Growth of the Private Marketplace

Private marketplace (PMP) deals have been gaining momentum as one of the most efficient and brand-safe ways of increasing exposure for programmatic display advertisers. Publishers, platforms, and advertisers need to get on board with the future of PMPs and ensure they have the resource and tools needed to stay ahead of the ever changing game.

PMP deals are a step between the open real-time marketplace and reservation buys. They allow publishers to offer their premium inventory to a smaller advertiser auction, meaning advertisers can access premium inventory via a smaller and less competitive auction. Publishers like eBay, Amazon, FT, and LinkedIn are constantly expanding and improving their PMP offering, making this way of buying inventory increasingly attractive for advertisers.

What’s in It for Publishers?

• Publishers running PMP auctions have a new way of filling their valuable ad space. Rather than continuing to be reliant on a direct sales team for all ad space, they can connect with a sell-side platform and easily make their inventory available to a number of advertisers in a controlled manner.
• PMP deals allow publishers to remain in control of the advertisers serving creative on their website. It’s important for many high-quality and high-traffic publishers to maintain a level of brand safety in terms of the ads served on their site. PMPs allow them to choose who is eligible to enter their private auction.
• Additionally, publishers can use PMPs to more easily sell their first-party data in audiences which are extremely valuable to advertisers. This allows advertisers access to data in a unique and controlled fashion, and provides an additional USP for advertisers.

What’s in It for Advertisers?

• First and foremost, PMPs allow advertisers to programmatically target premium inventory, which is not available in an open exchange. Typically this inventory comes at a premium cost, so advertisers must determine whether the high-quality placements they’re reaching are worth the investment.
• PMPs should be a complementary addition to any real-time bidding campaign, as they allow for more access to great inventory, while keeping the control with advertisers regarding when and where they want to serve their ads.
• PMP campaigns can form a key part of a biddable display campaign. Liaising with publishers in this way allows advertisers to take advantage of the rich media and video formats often available on popular publishers, as well as their first-party data in many circumstances. PMPs can be an excellent addition to strong performing real-time bidding campaigns as often they are a way to use site performance data from the exchange to secure more premium content on the most successful publisher sites.

What Does the Future Hold?

PMPs are still relatively new and publishers and platforms alike are still organising themselves to provide the easiest solutions to advertisers. Current issues include publisher teams being focused on direct buys rather than giving enough capacity to PMPs, and ad platforms lagging behind on ensuring their tools allow for booking ease between publishers and advertisers.

The future is bright for the private marketplace and programmatic display. When all three parties see the potential and commit fully to PMPs, the benefits will be seen by all.