As a marketer, I’m no stranger to advert managers like Google Adverts and Meta Adverts. Nonetheless, I used to be to study that there’s a 3rd choice for advert shopping for: demand-side platforms (DSP).
What’s a DSP, you ask? These instruments are basically an automatic strategy to buy and handle your on-line adverts.
If you happen to’re like me and are interested by what a DSP is and the way it can profit your paid advert technique, I need to cowl how these platforms work, why it’s best to use one, and the most effective platforms out there.
Desk of Contents
What’s a DSP?
A requirement-side platform (DSP) is an automatic programmatic promoting platform the place entrepreneurs should buy and handle advert inventories from a number of advert sources. The principle advantage of a DSP is which you could handle your whole digital adverts throughout many networks on one interface.
With a DSP, you should buy cellular adverts on apps, banner adverts on search engines like google, and video adverts on Fb, Instagram, Google, and much more platforms. As a substitute of utilizing each Google Adverts and Fb Adverts, as an example, you should buy these adverts in a single place on a DSP.
The aim of that is to make advert shopping for sooner, cheaper, and extra environment friendly. Now, let’s dive into how DSP platforms work and why it’s best to use them.
How do DSPs work?
DSPs work through the use of programmatic promoting, which is the shopping for and promoting of adverts in actual time via an automatic system. With real-time bidding, advert placements are auctioned off in milliseconds.
While you get began with DSP promoting, you will want to start strategizing how a lot you need to spend. Take into consideration what an efficient price per click on and price per motion could be. This can allow you to arrange your on-line adverts so the platform is aware of how a lot to spend in any given public sale.
The very best DSP platforms will can help you embody a number of wealthy media adverts, together with video, pictures, and animation.
What’s DSP promoting?
DSP promoting is the automated technique of bidding on and shopping for adverts via a programmatic promoting platform.
In keeping with a research revealed by Statista, the US was the most important programmatic promoting market worldwide, spending an estimated $264.66 billion in 2024. Entrepreneurs are more and more utilizing DSPs as a means of buying, managing, and monitoring internet advertising.
Advantages of Utilizing a DSP
To know why entrepreneurs select to make use of a DSP for his or her paid promoting technique over different platforms, I spoke to Sean Edwards, the Director of Programmatic and E-Commerce Media at Exverus Media.
Seamless Advert Shopping for Expertise
One of many important causes for utilizing a DSP is that it makes your digital advert expertise simpler and less expensive. You’ll be able to management, monitor, and maximize all of your digital adverts in a single place. This implies you possibly can handle a whole advert marketing campaign throughout websites on one dashboard. For instance, you possibly can present somebody an advert on Google, then present them adverts on Fb, after which throughout different websites they go to — multi functional marketing campaign.
“The DSP we use most frequently is The Commerce Desk as a result of it permits us to activate and measure media campaigns on many various channels from a single platform,” says Edwards. “This protects us and our purchasers money and time, whereas clarifying beforehand hard-to-see patterns within the advanced buyer journey.”
Entry to Premium stock
DSPs usually have entry to a variety of advert stock, together with premium placements on widespread web sites and apps, in keeping with Edwards. This implies you possibly can promote on many networks, together with all the most important publishers. With an elevated variety of networks, you will have a extra international attain.
“This entry permits advertisers to succeed in goal audiences throughout a wide range of channels with added visibility, management, and alternative to optimize in direction of essentially the most profitable ways and placements,” he says.
Extra Management Over the Advert Expertise
Utilizing a DSP additionally gives entrepreneurs with extra management over the advert expertise in comparison with conventional platforms. That is particularly vital on the subject of model security.
“Programmatic platforms provide instruments to make sure adverts are displayed in brand-safe environments pre- and post-bid,” says Edwards. “These parameters can assist defend a model’s popularity by avoiding advert placement on inappropriate websites or inside unsuitable content material. Excessive-quality media placements yield stronger outcomes.”
Precision Focusing on
Programmatic promoting permits you to goal particular audiences based mostly on numerous standards akin to demographics, pursuits, and conduct, says Edwards.
“This precision concentrating on permits advertisers to succeed in the best individuals, on the proper time, with the very best probability to finish the specified consequence, whether or not that’s buy, video view, obtain, or subscription,” he says.
Moreover, DSPs usually companion with third-party information suppliers, supplying you with higher monitoring and reporting capabilities than a single community normally gives. And within the planning course of, the concentrating on choices are extra customized, that means you may get higher conversion charges.
Now that you understand extra about DSP promoting and the way it works, let’s talk about the platforms that may allow you to do it.
7 DSP Promoting Instruments
Foundation Applied sciences
Google Advertising Platform
Knorex
Jampp
Smadex
MediaMath
Amazon DSP
When selecting a DSP to work with, I like to take a look at what number of advert exchanges the DSP has entry to as a result of that impacts how many individuals you possibly can attain. I additionally like to contemplate price, coaching (full-service or self-service), assist, and ease of use. Listed here are a number of the greatest DSP promoting instruments to select from:
1. Foundation Applied sciences
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Finest for: Massive or enterprise-level firms
Foundation Applied sciences is an omnichannel DSP constructed to generate higher outcomes to your advert campaigns. For my part, the most effective options is that it makes use of AI machine studying to routinely analyze information from quite a few marketing campaign parameters to optimize your adverts.
