSP) deals with automating the purchase of ad space across various exchanges in real time. This is made possible through data collection, allowing the optimization of programmatic advertising DSP placement. That’s why, even without humans facilitating the exchange, your ads will still be put in the spaces where your target audience is hanging out.
A subtype of this is programmatic native DSP. This enables programmatic native advertising specifically. So, apart from matching you with a publisher ad space based on performance, the DSP programmatic tech will also consider seamless integration into the environment surrounding the ad space.
What Are the Primary Functions of a DSP?
The ultimate result is that the DSP programmatic tech can place your ads in an instant. This is a result of DSP performing numerous functions, including:
- Real-time bidding: The platform automates bidding across various exchanges.
- Audience targeting: As an advertiser, you can initiate DSP programmatic buying by determining the characteristics of your target audience.
- Campaign management: Access tools that help you run your campaign your way, including scheduling ads and setting a maximum budget, among other things.
- Analytics, reporting and ad optimization: DSP programmatic advertising also involves monitoring how your campaign is performing. Using algorithms, their insights are used to optimize placements to increase ROI.
Key Components and Architecture of DSPs
How is DSP programmatic able to perform all this? It is thanks to the way these components and architecture work together.
- Bidder: This is one of the most crucial elements as it performs bidding in real time for DSP, meaning programmatic advertising won’t be initiated without a bidder!
- Ad server: An ad server is responsible for serving the ad elements, storing data on ad performance and preventing fraud.
- Campaign tracker: With this, your DSP programmatic ad performance can be tracked, recorded and reported.
- Budget manager: The budget manager lets you set rules on how your money will be spent based on the campaign developments.
- Integrations: Integrations expand the capabilities of DSP programmatic tech. All demand-side platforms are also expected to be integrated with ad exchanges and SSPs.
How DSP Programmatic Media Buying Operates
Let’s face it: there just seems to be a lot going on with DSP! You’re probably wondering how to make sense of all of it to create the best DSP programmatic campaign. All the components and functions may seem confusing, but don’t worry! There may be a lot of technological intricacies going on for this type of transaction, but we’ve boiled down everything to three key programmatic buying DSP processes. Consider these the “steps” that you go through when automatically purchasing ad space.
1. Connection with Ad Exchanges and Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs)
In DSP programmatic advertising, ad exchanges and SSPs are crucial parts of the ecosystem that expand your placement possibilities. That’s why it is considered standard for DSP programmatic advertising to connect to them. Because of this connection, you get:
- Diverse targeting options: With more publishers within your reach, you can target a more diverse audience.
- A wider ad inventory: Which type of ad will be more suited for your DSP programmatic campaign? Rest assured that you’ll find the best placement.
- Cost-efficiency: Another great thing about DSPs is that you’re always getting the best price. DSP programmatic is definitely cheaper than direct deals.
These benefits let you reach a more diverse audience and maximize your impact while minimizing costs.
2. The Mechanics of Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
When talking about programmatic buying DSP processes, real-time bidding, or RTB, is probably the most important one. Here’s how to use algorithms to get you the best price for your ad placement.
- Bid request: DSP programmatic gets a request from the publisher to make bids through the system. This includes details about the target audience.
- Bid response: If those details match what you’re looking for, DSP programmatic sends a bid on your behalf.
- Auction: The ad exchange will look at all bids and pick the highest bidder.
- Ad display: The ad with the highest bid is selected and displayed in the ad space.
This is just for one ad, but the entire process happens for thousands of ads and publishers in real time.
3. Campaign Setup and Management within DSPs
The actual setup process will depend on the DSP programmatic you use. But essentially, everything can be categorized into four sections.
- Initial setup: Define your budget, objectives and audience for the DSP programmatic campaign.
- Ad management: Upload your ads. You can also employ dynamic creative optimization to present personalized ads based on the user.
- Campaign optimization: Maximize the results from your budget by tracking the campaign performance and making decisions based on that.
- Ongoing management: While the ad is running, you need to continue to monitor the data, perform data analysis and mitigate fraud that can lead to budget wastage.
