Programmatic / CTV
RGM° · Training
DSP Selection and Setup
DSP choice shapes inventory, audiences, fees, capabilities. Major DSPs, selection criteria, fees, integration, use case fit.
Why DSP choice matters
Your DSP determines what inventory you can buy, what audiences you can target, what fees you pay, what transparency you have, and what capabilities you can deploy. Wrong DSP = years of friction.
Major DSPs
| DSP | Strengths |
|---|
| The Trade Desk | Independent; broad inventory; UID 2.0 |
| DV360 (Google) | YouTube inventory; Google ecosystem; Google audiences |
| Amazon DSP | Amazon shopper data; CTV (Freevee); Twitch/IMDb |
| Microsoft Invest (Xandr) | Microsoft inventory; premium video; CTV |
| Yahoo DSP | Yahoo inventory; growing CTV |
| Beeswax / Comcast FreeWheel | CTV-specialized |
| StackAdapt | Mid-market; native focus |
| MediaMath | Independent; agency-friendly |
| Adobe Advertising | Adobe stack integration |
Selection criteria
- Inventory access (open + premium).
- Audience data integrations.
- Fee transparency.
- Brand safety capabilities.
- Measurement integrations.
- Identity solutions.
- CTV capabilities.
- Reporting and analytics.
- Support quality.
- Account team depth.
Fee structures
- Media spend × markup.
- Tech fees (per impression).
- Data fees (per audience use).
- Verification fees.
- Agency markups on top.
- Transparent vs opaque pricing.
Integration
- First-party data ingestion.
- CDP / data warehouse integration.
- Audience platforms (LiveRamp, Acxiom).
- Measurement (MMM, attribution).
- Brand safety verification.
- Creative ad servers.
Use case fit
- YouTube-heavy buying: DV360.
- Amazon shopper data: Amazon DSP.
- Independent + broad: The Trade Desk.
- Microsoft + CTV: Xandr / Invest.
- CTV-focused: Beeswax, FreeWheel.
- Adobe stack integration: Adobe Advertising.
Migration
- Audience portability planning.
- Creative re-implementation.
- Reporting continuity.
- Contract overlap during transition.
- Performance comparison testing.
Advanced playbook
- Multi-DSP strategy for diversification.
- Test new DSPs with small budget allocations.
- Annual DSP performance review.
- Fee structure transparency.
- Audience portability planning.
- Identity strategy alignment.
- CTV capability assessment.
- Brand safety standards documented.
- Measurement integration audit.
- Vendor RFP every 2–3 years.
Common mistakes
- DSP chosen by agency relationship without evaluation.
- Fee structure opaque.
- Brand safety capabilities not assessed.
- Identity strategy not aligned.
- CTV capability ignored.
- Measurement integration broken.
- Single DSP dependence; lock-in risk.
- Performance not benchmarked.
- Migration cost underestimated.
- Annual review absent.
Operating checklist
- DSP selection rationale documented
- Fee structure transparent
- First-party data integrated
- Identity strategy aligned
- Brand safety verification
- Measurement integrations
- CTV capability assessed
- Multi-DSP for diversification (if scale supports)
- Annual performance review
- Vendor RFP every 2–3 years
Sources and further reading
- The Trade Desk, DV360, Amazon DSP product documentation
- Forrester DSP Wave reports
- Gartner programmatic research
- AdExchanger DSP coverage
- Digiday DSP analysis
- LUMA Partners landscape
- Scott Brinker MarTech landscape
- MediaMath, StackAdapt, Beeswax documentation
- RGM Retail Media off-site module
- Common Sense Media brand safety
- IAS, DoubleVerify research
- Marketing Brew programmatic coverage
Part of the Programmatic / CTV series.