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Programmatic Advertising

No Smoke.
No Mirrors.

This page is now a guide. Programmatic is the most opaque channel in media buying, so here's how we ran it at a flat fee for 12+ years with every dollar tracked, what to expect from a performance marketing agency on DSPs, and what it costs. We aren't accepting clients right now. The guide stays up and free.

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Format 01
Display

Banner and rich media across premium publisher inventory. Remarketing and prospecting with frequency controls.

Format 02
Video

Pre-roll and mid-roll video placements on brand-safe inventory outside of YouTube's walled garden.

Format 03
CTV

Connected TV and OTT streaming inventory. Reach cord-cutters on Hulu, Peacock, and premium streaming apps.

Format 04
Native

In-feed placements that match the editorial context of the publisher. Higher engagement, lower friction than standard display.

Display
Video
CTV
Native
Premium Inventory
No Bot Traffic
Transparent Reporting
Brand Safety
First-Party Data
Display
Video
CTV
Native
Premium Inventory
No Bot Traffic
Transparent Reporting
Brand Safety
First-Party Data
Brands that trusted us with their budget
Audi
Patrón
Live Nation
Oakley
Alternative Press
Reshoevn8r
Revolver
Ring
Unifyd
Veeps
Audi
Patrón
Live Nation
Oakley
Alternative Press
Reshoevn8r
Revolver
Ring
Unifyd
Veeps
How It Works

Programmatic in Plain English.

Most agencies obscure how this works because opacity protects their margin. Here is exactly what is happening with your budget.

Step 01
Demand-Side Platform

We use a DSP to access ad inventory across thousands of publishers and exchanges simultaneously. The DSP places your ads in real time through automated auctions. We choose DSPs with transparent fee structures and no hidden take rates.

Step 02
Inventory Curation

Not all inventory is equal. We build curated inclusion lists of publisher categories and specific domains that match your brand and your audience. We use private marketplace deals for premium placements and exclude low-quality inventory categories from day one.

Step 03
Real-Time Bidding

When someone who matches your targeting criteria loads a page, the DSP bids on that impression in under 100 milliseconds. Bid strategy, frequency caps, and audience segments determine how much we bid and when. We optimize this continuously, not monthly.

What Transparency Looks Like

You See What We See.

Three things most programmatic buyers never get from their agency. We make them standard.

Where Your Budget Goes
No Hidden DSP Margins

We charge a flat management fee. We do not take a percentage of media spend, mark up DSP fees, or collect undisclosed rebates from the platforms we buy on. The DSP cost is the DSP cost. Our fee is our fee. They are always separate and always visible.

What You Are Buying
Domain-Level Reporting

You get access to domain-level delivery reports that show exactly which sites and apps your ads ran on, at what cost, and with what performance. Aggregated reports that hide delivery data are not transparency. They are cover.

What Is Excluded
Brand Safety Controls

We build exclusion lists for content categories that conflict with your brand before launch: news, political content, adult content, UGC, and any specific sites you want blocked. Third-party verification through IAS or DoubleVerify available on request.

Channel by Channel

Four Formats.
One Clean Strategy.

Each format serves a different role in the funnel. Here is how we use them.

01
Display

The workhorse of programmatic. Retargeting, prospecting, and sequential messaging across premium publisher inventory. Used for brand exposure at scale and conversion recovery for people who did not buy.

02
Video

Pre-roll and mid-roll inventory outside of YouTube, on premium publisher video environments. Higher attention than display, better CPM efficiency than broadcast. Used for brand storytelling and product education.

03
CTV

Connected TV reaches cord-cutters and streaming households who are no longer reachable through traditional broadcast or cable. Full-screen, unskippable, on premium content. Available through direct publisher deals and open exchange.

04
Native

In-feed placements that match the form and function of the editorial environment. Outbrain, Taboola, and direct publisher native units. Performs better than standard display for content-forward campaigns and lead generation.

Straight Answers

A practical minimum for programmatic is $5,000 per month in media spend. Below that threshold, there is not enough volume across DSP inventory to generate the frequency and reach needed for meaningful results or reliable optimization data. We will tell you directly if your budget is not suited for this channel.
Brand safety is built in at the campaign level, not added as an afterthought. We use inclusion lists for premium inventory, exclusion lists for problematic content categories, and third-party verification tools to confirm ad delivery on brand-safe placements. You specify the categories you want blocked, and we document what is excluded.
Yes. We operate on a flat management fee model. We do not mark up media, take a percentage of DSP fees, or collect undisclosed rebates. You see exactly what the DSP charges and what we charge as separate line items. No blended rates that obscure what you are actually paying for.
Google Display runs through Google's own inventory ecosystem and is limited to publishers in the Google Display Network. Programmatic advertising uses a DSP to access inventory across thousands of publishers, exchanges, and networks simultaneously, including premium direct deals, CTV inventory, private marketplaces, and publishers that do not participate in Google's network.
Also Part of the Mix
Google Ads Management

Search, Shopping, Performance Max, YouTube. Every Google channel managed properly.
Social Media Advertising

Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn. Creative-driven campaigns that actually convert.

Find Out What Your
Programmatic Buy Is Actually Doing.

We will review your current setup and tell you exactly what is opaque, what is wasteful, and what is working. No pitch. No obligation.

Get a Programmatic Audit