Have you heard the term programmatic advertising before? What about RTB? Maybe you've heard of an SSP or a DSP or an exchange. But do you really know what these terms mean and what these companies do?

By 2020 programmatic advertising is expected to be a $65B a year industry, or about 20% of all digital ad dollars. This is up nearly 2,000% from just 2011. And industry of this size, with such explosive growth, requires a lot of work by many different companies. It also requires a complex system that results in benefits for all parties.

What will you learn in this course?

• Process of a programmatic ad buy
• Ad-tech companies involved
• Benefits for both advertisers and publishers

Overview

Get immersed in the world of programmatic advertising. In this introductory-level course, designed for those with an intermediate understanding of the digital marketing space, I'll explain exactly what programmatic advertising actually is, and how it's executed. I use simple visuals to illustrate complex systems and provide clear definitions for industry terms and short-hand.

Who should take this course?

• Anyone who is interested in advertising their business online.
• Looking for a job in digital media planning, wondering how major brands decide to place an ad online.
• A student focusing on marketing and advertising.
• Those who are generally interested in how the ads you see online are created and served to you.

Course subjects

• Define digital advertising: What is considered digital advertising
• Ad sizes and standards: Which ad sizes and units are actually covered in a programmatic buy
• Common pricing models: What are the common pricing models and the formulas to calculate
• Ad-tech companies: There are lots of different companies that handle programmatic, but they all have different traits that make them unique and valuable
• Publisher integrations: How does a publisher like a website or mobile app, actually go about working with a programmatic tool
• Programmatic process: We'll visualize the actual process of executing a buy
• Using data to inform buys: Data is the new oil and that's no different in programmatic. We'll discuss how companies can use data to enhance their buys
• Programmatic vs. RTB: These two terms are used together a lot, but they are not the same thing
• Pricing the bid: How do both publishers and advertisers decide how much to price their bids
• Auction types: To execute a bid there must be an auction, but there are multiple kinds to review
• Reporting: What information is reported with a programmatic buy and why is it important