All too often, we have conversations with prospects and marketing experts who don’t understand programmatic advertising. To be fair, a lot of the history and terms can be complicated so we wanted to create a blog post to break down the key elements.
Let’s start by going through a timeline of when programmatic advertising started and how it has progressed over time –
- Programmatic first started back in 1994 when the first display ad ran on HotWired.
- Ad servers FocalLink Media, NetGravity, and Doubleclick launched in 1995.
- Ad networks WebConnect, Ad.com, and Doubleclick launched in 1996.
- Ad exchanges RightMedia and Doubleclick launched in 2003-2005.
- Demand side platforms (DSPs) and supply side platforms started launching in 2007.
- Real time bidding (RTB) launched in 2009-2011. Within 100 milliseconds in an auction set up.
Let’s also outline some key terms to know when talking about programmatic advertising –
- Ad Servers – This is an easy place to switch out ads, and receive more advanced reporting.
- Ad Networks – These are human-owned. They are manual intermediaries that aggregate ad inventory for publishers & sell to advertisers as a broker. They are fragmented, regional, and niche.
- Ad Exchanges – These are technology platforms. Like a stock market, but for ads. No direct buys. They are used to broker deals between demand side platforms (DSP’s) & supply side platforms (SSP’s). They require a DSP (demand-side) for advertisers and SSD (supply side) for publishers. Items are sold impression by impression.
- Demand Side Platforms (DSP’s) – Advertisers ability to access ad exchanges.
- Supply Side Platforms (SSP’s) – Publishers ability to access ad exchanges.
- Real Time Bidding (RTB) – Selling impression by impression, but in an auction format.
What is programmatic?
- Programmatic advertising is using technology to target users (behaviorally, demographically or geographically) that will help advertisers meet their end goal across display, native, CTV, audio and video formats.
- It’s where the exchange, the network and the publishers all come together to deliver ads for advertisers.
- There is a focus on the audience rather than the site or publisher.
- There’s simplicity surrounding how many places you access inventory.
- There is an ability to target across all forms of media (video, tv, audio, display, native).
Why should advertisers and marketers understand programmatic advertising?
There’s never been a better way to target the right audience, at the right time, on the right device. Programmatic ad spend is on the rise and there’s a reason for that.
Reach out to Above The Fold to learn more now.
