What is a Demand Side Platform (DSP)?

Demand side platforms (DSPs) act as a central hub to manage all the data related to advertising campaigns. A DSP is used by advertisers to buy different types of ads (mobile, social, video, etc.) from a marketplace where publishers list advertising inventory. To be efficient, advertising teams need to target the right audience, at the right time, on the right channel. Since many companies compete to get their ads on the same channels, they have to bid on impressions to ensure they can reach their goals. DSPs enable automated ad buying or programmatic ad buying. This type of software is integrated into multiple ad exchanges to enable advertisers to automate buying ads that may include banner ads on websites or mobile ads on apps. The automated bidding process, where ad placements are auctioned off within microseconds, is called real-time bidding (RTB). While DSPs help companies with all media-buying activities, it is also important to have personnel with advanced expertise in this field or work with external consultants or agencies. What Does DSP Stand For? DSP stands for demand side platform, and the term “demand” can be seen as synonymous with “buying”. These platforms help companies identify advertising opportunities across multiple ad networks and helps find the best prices for the targeted audience. What Types of Demand Side Platform (DSP) Exists? Mobile DSP When searching for a DSP, some companies may want a specific DSP for mobile ad-buying capabilities. A mobile DSP is not a standalone product, but is part of and integrated with any robust DSP and is responsible for buying mobile ad inventory. A mobile DSP is focused on buying ads across varying apps, browsers, locations, and devices and also ensures that the advertiser’s creatives are displayed correctly and are optimized for mobile screens. These types of DSPs assist app publishers and app developers in offering available mobile impressions. That being said, buyers don’t need to purchase a separate DSP for desktop and mobile programmatic ad-buying. Omnichannel DSP Omnichannel DSPs enable companies to manage ads across multiple channels, like desktop, video, audio, OTT, etc. These types of DSPs help companies manage ad campaigns without having to switch between platforms. Single-channel or niche DSP These types of DSPs can serve the needs of businesses that only want to send ads on a specific channel. Single-channel DSPs can help small businesses that may have a lower budget or a more focused advertising strategy.

What are the Common Features of Demand Side Platform (DSP)?

The following are some core features within DSPs that can help users in a variety of ways: Campaign management: Omnichannel campaign management is used to target audiences across multiple channels, from traditional media such as TV and newspapers to online and social media channels. Ad retargeting: Retargeting allows companies to resume media assets for new campaigns and to target different audiences without starting from scratch. Buy management: DSPs help manage different types of programmatic buys such as preferred deal, programmatic guaranteed, or private marketplace. Ad variety: This feature provides different types of advertising such as native ads and mobile or cross-device promotions to target broader audiences. Audience segmentation: Audience segmentation allows media companies to choose whom to target based on multiple types of criteria (demographics, technology platforms used, etc.). Asset management: Asset management helps manage creative assets to allocate them to each campaign, based on the audience and its characteristics such as region, language, age, and so on. Bidding: Bidding allows companies to acquire advertising inventory or impressions that are used to place ads on various channels. DSP software usually provides access to multiple sources of inventory. Reporting: Reporting and analytics features assist in tracking key performance indicators such as effective cost per click (eCPC) and effective cost per action (eCPA). Brand safety: The software integrates with or provides brand protection or brand safety features to monitor and block fraudulent ad-buying activity. Other features of demand side platforms: API / Integrations, Contextual Targeting, Creative Optimization, Fraud Protection, In App Ads, Machine Learning Optimization, and User, Role, & Access Management.

What are the Benefits of Demand Side Platform (DSP)?

Key benefits of DSPs include accelerating the process of buying online advertisements through direct interaction with web publishers, reducing spend on impressions that are not part of a target audience, gaining transparency in the advertisements that are purchased by knowing the demographics of every impression, and increasing ad conversion rates by putting ads in front of people who are more likely to click on ads, in turn increasing the return on ad spend (ROAS). Some of the challenges advertisers face nowadays that can be addressed by DSP software are: Omnichannel: Omnichannel is both a challenge and an opportunity for media companies. On the bright side, they now have more options than ever to target audiences, but this also makes it harder for them to find the right audience segments and promote content on their preferred channels. Companies cannot afford to invest in advertising on all possible channels and need to focus on the ones that are the most efficient. Real-time tracking: Real-time performance tracking is critical to determine what content works on which channels. It also helps companies adjust their campaigns to make them more efficient or cancel advertising that is costly and brings little or no revenue. Since companies invest a lot of time and money in advertising, it is difficult for them to cancel campaigns even when they don’t seem to be very successful. Real-time data is therefore essential to determining when campaigns can be considered successful; it also enables companies to quickly react to any changes that may jeopardize their advertising efforts. Brand safety: Brand safety is more challenging than ever, mostly due to technologies like social media which can disseminate information very quickly. Individuals and institutions also scrutinize brands, and it is very common that controversial advertising becomes viral and has a negative impact on the brand. The challenge with brand safety is that advertising content can be shared outside of the channels used by the company, which makes it almost impossible to retract.

