Programmatic targeting… for dummies
In this test Timothy Whitfield pits six demand-side platforms against each other to find out how good programmatic offerings really are in Australia. 
Following my previous article on hyper local geo-targeting I felt that it would be equally interesting to use scientific principle to forensically dissect another group of adtech companies that are often clumped together.
Not knowing where to start I figured that I might as well start at the beginning of adtech: Demand Side Platforms (DSP).
The goal was to understand the similarities and differences between the various DSPs. At face value they all seem very similar. They all say: (a) that they have the best algorithm; (b) they all have the best data scientists; and (c) they have the best campaign results. The goal was to put them to the test.
Any platform that targets niche sites will score low in this test.
The biggest discriminating factor, and therefore the factor that weighs most heavy on the final score – ‘On Target’- is sourced from Nielsen which is highly unreliable for smaller sites.
This looks like a viewability agenda piece for Group M disguised as a DSP / programatic article. We all know that Group M have invested heavily in viewability.
Could the DSPs please ‘fess up to who is who?
This is what our industry’s come to. Bean counters in charge of influencing the minds and behaviors of human beings. God help us all
Interesting piece but so many potential pitfalls in a small study like that – 100,000 impressions really isn’t much at all for display work (yes – I know this is not a simple Google project), I wonder what the results would have been like if we were looking at 5,000,000 or more over time?
Nonetheless – an interesting read, thanks for the time put into this by everyone.
Great work Tim! Glad to see a proper research approach applied to the DSP discussions. Well done. Some test planned for DMPs too?
Many thanks for sharing!