Demand Side Platform
A demand side platform (DSP) is an automated programmatic advertising platform using which advertisers can bid on display, mobile, video and search inventory from various publishers.
Updated: December 5, 2023
A demand side platform (DSP) is an automated programmatic advertising platform using which advertisers can bid on display, mobile, video and search inventory from various publishers. The ad-buying process can be speed up by bidding based on the criteria of advertiser, placing the advertisement, and managing payment, all within seconds.
Demand side platforms are used by many advertising agencies, in-house marketing teams and trading desks specializing in real-time ad placement. It can be integrated directly with supply side platforms (SSPs) so that publishers can sell their inventory to advertisers through it.
Self-serve and full-service are two types of demand side platforms. Advertisers can use self-serve DSPs to buy advertising. Advertisers have the total control of the buying process, and they can optimize their campaigns and trade ads themselves. Additional support and service similar to that of an agency can be provided by full-service DSPs. Advertisers will have less control over the campaign execution in this case as they outsource ad campaigns to a team that manages and controls it from start to finish. This option is used by advertisers who can't manage their ad campaigns themselves and have large budgets to work with.
Centralized management of campaign efforts, precise targeting capabilities for more effective spending of budget, automated, real-time bidding (RTB) eliminating manual negotiations and real-time data insights to measure and improve campaign performance are benefits of demand side platforms.
Types of demand side platforms
- Self-Serve DSPs
- Full-Service DSPs
- Mobile DSPs
- Video DSPs
- Programmatic Direct DSPs
- Social DSPs
- Native DSPs
- Audio DSPs
- Cross-Channel DSPs
- Vertical-Specific DSPs
- Location-Based DSPs
- OTT/CTV DSPs
