What is a demand-side platform (DSP)?

A demand-side platform (DSP) is a type of software that allows an advertiser to buy advertising with the help of automation. Because they allow mobile advertisers to buy high quality traffic at scale with minimal friction, DSPs are a powerful marketing automation tool.

There are two important stages to how a demand-side platform works. First, the advertiser uploads creative, sets up targeting and puts down a budget for their campaigns. This can all be done via the dashboard. Once the campaign creative is uploaded, the DSP scours through its network of publishers for sites and mobile apps that fit the advertiser’s criteria and makes a bid for placement. After this, the DSP resolves the bid, places the ad, and manages payment – all in a matter of milliseconds.

The most obvious way in which DSPs are important to mobile marketing also applies to automation in general: this process allows marketers to avoid spending time and energy on something that can be completed by an automated machine. 

Rather than manually contacting hundreds of publishers with offers to advertise, DSPs help advertisers quickly set up campaigns and manage them with ease. This allows user acquisition (UA) experts to spend more time working on other valuable areas, such as user base segmentation, to improve performance long-term.

Another reason why DSPs are particularly useful to mobile advertisers is that campaign performance can be managed in real time. Instead of having to wait for a campaign to end, mobile advertisers can easily adjust campaigns from DSPs without causing disruption.

This means that advertisers can invest money into a DSP more quickly if a campaign is performing well, and campaigns that are performing badly can be pulled to avoid unnecessary damage.

Furthermore, the automated element of DSPs means that advertisers can easily scale their efforts on mobile. Previously, advertisers’ efforts to expand could be held back by physical constraints such as geographical location. DSPs enable advertisers to overcome this by allowing them to buy traffic with new publishers, and in new locales, with ease. This helps mobile advertisers take advantage of the globalized nature of the mobile app economy.

What is the difference between a DSP and an ad network?

While both DSPs and ad networks connect advertisers to inventory, a DSP allows for real-time bidding across multiple ad exchanges using automation, whereas an ad network aggregates inventory and sells it at fixed rates. DSPs offer more granular targeting and scale, making them ideal for programmatic advertising.

Are DSPs used only for mobile advertising?

No. Although mobile DSPs are a major focus due to the growth of mobile apps, DSPs also support web, desktop, connected TV (CTV), and other digital formats. The ability to centralize ad buying across multiple platforms makes DSPs essential for cross-channel marketing strategies.

How does real-time bidding work in a DSP?

Real-time bidding (RTB) is the automated auction that takes place when a DSP evaluates an impression. The DSP bids on that impression based on targeting parameters and campaign budget, typically within 100 milliseconds. The highest bidder’s ad is then shown to the user.

What role do data management platforms (DMPs) play in DSPs?

Data management platforms (DMPs) often integrate with DSPs to enrich targeting. While DSPs handle the bidding and placement, DMPs store and analyze audience data, helping advertisers define and refine audience segments for better campaign performance.

While DSPs offer advertisers access to campaign management tools, comparing performance across DSPs can prove difficult. And with more networks running DSPs, it’s essential to compare and contrast advertising performance in the long-term.

With Adjust’s advanced mobile attribution tools, advertisers can easily keep track of how different DSPs are performing. With Adjust, it’s easy to compare the performance of different DSP providers alongside one another, broken down to the creative or placement delivered. 

Adjust has an extensive number of DSPs as integrated partners, the full list of which you can see here. These platforms have integrated with the Adjust API, which means it is even simpler to examine performance. To learn more about the Adjust dashboard, take a look a Datascape. 

Whether you're running campaigns through a mobile DSP or scaling across multiple programmatic channels, Adjust’s platform empowers smarter optimization and faster decision-making. 

For more information on how we can help grow your app business, request a demo today.