Top 10 in Programmatic Ad Targeting: DSP and SSP

Meg Grasmick
Trapica
Published in
6 min readFeb 13, 2020
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Programmatic advertising is a critical aspect of online advertising. If you’ve never heard the term, it describes the process using real-time bidding to buy and sell digital advertising space. It’s the opposite of manual ad space buying, which is perhaps now considered the more traditional option.

To start, an advertiser will use a demand-side platform to add their chosen target market preferences. From there, artificial intelligence is used to place programmatic bids. As the web pages load, auctions take place and the ads with the highest bid take center stage for the user. The term ‘ad space’ could include anything from mobile, social media advertising, video, to even TV markets.

While demand-side platforms (DSP) help people who want to buy advertising space, supply-side platforms (SSP) are for publishers. With this, they can manage ad space and sell to buyers whether it’s space on a mobile app, their own website, or another space entirely.

Now that we’ve described the basics of DSPs and SSPs, we’re going to provide some examples of each so that you can get started with buying or selling advertising space. At the end, we’ll also go into what’s next for programmatic advertising.

5 Demand-Side Platforms

1. Rocket Fuel

Launched in 2008, Rocket Fuel is one of the biggest and most well-known DSPs. With AI, you’ll be sure to take the right marketing actions with users at any given moment. Customers receive real-time ads that resonate with them in the context of a tailored experience.

One of the most valuable aspects of Rocket Fuel as a service is that it works with people. Rather than focusing on devices, it is transparent to the people behind those devices. What’s more, their DMP (Data Management Platform) brings all campaign data into one place, which is always a critical component for marketers.

2. DoubleClick

As a Google subsidiary, DoubleClick has enjoyed steady growth over the years, which has enabled them to add TV ad space to their service. Since these two companies hold massive data on consumers, they have both been under the microscope for working with cookies rather than individuals. For this reason, some smaller companies — like Rocket Fuel and others in this list — are working together to overtake Google.

3. InviteMedia

InviteMedia is, you guessed it, another Google service. If you work with this platform, you’ll create an automated strategy so that you aren’t continually having to log in and make changes. Because of the helpful interface, it’s easy to use and companies can buy in real time from the extensive ad inventory. Not only can you buy ad space effectively on InviteMedia, it’s one of the best platforms for bidding and optimization control.

There are many reasons to like InviteMedia, including the display of cost and bidding information, real-time reporting, and streamlined workflows.

4. MediaMath

Considering that about two-thirds of the Fortune 500 now uses MediaMath, it’s fair to call it a strong programmatic advertising option. It is an experienced DSP that is now owned primarily by employees. What’s more, MediaMath works with thousands of different agencies and developers.

One of the downsides of this type of marketing is that we only see what content and context the ad is placed in once it is published. Although MediaMath can’t change this, they do offer brand safety for all users. In other words, no ad should be published next to offensive content. If this does happen, they offer a complete refund.

Elsewhere, they also provide customization, strong access to data, and an excellent customer support team if you have questions or concerns.

5. Facebook Ads Manager

In our roundup of DSP’s, we’d be remiss to gloss over Facebook. Rather than releasing their planned ‘Atlas’, Facebook is doing everything themselves. What does this mean? Well, they have the ad space as well as the buying platform. As long as you’re happy to buy ad space on Facebook and Instagram, Facebook Ads Manager is well worth your time.

Other potential options for a DSP include:

  • Turn
  • X+1
  • DataXu

5 Supply-Side Platforms

1. AdMob

This is another service owned by Google, but it has been designed especially for mobile advertising. Each month, 40 billion text ads and mobile banner ads are served by AdMob, which makes it one of the most popular services in its market. With video, interstitial, and native ads, the targeting options include:

  • Location
  • Mobile Platform
  • Audience
  • OS
  • Device
  • Carrier

2. Millennial Media Nexage

Millennial Media Nexage is another leading service in the mobile market. Operating across the US, they assist in the selling of rich media, interstitial, banners, and video space. Considered second in the market next to AdMob, they too have several targeting options. While some will choose demographic, others will go for device, OS, carrier, audience, channel, behavior, or even time.

3. DoubleClick

We saw DoubleClick as a DSP, and now we have them as an SSP too. Over the years, the service has gone through several different owners, but now they seem to be settled with Google. They offer help with native ads around the world and have a number of targeting options including OS, browser, IP address, location, bandwidth, time, ISP, and more.

4. Unity Ads

Unity Ads features mobile game integration which lets marketers reach out to players who are likely to be interested in particular apps. Working across the US and globally, there are three main ad formats: video, banners, and interstitial. They also have custom targeting options, which is a great advantage for users.

5. Mopub

Finally, we have a Twitter service and programmatic advertising exchange for smartphones. Additionally, some users enjoy the platform to share clicks, impressions, and installs in an attempt to boost traffic between apps. With rich media and banners, they are available in all countries and have three main targeting options: custom, country, and region.

What Next for Programmatic Advertising?

As promised, we also want to touch on where this niche will go next. Especially with the advancements in artificial intelligence, marketers are finding it easier to hit targets and meet goals. For us, there are two main focal points for the future:

Self-Service Platforms

It has long been the case that those with the largest budgets dominate the advertising sphere. However, self-service platforms might just change this. If done correctly, it could provide smaller brands with an opportunity to finally compete with those larger companies!

In this niche, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are quickly getting more choice with programmatic advertising. Rather than feeling left out, smaller companies are getting more access to ad space and the surrounding platforms than ever before.

In-House Revolution

As the second focal point, we may just see more and more businesses bringing their programmatic systems in-house. Rather than going through a middleman such as a media agency, they could just take control of this process themselves, and self-service platforms are easing the transition.

In 2018 alone, it’s thought that in-house programmatic buying was completed by 45% of all businesses. By 2022, experts believe that this will increase to 62%. As technology continues to improve and self-service platforms get stronger, more brands will be able to do it without a middleman.

Summary

Now you know five demand-side platforms, five supply-side platforms, and more on the future of programmatic advertising. This advertising niche will only grow in the coming years. Even the smallest brands with the smallest budgets can now get involved. It offers the opportunity to reach out to your target market more effectively. With the majority of platforms, you can get started within minutes and with very little effort. Why not check out one of our examples now?

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