With this DSP, you possibly can goal hyper-local audiences throughout gadgets and a number of touchpoints. You‘ll additionally get entry to the business’s main exchanges, together with 25,000+ viewers segments throughout over 30 totally different information suppliers.
Why I prefer it: Foundation Applied sciences harnesses the ability of machine studying to research information and automate processes. I additionally like how automated monitoring helps guarantee model popularity and security.
2. Google Advertising Platform
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Finest for: Small to giant companies or businesses
Google Advertising Platform is Google’s unified promoting and analytics platform for smarter advertising and higher outcomes. This DSP has a number of merchandise for each small companies and enterprise firms, together with Marketing campaign Supervisor 360 and Show & Video 360 (previously DoubleClick).
With this product, it can save you time with cross-channel advert administration to maximise insights and optimize media and artistic efficiency throughout all of your digital campaigns.
The flexibleness is the standout function of this DSP. You should utilize third-party options and integrations so you possibly can select the capabilities that greatest allow you to handle and measure your campaigns.
Why I prefer it: Google’s merchandise are designed to work collectively, but in addition give the pliability to make use of third-party options and server to server integrations.
3. Knorex
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Finest for: Mid-sized to giant promoting businesses
Knorex is a common promoting platform that automates customized advertising throughout channels, gadgets, and advert codecs. You’ll be able to market on Google Search, CTV/OTT, DOOH, and social media multi functional place.
This DSP additionally makes use of AI to study from previous information to foretell and regulate advert budgets dynamically in real-time to drive greater effectivity.
Why I prefer it: Knorex values safety, providing a wide range of model privateness and safety instruments out of the field.
4. Jampp
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Finest for: Corporations searching for a cellular DSP answer, akin to gaming or fintech apps
Jampp is a DSP that leverages distinctive contextual and behavioral alerts to ship prospects and in-app purchases via programmatic promoting.
The important thing options of this platform are consumer acquisition, app retargeting, geolocated adverts, dynamic adverts, and predictive bidding. What I like most about Jampp is its give attention to mobile-first adverts.
Why I prefer it: Jampp’s app retargeting helps re-engage present prospects and makes use of their earlier conduct to foretell whether or not or not they may convert.
5. Smadex
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Finest for: Corporations needing a mobile-first DSP answer
Smadex is a cellular DSP engineered for progress. The platform makes use of a mixture of its personal programmatic promoting know-how, machine studying, and first-party information.
With this platform, you possibly can attain international audiences at scale and re-engage audiences with its retargeting capabilities.
Why I prefer it: Smadex values safety simply as a lot as serving to your model scale. The platform is a registered member of TAG (Reliable Accountability Group) within the US and holds an IAB (Web Promoting Bureau) Gold Normal certification.
6. MediaMath
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Finest for: Mid-sized to giant businesses that need a customized answer
MediaMath is a customizable DSP that gives manufacturers with a myriad of choices for managing their campaigns. Decide to make use of their built-in artistic instruments to run adverts on their server, or select one in all your personal. You’ll be able to even use APIs to run on prime of your core basis.
Why I prefer it: The customization is the platform’s biggest function, for my part. MediaMath’s product isn’t a one-size-fits-all DSP. Manufacturers can tailor their parts to construct an promoting answer that fits their wants.
7. Amazon DSP
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Finest for: Ecommerce manufacturers that need to promote on Amazon (and Amazon-owned websites)
Amazon is among the world’s largest on-line retailers, so it’s no shock that manufacturers would need to faucet into their promoting viewers. Each advertisers who promote merchandise on Amazon and people who don’t can use Amazon DSP.
They provide two choices: self-service and managed service. With self-service, manufacturers are in full management of their advert campaigns. Those that are new to programmatic promoting or want steerage are suggested to make use of the managed choice; nonetheless, that comes with a $35,000 minimal spend.
Why I prefer it: You don’t must be an Amazon vendor to make use of its DSP. Amazon DSP can significantly enhance model consciousness for sellers on and off Amazon.
My Takeaways About DSPs
After researching DSPs and speaking to the specialists, my greatest takeaway is that they’re one of the simplest ways to handle your whole advert campaigns throughout channels in a single place.
Nonetheless, utilizing DSPs isn’t a “set it and overlook it” type of answer. Entrepreneurs should nonetheless be concerned within the bidding and concentrating on course of to make sure they’re getting essentially the most ROI out of the device.
While you select a DSP, be sure you perceive what number of stock sources it accesses, which third-party information integrations it provides, and what concentrating on standards can be found. To efficiently run programmatic adverts on a DSP, you will want to succeed in international audiences with customized adverts. Whereas utilizing a DSP simplifies paid advert administration, it received’t change buyer analysis and having a transparent concept of who your audience is.
Editor’s observe: This submit was initially revealed in February 2021 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.