Demand-Side Platform (DSP)
GLOSSARY
Definition
A demand-side platform is the buying interface for programmatic advertising. Advertisers use a DSP to bid on ad impressions across ad exchanges in real time, setting targeting parameters, budget caps, and bidding strategies in one place instead of negotiating with each publisher individually.
Why it matters
The DSP category consolidated heavily. The Trade Desk is the largest independent player. Google's DV360 dominates among agencies already in the Google ecosystem. Amazon's DSP grew fast on the back of its shopping data. The trend is toward fewer, larger platforms with more first-party data, which is good for advertisers who want scale and bad for anyone who liked having options.