DATA 101: The DSP

By Carla Rover • March 16, 2011 •

The demand-side platform’s appeal is the integration of digital campaign management and data flows that permits agencies to have a true overview of ad expenditures, campaign engagement rates, and ROI from one screen. The downside, of course, is that the multiplicity of ad exchanges, DSPs and analytics add-ons make it difficult for brands and agencies to select the best tech platform.

Here are three rules of thumb that I suggest to use to determine if your DSP is the right choice for you:

Your DSP should offer true pricing transparency and direct pricing negotiation with vendors. This protects your investment and allows your company to retain control over expenditures as well as to effectively gauge ROI.
Your DSP should not own or operate an ad network. Why? That’s like your financial planner running a few hedge funds. Your DSP should maintain a stance of neutrality and serve as a platform, not a single-manufacturer mall.
Your DSP’s interface should be customizable according to your needs, user friendly, and integrate all necessary data tools in an accessible format. That’s a basic right, the core function of your platform and the workhorse of your marketing strategy.

DATA 101: The DSP

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