GroupM plans to establish Demand-Side Platform (DSP) for digital advertisers

DSP is an automated process/model to buy digital media ad inventory from websites on real time basis.

GroupM, WPP's media planning and buying arm, is in the process of setting up an alternative process to buy digital media ad inventory. The agency plans to start a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) for digital media buying purposes in the Asia-Pacific region. In India, the DSP is expected to be established either by the end of this year or early 2012. Tushar Vyas, managing partner, South Asia, GroupM, has confirmed the development to afaqs!.

What is a Demand-Side Platform? Unlike ad networks, which represent publishers, DSPs represent advertisers or advertising agencies. The DSP uses an automated (software/technology) process and helps advertisers to buy digital ad space across various web pages/publishers/blogs on real time basis.

Advertisers can use a DSP to select, serve and stop digital ads across select web pages of websites on the spot, instead of pre-buying the digital ad inventory and issuing a release order to publishers or using an ad network to blindly purchase and serve ads on websites.

To get access to advertising inventory, DSPs usually tie up or connect with companies (like digital ad exchanges, site representation firms and online ad networks) which represent and have tie-ups with publishers. In some cases, a DSP ties up directly with publishers as well.

In the DSP model, the advertiser not only gets access to ad inventory of various websites, but can also get hold of a lot of consumer data (like web cookies of website users), which can be used to track the online behaviour of consumers and serve ads accordingly. Thus the DSP model provides transparency, high reach and precise targetting facilities to advertisers.

Vyas clarifies that GroupM will use the DSP to buy limited amount of digital inventory for its clients.

Typically, advertisers use DSPs to buy 10 per cent of the total digital ad inventory. Globally, DSPs are mostly employed for performance-led digital campaigns by advertisers.