Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of ad space using algorithms and data. It’s different from traditional advertising, which often involves manual processes.

Programmatic and DSP Experience

I have done programmatic advertising as a planner and buyer since 2018 across Google, Facebook, and other demand-side platforms (DSPs).

I have experience working with DSPs both self-service and managed service along with ad verification tools like IAS, MOAT, and DoubleVerify. I’ve worked with the following partners to optimize bids, budgets, and placements in real-time:

– Facebook Ads
– Google Display & Video (DV360)
– StackAdapt
– Tremor (Nexxen)
– Bidtellect (Simpli.fi)
– The Trade Desk (TTD)

Programmatic Process

Strategy and Approach

I typically work with marketing agencies that partner with internal and external programmatic teams and vendors to launch campaigns from start to finish. The process typically looks like this:

1. Define Campaign Goals
2. Choose Programmatic Platforms (DSPs)
3. Set Budget and Bid Strategy
4. Select Target Audience
5. Choose Ad Formats and Creative
6. Set Up Campaign Placements
7. Launch and Monitor Campaign
8. Optimize Campaign Performance
9. Measure Performance

Select Work Projects

Programmatic Work Project:
Colmet

Colmet

Colmet is a steel manufacturing company that sells edging and planter products for landscaping.

I supported the paid media team to launch the Colmet Spring campaign to reach DIY homeowners (B2C) and pro landscaper audiences (B2B) in 2023.

I collaborated with internal subject matter experts on the programmatic team and co-managed external vendor relationships specializing in programmatic (such as Bidtellect and Tremor) to launch Display, Native, and Video CTV Programmatic ads.

Programmatic Work Project:
United Healthcare

UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare (UHC) is a leading U.S. health insurance provider, offering plans for individuals, employers, Medicare, and Medicaid.

I supported the paid media team to launch several campaigns across various UHC departments such as UHC Enterprise Employer and Individual (E&I) B2B and UHC Community and State (Medicaid) B2B and B2C in 2022 and 2023.

I worked hands-on with a small paid media team to launch a programmatic program across UHC Enterprise (E&I) B2B accounts. I also co-managed external vendor relationships specializing in programmatic (such as 3P StackAdapt managed service) to launch Display, Native, Email, and Video CTV Programmatic ads.

Programmatic Work Project:
Bayer

Bayer

Bayer is a global life sciences company specializing in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, and agricultural products. Known for innovations in medicine and crop science, it develops treatments, over-the-counter products, and agricultural solutions.

I supported the paid media team on the “Bayer Growing Matters” Campaign in 2020 with ongoing programmatic and paid social media reporting. The programmatic campaign drove an intended audience to the Seed Treatment Guide website to learn more about the products and solutions.

The $35K campaign was served via programmatic display and served an average of 4k impressions monthly per $13K spend with an average $3.35 CPM, 8,032 clicks, 0.20% CTR and $1.64 CPC.

Programmatic Resources

Targeting Capabilities

Programmatic allows advertisers to leverage first, second, and third party data from data management platforms (DMPs) for behavioral, contextual, and intent-based targeting.

Behavioral Targeting: Shows ads to people based on their past online actions, like websites they’ve visited, things they’ve searched for, or products they’ve bought.

Contextual Targeting: Matches ads to the content of the page a user is currently viewing. For example, an ad for running shoes appears on a fitness blog.

Intent-Based Targeting: Targets users who are actively looking for something specific, like searching “best laptops for gaming” and then seeing ads for gaming laptops.

Ad Inventory and Placement

Programmatic inventory is the available ad space that publishers sell through automated platforms and placement is where the ad appears within that inventory.

Programmatic Inventory Types

Audio
Ads played within music streaming services (Spotify, Pandora) and podcasts.

These can be pre-roll (before audio starts), mid-roll (during), or post-roll (end).

Display
Banner-style ads placed in dedicated ad slots across websites, mobile apps and platforms in sidebars, headers, footers, or inline within content. The goal for display ads is to capture attention quickly with bold visuals and direct messages.

Examples: Banner ads, interstitial ads, sidebar and header ads, retargeting ads.

Video
Programmatic video ads are automated, data-driven video advertisements bought and sold in real-time through Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs). They use AI, audience targeting, and bidding to deliver video content to the right audience at the right time.

There are four types of programmatic video ads:
In-Stream Video Ads (Within Video Content): These are ads that play before, during, or after a video you’re watching.

Example: A 15-second ad that plays before a YouTube video.

Out-Stream Video Ads (Standalone Video Ads, Not Attached to Other Videos): These are video ads that appear on their own (not in the middle of video content), often as users scroll through websites or apps.

Example: A video ad that pops up while reading an article on a news website.

Connected TV (CTV) & Over-the-Top (OTT) Ads (Streaming TV Ads): These are video ads shown on smart TVs or through streaming services (like Hulu, Roku, or Netflix) via internet-connected devices.

Example: A commercial shown during a show on Hulu, streamed through a smart TV.

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Video Ads (Video Ads on Public Screens): These are video ads displayed on digital screens in public places like airports, malls, or bus stations.

Example: A video ad on a digital billboard at a busy intersection.

Digital Out of Home (DOOH):
These are digital video, static, or dynamic ads shown on public screens, like in malls, gas stations, airports, stadiums, or the famous Times Square billboards. DOOH ads are shown across digital billboards, kiosks, transit screens and bars and restaurants.

Examples: Sponsored articles, in-feed ads, recommendation widgets, and in-app native ads.

Meta Ads Manager: Meta uses programmatic-like optimization within its native platform to run Facebook and Instagram ads.

Twitter (X): Twitter offers limited programmatic access through private marketplaces (PMPs) and RTB via DSPs like The Trade Desk.

TikTok: TikTok can run programmatic ads through The Trade Desk and DV360, where ads can be bought and optimized via DSPs, allowing deeper targeting across the platform.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn’s main ad buying platform is LinkedIn Ads Manager, though programmatic social ads can be accessed via private marketplace (PMP) deals through DSPs for higher-level targeting.

Pinterest: Pinterest allows programmatic buying for certain partners through PMP deals and via DSPs.

Search
The most common type of Search ads are PPC text ads at the top of a search engine results page. However, there are other programmatic search-based ad types such as:

Shopping Ads (Product Listing Ads – PLAs): Appear at the top of SERPs with product images, prices, and store info (Google Shopping, Microsoft Shopping).

Search Retargeting Ads: Serve display or video ads to users based on their past search queries, even if they didn’t visit your site.

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs): Automatically generate headlines and landing pages based on a website’s content, targeting relevant searches.

Local Search Ads: Appear in Google Maps or location-based searches to promote businesses nearby.

Voice Search Ads: Emerging category of search ads triggered by voice queries on smart assistants (Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri).

Programmatic Advertising