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What is programmatic advertising?

Programmatic advertising refers to the use of software and algorithms to automate the buying and selling of advertising space across various digital platforms, such as websites, mobile apps, social media, and streaming services.


With programmatic advertising, advertisers can use data and targeting parameters to reach specific audiences with personalized and relevant ads, while publishers can maximize the value of their ad inventory by selling it to the highest bidder in real-time auctions.





Programmatic advertising uses real-time bidding (RTB) technology to enable advertisers to bid on ad inventory in real-time, based on factors such as audience demographics, location, device type, and browsing behavior. Advertisers can then deliver their ads to the right audience, at the right time, and on the right device, with minimal manual intervention.


Programmatic advertising has revolutionized the digital advertising industry by making it more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective, and it continues to evolve with the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to optimize ad delivery and performance.


Here's how programmatic advertising works:

  1. Advertiser identifies the target audience: Advertisers use data and targeting parameters to identify the audience they want to reach, such as demographics, interests, behaviors, and location.

  2. Advertiser sets up the campaign: The advertiser creates the ad campaign, sets the budget, and defines the bidding strategy.

  3. Advertiser bids for ad inventory: The advertiser's demand-side platform (DSP) sends a bid request to the supply-side platform (SSP) for ad inventory that matches the targeting criteria. The SSP sends the bid request to multiple ad exchanges, which auction off the ad inventory in real-time.

  4. Ad inventory is auctioned: Advertisers bid for the ad inventory based on their targeting criteria and budget. The highest bidder wins the auction and their ad is displayed.

  5. Ad is displayed to the target audience: Once the ad is served, it is displayed to the target audience on the publisher's website or app.

  6. Ad performance is tracked: Ad performance metrics, such as clicks, impressions, and conversions, are tracked in real-time, and the advertiser can use this data to optimize the campaign and improve its performance.

  7. Programmatic advertising uses advanced technologies such as real-time bidding (RTB), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) algorithms to automate and optimize the process of buying and selling ad inventory, making it more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective.

How to start buying programmatic advertising

Emerse offers both a self-service Demand Side Platform for buying programmatic advertising as well as services to help buyers get started. Contact us to to learn more.

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