programmatic advertising
Automated buying and selling of ad space, usually in real time, using software and audience data.
Definition
Programmatic advertising uses automated systems to place ads. When a page loads, an auction can decide in milliseconds which ad appears, based on bids and audience signals. Advertisers use platforms to manage targeting, budgets and reports. It offers scale and precision, but also risks such as fraud, low-quality sites and opaque fees along the chain. Ask agencies how they choose inventory, which fees apply, and what verification they use. Ask for a placement report listing where ads appeared, which lets you exclude poor sites and check that the audience matches the plan.
In a sentence
The agency used programmatic buying to reach audiences across many sites.
We asked for a breakdown of fees at each step in the programmatic chain.
