Using Demand-Side Platforms Correctly: Here's How!

Programmatic Advertising is a buzzword in online marketing circles. Optimizing the budget, analyzing data and automatically buying and selling digital advertising spaces with the aim of showing individualized advertising to viewers. To achieve this, Demand-Side Platforms (DSP) come into play. At their core, they consist of an algorithm that is fed with masses of data. The goal for companies and agencies is to get the optimum for cash and audience.

How Demand-Side Platforms work exactly, where you can find providers and what advantages DSPs bring with them, you will learn in this article.

What exactly is a Demand-Side-Platform?

Before automation took over in marketing, marketers manually took care of buying advertising spaces and inventories. Demand-Side Platforms - abbreviated DSP - provide a solution by using algorithms to precisely analyze where your advertising inventory is best placed. DSPs focus on getting the maximum reach in the appropriate audience for the lowest budget possible. They tap into, Ad-Exchange Networks, Ad-Networks and Sell-Side Platforms as sources. Therefore, bidding on specific advertising spaces is also part of the work of a Demand-Side-Platform.

The definition of a Demand-Side Platform is thus quickly dealt with. The challenge is finding the right provider of a DSP, as no solution is complete. Rather, you'll have to look for a DSP that meets your needs. Demand-Side-Platforms are technology platforms, meaning that not all function the same and some are not standalone, but integrated into other marketing software. OMR Reviews helps you find the right DSP.

What is the difference to a Cross-Channel Advertising Software?

Before we introduce you to one provider or another, we think it's important to show you that Cross-Channel-Advertising-Softwares are not identical with Demand-Side-Platforms, even though the term is more widespread. However, DSPs are often part of Cross-Channel-Advertising-Tools. With these, you can run your advertising across various digital channels. The fact is: if a Cross-Channel-Advertising-Software includes a DSP, that's already half the rent for you. If not, a DSP can usually be linked as an add-on via an interface - as the name suggests.

In addition to Cross-Channel-Advertising Software and Demand-Side-Platforms, the term Programmatic Advertising Platform is often used synonymously - sometimes by the providers themselves. What you need to keep in mind when looking for the perfect DSP are just the features of the tools, no matter what name they carry.

Which Demand-Side Platform providers are there?

If you are currently looking for a Demand-Side Platform, some providers on OMR Reviews present themselves for comparison. These are listed under the category Cross-Channel Advertising Tools. To get a direct overview of which DSPs are hiding in the category, we have compiled them for you:

Yieldlab

The Trade Desk

Active Agent

Adform

Stack Adapt

Basis

Verizon Media DSP

Epom Ad Server

On OMR Reviews, you can compare these and many more software programs simply by using real user reviews, and sometimes visual feedback.

The networks advertise at the same time to purchase the most suitable Ad-Impressions in the form of Display, Video, Mobile, and Search Ads. This can only work because DSPs have access to the Real-Time Bidding of the Ad-Networks, which allows bidding on advertising spaces in real time.

How do Demand-Side-Platforms work?

Demand-Side-Platforms orient themselves to the needs of marketers, agencies, and advertisers. So those who are responsible for the advertising inventory and advertising spaces of their clients or employers. DSPs use several advertising networks at the same time to buy the most suitable Ad-Impressions in the form of Display, Video, Mobile, and Search Ads. This can only work because DSPs have access to the Real-Time Bidding of the Ad-Networks, so that bids can be made on advertising spaces in real time.

Since a DSP pays attention to the price being as low as possible while exploiting the reach of several advertising networks, you not only optimize your budget. And all this works fully automated. Your only task is to provide the Demand-Side-Platform with criteria, data, and rules. Otherwise, you have the possibility to measure the progress of campaigns and purchases. Demand-Side-Platforms show you various KPIs. So keep an eye on the numbers to monitor the work of the DSP and optimize it if necessary.

How are DSPs used in Marketing?

Terms like Programmatic Advertising and digital advertising spaces make it clear which department Demand-Side-Platforms are intended for. For the advertising sector of course. Precisely, the focus is on finding the best advertising spaces in Social Media Networks, in search engines and other online corners, to buy them and fill them with content. DSPs help to automate this and target it to the respective target groups. A Demand-Side-Platform is therefore a platform on the demand side - i.e. marketing. The counterpart to this is the Sell-Side-Platform the platform on the seller's side. Which in this case are different Ad-Networks.

But now to the point: How do you use DSPs and their algorithms in Marketing? You can do it yourself or you can hire a full-service agency. Doing it yourself is always good, if possible, to be close to the action. In this case, you conclude a user contract with the provider of a Cross-Channel-Advertising-Software - which includes a DSP. You should then have basic knowledge of Online-Marketing and Real-Time-Bidding. Because even if the Demand-Side-Platform lives on automated processes, it depends on your input in terms of Keywords, key data about your target groups or Cookie Outputs. If the information doesn't match the tasks of the DSP, your budget will be used up faster than you can say Online-Marketing, without ever having achieved an effect with your advertising. So if you have just heard of Real-Time-Bidding, read up properly or get an expert on board. The tasks are then to set criteria, submit bids, and identify which Ad-Spaces are suboptimal for your purposes.

If you use a Demand-Side-Platform yourself, check exactly how the trade with Ad-Impressions works with it. Demand-Side-Platforms are basically just the graphical interfaces. The technologies behind them come from Programmatic Advertising and differ according to the need. Also, some solutions already have Ad-Networks integrated, which can certainly lead to conflicts of interest.

What are the benefits of DSPs?

Basically, most of the advantages of Demand-Side-Platforms are obvious, some not. However, the fact is that a DSP cannot be used ad hoc like other software. It requires a bit of prior knowledge, which is why the following advantages only come into play when this has been applied:

• Direct line to Ad-Exchange Networks, Ad-Networks, and Sell-Side-Platforms (SSP).
• Automation using algorithms to find the most suitable advertising spaces that match your target groups.
• The efficiency of a campaign is increased and optimized.
• The ROI can be significantly increased.
• DSPs are beneficial to your budget, as the algorithms ensure that the most financially favorable bids are placed at the right times.
• Cross-Channel Software, in which DSPs are often integrated, offer you a good usable interface to optimally control the technology platforms.

Conclusion

Demand-Side-Platforms are a damn good support to get the best out of your advertising in the fast-paced world of online marketing. The providers differ through different features, but at the core it is all about automated processes in Programmatic Advertising. Before you dive into a DSP, first compare which one on OMR Reviews. There you will find mainly Cross-Channel-Advertising-Tools, in which Demand-Side-Platforms are integrated.