Why Programmatic Deals Are the Driving Force Behind the CTV Renaissance

Before the dawn of digital, buying and selling TV advertising required paper spreadsheets, fax machines, and a rolodex of publishers. In more recent years, progress has been made, and the industry is undergoing a shift from IO-based buying to real-time bidding.  

Programmatic advertising technology enables advertisers to leverage their ad-buying transaction type of choice, whether it’s an open exchange, private marketplace, or programmatic guaranteed, to purchase ad inventory. Each type has unique benefits to meet the various needs of different advertisers. As programmatic deals continue to evolve, they have helped to unify digital audiences, inventory, data, and measurement into more streamlined workflows.  

However, it’s important to understand not only the benefits of each transaction type but when and how they should be integrated into your digital advertising strategy. In this blog post, we break down the key terms you need to know and explain how you can use programmatic buying for your next CTV advertising campaign.  

Understanding Types of Programmatic Transactions 

Programmatic buying and selling of CTV ad inventory continue to grow as both advertisers and publishers lean into the digital transformation sweeping the ad industry. To avoid any confusion, below we’ve defined a few key terms.  

• Open Exchange – Open exchange buying via real-time bidding (RTB) is the process of programmatic buying through an auction process. During this auction, multiple advertisers are bidding on the same inventory, and the highest bidder, based on CPM (cost per impression), wins the inventory.  

• Private Marketplace (PMP) – PMPs are a programmatic buying mechanism that aggregates supply so a limited number of advertisers can buy targeted ad inventory from an individual or a select group of publishers. Advertisers access PMPs through a deal ID which is used to identify the marketplace that meets the advertiser’s specified criteria, often based on audience and CPM. There is also typically a floor price – the minimum price a publisher has agreed to receive for its inventory.  

• Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) – PG deals are a type of buying that combines the benefits of programmatic with guaranteed inventory. Unlike PMPs, these 1:1 transactions occur when an advertiser agrees to a fixed CPM and a publisher commits to delivering a set number of impressions. Unlike a manual insertion order (IO), an automated system enables the transaction through a DSP. 

Interested in learning more about CTV? Here’s what you must know before investing in this advertising medium.  

The Benefits of PMP Deals 

Now that you understand the basics, let’s do a deeper dive into PMPs. If you’re an advertiser, PMP deals allow brand marketers to combine the efficiency of automated buying with the ability to negotiate custom deals with publishers. Additional benefits include:  

• Increased Transparency 
  
  Brand safety is of the utmost importance for most marketers, making CTV feel like a risky medium for programmatic advertising. Yet with PMPs activated through a trusted partner, ad fraud is eliminated because you know what you’re buying and from whom.  

• Access to Premium Inventory 
  
  When you use a PMP through a trusted partner, the deal IDs are built from direct publisher connections. This means you have more inventory control and fewer hops between buyer and seller. However, not all PMPs are alike – some marketplaces will include resellers.  

• More Efficient 
  
  Programmatic buying is inherently more efficient than manual transactions, but PMPs in particular are efficient because you are removing inapplicable inventory. By using a PMP, the deal ID powers faster transactions therefore increasing your chances of winning bids. It also improves the likelihood of achieving your desired business outcomes.  

Publishers also benefit from PMPs. Increased transparency for advertisers also means greater control for publishers, as this transparency allows them additional insight into who bought their inventory. Further, PMPs mean access to new demand while simplified workflows automate the buying process, lessening the need for a direct sales investment. 

How Cadent Aperture Platform Can Help Advertisers 

Ready to try PMPs for your next CTV campaign? Get to know the Cadent Aperture media exchange – Aperture MX. The new Aperture MX team curates custom inventory packages for our advertiser customers. Our customers can then select the PMPs that meet their specific campaign goals at pre-negotiated rates.  

Interested in learning more about PMPs through Aperture MX?  

Get in touch with the Cadent sales team to get started today.