Ad-tech

DSP (demand-side platform)

Advertiser-side platform that programmatically buys inventory across SSPs.

A DSP (demand-side platform) is the advertiser-side platform that programmatically buys inventory across SSPs and exchanges. Major DSPs: The Trade Desk, DV360 (Google), Amazon DSP, Yahoo DSP, MediaMath (now Infillion), Adelphic. DSPs are the primary tool for programmatic display, video, CTV, and audio. Cost structure: platform fee (5–15% of media) + media spend.

Example

Tier-1 advertiser running CTV through The Trade Desk pays $0.18 platform fee on each $1.20 media-CPM = $1.38 effective cost per thousand impressions to the DSP.

Related terms

SSP (supply-side platform)
Publisher-side ad-tech platform that connects inventory to demand.
Header bidding
Publisher-side auction that calls multiple SSPs in parallel before AdServer.
CPM
Cost per thousand impressions.