Marketers want better DSPs!

Spicy Mobile agency checked how the programmatic market looks like in Poland. Responses from media planners and buyers reveal growth prospects, key benefits of programmatic advertising and rising expectations for DSP platforms.

According to the Spicy Mobile study, 72% of media house representatives noticed an increase in programmatic ad spend in 2021, of which one in four assessed the increase as strong (27%). Programmatic budgets may be even higher this year, with 73% of respondents declaring an increase. Growing at a double-digit rate, the programmatic advertising market is considered one of the most promising and dynamically developing segments of digital advertising. Especially in the period of economic downturn advertisers appreciate cost-effective and measurable models of buying quality traffic on the Internet, leaning towards programmatic advertising and DSP platforms.

DSP, or demand-side platforms, are systems that enable the purchase of advertising space from various publishers via a single interface. The key role of DSPs is to simplify and automate the purchase process. Each time a DSP receives an auction request from an SSP to purchase ad space, it analyzes user data to determine if the user is of interest to the advertiser and meets targeting requirements. In other words, DSP platforms, based on campaign variables, decide which impressions to buy in order to reach a target group defined by the advertiser.

The Spicy Mobile study brings a surprising conclusion in this area. Reaching a precisely defined target group is both the biggest advantage and weakness of DSP platforms available on the market. The most frequently mentioned benefits of programmatic campaigns by respondents included.among others. Targeting by non-standard user profiles (84%) and precise geotargeting (59%). On the other hand, media house representatives, when evaluating DSP platforms they use, complained about the quality of traffic (48%), poor protection against ad fraud (35%) and limited user profiling options (32%).

– There are many platforms available on the market that allow buying ads in programmatic ecosystem – admits Dominik Stocki, Spicy Mobile expert. – At the same time we see that advertisers’ needs are growing faster than the technology that supports them. Especially in the strategic area of traffic quality, the capabilities of DSP systems could be greater. We took this aspect especially into account while developing our own solution.

Spicy DSP platform, launched at the beginning of the year, is currently being tested by the biggest media houses. The system enables the purchase of advertising space in the RTB model on websites and mobile applications. It uses proprietary models that, thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning, predict the likelihood of a user clicking on an ad and ensure that the quality of the space purchased translates into the quality of the traffic delivered. The Spicy DSP platform is available in both self-service and managed service models. Clients can therefore run campaigns themselves with the technical support of Spicy Mobile experts or outsource them comprehensively to an agency. The system allows targeting based on sites visited and apps used, as well as geotargeting to cities, provinces, and specific geographic coordinates.

– Despite the high fragmentation of the market, there is still room for new solutions that will meet clients’ expectations in terms of targeting possibilities and traffic quality, while enabling quick and convenient purchase of advertising space in the programmatic model – emphasizes the expert. – The driving force behind the development of the programmatic advertising ecosystem will be artificial intelligence and big data. Systems competent in both areas will be better at identifying users’ buying patterns and predicting their behavior, as well as suggesting the best destination and advertising format.