Browse Definitions :
Definition

programmatic advertising

Programmatic advertising is a system that automates the processes and transactions involved with purchasing and dynamically placing ads on websites or apps. Programmatic advertising makes it possible to purchase and place ads, including targeted advertising content, in less than a second.

Ads are placed through an auction system known as real-time bidding (RTB) that manages transactions between the site or app publisher (the supply side) and the advertiser (the demand side). The advertiser sets criteria for buying ads through a software interface, such as a demand-side platform (DSP). When a publisher's software notifies the system that they have ad inventory (spaces for ads) available, those spaces are offered for real-time bidding.

Through automated processes, advertisers bid for the impression (a single view of an ad by a single individual) based on its perceived value, according to established criteria. All these processes and the placement of the ad occur within the time it takes for the requested web page to load. The entire process takes place between the time that a user requests a web page and the time it takes for that page to load in the browser. (For a more in-depth explanation, see our definition of real-time bidding.)

Programmatic advertising has been promoted as a way of optimizing the advertiser's investment and the publisher's profit, while also automating tasks and making it possible to serve consumers with the most relevant purchase opportunities, which are more likely to result in sales. However, there are significant downsides to all this automation. Low bids on impressions can lead to ineffective ad purchases or placement on inappropriate websites, for example, and even ad fraud. Similarly, the publisher can end up with inappropriate ads appearing on their sites. From the customer's perspective, there are concerns about data privacy, as well as the annoyance of being targeted with ads that follow you from one site to another, possibly for something that you've already purchased elsewhere or decided not to buy.

This was last updated in February 2017

Continue Reading About programmatic advertising

Networking
Security
  • timing attack

    A timing attack is a type of side-channel attack that exploits the amount of time a computer process runs to gain knowledge about...

  • privileged identity management (PIM)

    Privileged identity management (PIM) is the monitoring and protection of superuser accounts that hold expanded access to an ...

  • possession factor

    The possession factor, in a security context, is a category of user authentication credentials based on items that the user has ...

CIO
  • business process reengineering (BPR)

    Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management practice in which business processes used are radically redesigned to ...

  • innovation management

    Innovation management involves the process of managing an organization's innovation procedure, starting at the initial stage of ...

  • radical innovation

    Radical innovation is an invention that destroys or supplants an existing business model.

HRSoftware
  • employee resource group (ERG)

    An employee resource group is a workplace club or more formally realized affinity group organized around a shared interest or ...

  • employee training and development

    Employee training and development is a set of activities and programs designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of ...

  • employee sentiment analysis

    Employee sentiment analysis is the use of natural language processing and other AI techniques to automatically analyze employee ...

Customer Experience
  • customer profiling

    Customer profiling is the detailed and systematic process of constructing a clear portrait of a company's ideal customer by ...

  • customer insight (consumer insight)

    Customer insight, also known as consumer insight, is the understanding and interpretation of customer data, behaviors and ...

  • buyer persona

    A buyer persona is a composite representation of a specific type of customer in a market segment.

Close