What Is DSP Advertising?

DSP stands for a Demand-Side Platform. A DSP is an automated programmatic media buying platform for advertisers to purchase and manage ad inventories from multiple sources. Using a DSP, brands and advertisers benefit from being able to manage their ad inventory network across one interface.

The efficiency of DSP advertising has led to an increasing number of businesses across the globe opting to dedicate funds towards investing in it. DSPs Programmatic Advertising Market Share was valued at USD 15.6 Billion in 2023 and projected to reach USD 48.5 Billion by 2030 in a report by Verified Market Research.

Let’s take a closer look at DSP advertising and how it all works.

How Does DSP Advertising Work?

In programmatic DSPs, ads are bought and sold in real-time through real-time bidding. On demand-side platforms, publishers allow advertisers to purchase various forms of media across different formats including video, displays, mobile, and more. 

Advertisers use DSPs to run their campaigns and buy impressions from an exchange. DSPs use the bid price and audience targeting information of inventory on the ad exchange to present you with the best impressions for your campaign.

DSP platforms allow advertisers to manage their accounts across multiple real-time bidding networks instead of having to log into each one individually. This simplifies things for advertisers and gives them more control over their campaigns.

Examples of DSP Advertising Platforms

Both Facebook Ads Manager and Google Ad Manager are examples of DSPs that programmatically exclusively sell from their own inventory. 

Other examples of Demand-Side Platforms include:

• Amazon
• AdLib 
• Adobe Advertising Cloud

What Is the Difference Between DSPs and SSPs? 

DSPs are used by advertisers in the hope of finding more affordable ad campaigns, whereas SSP users are publishers who just want to sell their advertising space. The two platforms are used by different groups, advertisers and publishers.

DSPs allow advertisers to focus on specific audience targeting, and SSPs run real-time auctions for the ads. Want to run an ad campaign that is laser-focused and targeted to your audience? If so, using a DSP is a bright idea.

DSPs and SSPs both bring advertisers and publishers together so they can work in collaboration. Advertisers use a DSP to plug into an ad exchange and purchase ad inventory, publishers use SSPs to sell their inventory to you.

Why Are DSPs So Valuable To Advertisers? 

So, why are Demand Side Platforms so valuable and important to advertisers? What makes them special? 

Firstly, DSPs enable advertisers to efficiently streamline their ad buying process. Programmatic ad exchanges such as DSPs save you time and money compared to traditional ad buying or buying inventory across many different individual networks. 

The performance data analytics tools used by DSPs help to optimise your campaigns and provide you with a healthy ROI for your ads. 

DSPs offer real-time bidding and this opens the door for real-time optimisation decisions on ad placements.

Enhancing your targeting capabilities – with DSPs advertisers, are able to draw on data from multiple sources to target ads at more specific audiences and groups. 

You should now understand more about how DSP advertising works and how to use one to your advantage in your campaigns. At Drovo, we are experts in the Digital Out-of-Home programmatic advertising space. 

Setting up a transit media campaign with attractive on-vehicle digital screens in London with us is nice and easy thanks to programmatic advertising. We embrace programmatic ad technology and leverage it to help you put the right ads in front of the right outdoor audiences in the right locations.