What It Is
Programmatic advertising is the practice of buying and selling ad inventory in real time through automated auctions. When a person opens a webpage, scrolls a feed, or starts a streaming show, an auction runs in the background to decide which ad they see, who places it, and what it costs. The auction takes about a tenth of a second.
The term covers the buying mechanism, not a single channel. Google Ads, Meta, OTT and Connected TV, programmatic display, audio, and digital out-of-home are all bought programmatically.
Why It Matters
Programmatic is how local service businesses compete for the same impressions as national brands. The same auction systems power both. The difference is the audience targeting, the geographic radius, and the budget, not the technology underneath.
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