The Buyer’s Guide to Programmatic Direct
Programmatic Direct has emerged as a game-changing approach in digital advertising, now accounting for half of all programmatic spending in the US. This hybrid model combines the best of both worlds: the control and certainty of traditional reservation-based advertising with the efficiency and precision of programmatic buying.
Programmatic Direct was one of the fastest-growing areas of digital advertising in 2019, and Michelle’s team at Google saw the need to educate publishers and advertisers on underlying deal types in programmatic. At its core, Programmatic Direct offers three distinct deal types, each serving different advertising needs. Guaranteed Deals provide fixed impressions at a set price, similar to traditional reservations but with enhanced targeting capabilities. Preferred Deals offer flexibility without commitment, allowing advertisers to use their audience data to make smart buying decisions at negotiated prices. Private Auctions give select buyers priority access to premium inventory before it hits the open market.
The benefits of Programmatic Direct are compelling. Advertisers gain operational efficiency through streamlined trafficking and campaign execution, better performance through consolidated media buying and optimization, and precise control over audience targeting, geography, and timing. For publishers, it provides a way to package and sell premium inventory while maintaining control over their ad space. What makes this approach particularly powerful is the ability to discover and purchase premium inventory through demand side platforms (DSPs), where advertisers can easily search for deals based on publisher, format, geography, audience, and vertical.
For marketers considering Programmatic Direct, the choice of deal type should align with specific campaign objectives. Guaranteed Deals work best for securing top-tier inventory for specific timeframes, Preferred Deals are ideal for campaigns requiring audience precision without guaranteed volumes, and Private Auctions offer exclusive access to premium inventory packages before they become widely available. This flexibility makes Programmatic Direct an increasingly essential tool in modern digital advertising strategies.
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/_qs/documents/4802/buyers-guide-programmatic-direct_playbook.pdf