When Does the DSP Programmatic Media Buying Process End?
These three operational processes are important in ensuring that your ads run smoothly.
It’s worth noting that even though DSP programmatic advertising only has three “steps,” the last process doesn’t “conclude” until you stop the campaign itself. Even then, the data that you have gathered throughout the DSP programmatic process can be useful in the future. It can be a source of insights when identifying new audience segments, exploring new markets and creating ads. Everything that has been discussed related to DSP programmatic in this section is crucial to sustained success in attaining your goals, whether it’s brand awareness or sales.
Programmatic DSP vs SSP Programmatic: How Do They Differ?
We touched on SSPs when we discussed how DSPs work. So, at this point, you’re probably wondering what the difference is between SSP programmatic and DSP. The most important distinction between the SSP programmatic vs DSP meaning is who uses them. While DSP is created for advertisers who create the demand for ad placements, the SSP is for publishers who supply them. However, at least from the perspective of a platform user, SSP and DSP programmatic have the same goals: they optimize revenue for both publishers and advertisers and use integration to improve returns. As for bid requests, DSPs submit bids while SSPs select the highest one for placement.
What’s the Difference Between an Ad Network and a Programmatic DSP?
You’ll usually hear about ad networks when looking into media buying. And since they both have something to do with advertisers, there may be some confusion about what DSP programmatic and ad networks are. We already know that a DSP serves as a broker of sorts, providing you with access to various ad exchanges and SSPs for real-time bidding. The ad network collects ad spaces from publishers, while the DSP programmatic collects them from private sources, as well as from the ad exchanges themselves. With ad exchanges, there’s already a pre-negotiated rate for publishers and ad placements. But with DSP, you get the lowest possible rate at the time of purchase based on those of potential sources.
What Value Can You Get from Using DSP Programmatic Platforms?
DSPs aren’t the only way to purchase ad space from a publisher. However, even though there are many options when purchasing, many still prefer to use DSP programmatic platforms. But does this mode of media buying provide a significant advantage over other options? Given its popularity nowadays, the answer is a resounding yes! If you’re still on the fence about whether to go the DSP programmatic advertising route, check out the following advantages of using one. If you believe that you’d benefit from getting these perks, then it may truly be worth considering.
Efficiency and Speed in Ad Purchasing
As the saying goes, time is money! And the longer you wait to have your ads placed, the more potential customers (and, therefore, money) that are lost to the competition. DSP programmatic is highly convenient in this sense because when you request an ad space, you’ll get your creative up almost immediately. This is thanks to RTB, which places bids in real time. The DSP programmatic algorithm makes all the decisions for you based on your preferences, thus removing all potential delays in negotiation.
Enhanced Targeting and Reach Capabilities
All the decisions that a DSP programmatic algorithm makes on your behalf are based on settings concerning the various characteristics of the audience, preferred placements and more. Your input contributes to providing granular targeting, which ensures that you reach your intended audience. DSP programmatic provides more than just access to a wide variety of inventory. The platform allows you to reach your target audience across various publishers. To prevent ad fatigue, you may even set the maximum number of times that an ad can be shown to the same user. Essentially, DSP programmatic empowers you to reach your desired market how and when you want to.
Real-Time Data Analytics and Optimization
Feedback response is essential to any campaign. With the immediate feedback and optimization that you receive with DSP programmatic advertising, you’ll be able to:
- Generate instant insights that you can use to make further decisions;
- Create real-time reports that let you analyze various aspects of the campaign;
- Employ predictive analytics to support your decision-making;
- Automate changes based on real-time data, such as adjusting bids, refining your audience, optimizing creatives and more.
With these advantages, DSP programmatic advertising improves the performance of your campaign and your ROI. You’ll be able to automatically respond to the latest data, preventing any waste in your budget.
What Types of Ads Are Managed by DSP Programmatic Platforms?
DSPs support major ad formats and handle them in different ways. Learn more about this below.
- Display ads: These are visual banners shown on websites and apps. DSP programmatic can automatically optimize the creative based on performance.