Demand Side Platform (DSP) | Machine Learning Optimization

StackAdapt

StackAdapt is the leading technology company that empowers marketers to reach, engage, and convert audiences with precision. With 465 billion automated optimizations per second, the AI-powered StackAdapt Marketing Platform seamlessly connects brand and performance marketing to drive measurable results across the entire customer journey. The most forward-thinking marketers choose StackAdapt to orchestrate high-impact campaigns across programmatic advertising and marketing channels. Learn more about StackAdapt here: www.stackadapt.com. And if you're looking for a change, we'd love to have you on our team—check out our open roles by visiting: www.stackadapt.com/careers. StackAdapt is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. We have teams and support across North America, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.

Average Rating: 4.7/5.0

Total Reviews: 898

How Do G2 Users Rate StackAdapt?

Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.8/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10)
Cross Channel Capabilities : 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.3/10)
Performance and Reliability: 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.4/10)
Cross-Device Capabilities: 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.1/10)

Who Is the Company Behind StackAdapt?

Seller: StackAdapt
Company Website:
Year Founded: 2014
HQ Location: Ontario
Twitter: @StackAdapt
2,579 Twitter followers
LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
1,816 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

Who Uses This: Digital Marketing Manager, Digital Strategist
Top Industries: Marketing and Advertising, Financial Services
Company Size: 62% Small, 32% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About StackAdapt?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros

Users highlight the ease of use of StackAdapt, appreciating its user-friendly interface and efficient campaign setup.
Users praise StackAdapt for its superior customer support, receiving proactive assistance that enhances their advertising strategies.
Users commend StackAdapt's exceptionally helpful team for providing strategic insights and fast support, enhancing campaign management.
Users value StackAdapt for its excellent customer service and helpful support team, enhancing their advertising experience significantly.
Users value the user-friendly interface and robust features of StackAdapt for managing ad campaigns effectively.

Cons

Users note reporting limitations in StackAdapt, finding it complex and time-consuming to organize necessary data.
Users find reporting issues complicate data organization and rely on support for custom pulls, hindering efficiency.
Users find the budget management process complicated with transparency issues and restrictions on credit card billing limits.
Users find limited reporting capabilities make data organization more complex and time-consuming than expected.
Users find the reporting functionality complex, often needing custom support pulls to access organized data efficiently.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of StackAdapt?

"StackAdapt: Trusted Partner with a Robust, User-Friendly Platform"

Rating: 5.0/5.0 stars

— Nicole O.

Product	Best for	User Review
StackAdapt 4.7/5(905)	Omnichannel programmatic buying with white-glove support	"StackAdapt: Trusted Partner with a Robust, User-Friendly Platform"
The Trade Desk 4.4/5(190)	Omnichannel programmatic buying with buyer-side transparency	"Kokai’s AI Optimization and Intuitive UI Make The Trade Desk a Top DSP"
Quantcast Platform 4.2/5(193)	AI-driven programmatic targeting with cookieless audiences	"CPA Improvement Across Our Funnel with Quantcast"
illumin 4.3/5(155)	Visual full-funnel journey-based programmatic activation	"Ilumin: the algorithm delivers, the configuration decides."
NT Technology 4.8/5(23)	Cross-border programmatic with premium inventory transparency	"NT Technology Makes Campaign Monitoring and Reporting Effortless"
Simpli.fi 4.5/5(154)	Hyperlocal geofencing with cookieless audience targeting	"User-Friendly with Prompt Support"
Viant Technology 4.2/5(311)	Cookieless CTV activation with household-level attribution	"Intuitive DSP with Stellar UI, Needs Better Planning Tools"
AdRoll ABM (Formerly... 4.3/5(660)	Account-level programmatic display with intent targeting	"Best ABM media platform for HubSpot Users"
AdRoll 4.1/5(806)	Managed retargeting with cross-channel DSP access	"Brings back the visitors I used to lose"
Google Marketing Platform 4.1/5(300)	Cross-channel programmatic buying with Google-native attribution	"Unified Marketing Insights with a Steep Learning Curve"

Best Demand Side Platform (DSP) with Machine Learning Optimization Capabilities

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