- Video ads: Video ads are short video clips that may be placed by the DSP pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll. They may also be integrated as a display ad.
- Mobile ads: These are displayed specifically for mobile users. To maximize their effectiveness, DSP programmatic advertising on this medium uses GPS data and ensures that the creative works well, no matter the screen size.
- In-app ads: These are ads that can be seen exclusively within a mobile app. Here, the focus is on the installations and purchases generated.
How to Choose from the Best Programmatic DSP Platforms Today
At this point, you already have a clear sense of the advantages and the types of ads you can purchase through DSP programmatic platforms. Have you decided that this is the best way to go to buy ads? Great! With a DSP, you’ll save a lot of time and generate a lot of money if you play your cards right. There’s just one hurdle that you have to overcome: which DSP programmatic platform should you use? To help you choose, keep reading. In the next two subsections, we’ll cover the factors you should consider in making a selection. Then, we compare the top DSP programmatic options today.
What Factors Should You Consider When Selecting a DSP?
There are many options out there, but to choose the best DSP programmatic platform, consider these factors.
- Inventory access: The inventory available should cover where your target market is.
- Targeting capabilities: There should be many ways that you can narrow down your preferred market.
- User interface: The easier it is to use, the better!
- Security: Any option must adhere to the regulatory requirements in the territories you’re targeting, like the GDPR and the CCPA.
- Training and resources: Using DSP programmatic platforms may be hard to grasp at first. So, you should consider the resources the platform has to help you out.
Comparing Top DSP Programmatic Platforms in the Market
So, which is the best? Unfortunately, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ solution. For example, MGID OpenRTB DSP is great if your focus is on creating a seamless ad experience through native advertising. We didn’t include all DSP programmatic selection factors in the table below as some were the same across all three platforms.
| MGID OpenRTB | Google Display Network and Video 360 | Amazon DSP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory access | Partner sites, with a focus on native ads | Google network and partner sites | Amazon platform and partner sites |
| Targeting capabilities | Demographic, behavioral, contextual | Demographic, behavioral, contextual | Demographic, behavioral, purchase |
| User interface | Highly navigable compared to other top options | Has a steeper learning curve | Has a steeper learning curve |
Enhance the Impact of DSP in Programmatic Advertising Through Integration with Data Management Platforms (DMPs)
A Data Management Platform, or DMP, is a centralized system that performs the following functions:
- Data collection from the publisher, partners, and other external sources;
- Audience segmentation based on demographics, psychographics and behavior;
- Data integration with various marketing tools, including DSP programmatic platforms.
These functions are just some of the ways a DMP is relevant to advertisers and to DSP. Why don’t we take an even closer look at what DMP can bring to the table?
How Do DSP Programmatic Platforms Interact with DMPs to Utilize Audience Data?
The collaboration between DSP and DMP ultimately results in more effective programmatic advertising. This is made possible through:
- Data integration: This gives advertisers access to more data.
- Audience segmentation: The audience segmentation created by a DMP can be used in DSP programmatic advertising to improve ad relevance and effectiveness.
- Lookalike modeling: DMP identifies similar audiences to your target market to expand your reach.
- Dynamic targeting: This lets your selected DSP programmatic target new audiences in real time based on interactions with your ad.
- Attribution and reporting: DMPs can help track users so that, through the DSP, you can get a clearer picture of user activity and campaign effectiveness.
Make Ad Buying More Efficient with DSP Programmatic Advertising
Gone are the days when you had to individually transact with potential publishers and negotiate on a rate before getting your ads on their site. With DSP programmatic, you can access ad inventories across various exchanges in real time. This allows you to reach market segments no matter where they are. DSP programmatic advertising has vastly transformed how advertisers and publishers do business. And if you ask us, things have changed for the better! The key here is to use a platform with access to a wide network of publishers like MGID. If you want to benefit from programmatic native DSP, sign up with us. Access top-level tools, a personal manager and a department of creative specialists. Start benefiting from DSP programmatic today!
