How Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) Work in Programmatic

In the modern audio space, advertising trends and listening habits continue soaring to new heights. And with the availability of programmatic advertising, which automates the process of buying and placing ads, digital marketers receive unmatched speed, scale, and precision in their campaigns. 

At the heart of this ecosystem are demand-side platforms (DSPs), which allow advertisers to reach the right audience at the right time through a single, streamlined interface. With programmatic audio expected to account for 30% of total digital audio spend in 2025, there’s plenty of growth and opportunity in this space. Let’s take a closer look at DSPs, the benefits, and how they can supercharge your podcast and streaming audio strategy. 

What Is a DSP, and What Are the Benefits of Using One?

A demand-side platform (DSP) is an automated software solution that enables marketers to perform real-time media buying using a single interface. Instead of negotiating direct buys or placing manual bids, advertisers use DSPs to manage bidding, targeting, and buying ad inventory across multiple ad exchanges, marketplaces, and data provider accounts. 

DSPs empower advertisers and marketers to target audiences at scale thanks to the ability to set parameters like demographics, behaviors, and the context of the content they consume. Advanced algorithms evaluate available inventory, bid in real time, and place ads where they are most likely to drive desired results. This approach streamlines media buying, transforming it into a fast, efficient, and data-driven process.

Here are the benefits of using a DSP for advertisers.

Managing Frequency Across Channels 

Frequency management is critical to preventing ad fatigue while ensuring effective reach. DSPs enable advertisers to set a frequency cap within a timeframe, which limits how often the ad will be sent to a listener, regardless of where or how they consume audio content. This feature helps advertisers manage exposure across all platforms and publishers to reach the optimal amount of reach and frequency per listener. For example, imagine someone has started their day with a show on the SiriusXM Podcast Network. Towards the evening, they’re cooking a meal while enjoying a jazz music station on Pandora. With frequency management throughout the day, they’ll hear your ad the right number of times without getting oversaturated. 

Real-Time Optimization

The dynamic nature of digital media buying requires speed and agility, and DSPs fully deliver on this front. They enable real-time, performance-based optimization and instant campaign adjustments across channels and within the purchase funnel. This capability ensures that ad spend is allocated to the best-performing channels and audiences at the exact moment, maximizing ROI.

Boosting Measurement Capabilities 

The all-encompassing nature of DSPs can take your campaign’s performance measurement to the next level. For starters, DSPs enable you to measure campaigns across various publishers and media to help you understand performance at the micro and macro level. 

But, it doesn’t stop there. For example, we leverage DSPs to deliver comprehensive measurement solutions such as brand lift studies, sales lift analyses, and multi-touch attributions. Advertisers not only reach their target audience but know precisely when their campaigns hit the right notes.

DSP vs. SSP: What’s the Difference? 

DSPs go hand-in-hand with supply-side platforms (SSPs). While DSPs are used by advertisers to buy and manage ad inventory, SSPs are leveraged by publishers to maximize revenue and manage ad impression inventory. Once upon a time, the negotiation process was manual, but SSPs automate the process. Publishers and networks add tags to their sites, enabling third-party networks and exchanges to sell inventory to buyers. Using algorithms and data, SSPs facilitate real-time bidding (RTB) to connect sellers with advertisers.

To sum things up, DSPs are a tool for buyers (advertisers and agencies), while SSPs are a tool for sellers (publishers). They both exist within the same ecosystem and create a seamless marketplace where inventory is bought and sold in real time, providing transparency and efficiency for both parties.

How Do DSPs Fit Into Podcast and Streaming Audio Campaigns? 

Whether you’re running podcast or streaming audio ads (or both), a demand-side platform can become your dependable partner by unlocking new opportunities and taking your audio campaigns to new heights. Here’s how it works for both channels. 

Podcast Campaigns

The podcast inventory only continues to grow—from the amount of superfans and their daily time spent listening to the diversification of genres and shows. DSPs enable advertisers to scale their campaigns across thousands of shows while maintaining brand safety and targeting precision. It also facilitates transparency by passing show, publisher, and episode data with every bid request (something that not every publisher offers), allowing advertisers to see exactly where their ad is placed and providing a foundation for DSP reporting. 

Instead of focusing on one particular show (which is still possible), programmatic podcast buying allows marketers to reach the whole podcast network, focus on an audience-first approach to podcasting, and receive granular insights on their ads’ placement and performance. Programmatic execution for podcasts deliver the key priorities for brands today—scale, transparency, top-tier content, brand suitability, and more. 

Streaming Audio Campaigns

In the streaming audio programmatic ecosystem, advertising campaigns are executed through private marketplaces (PMP), programmatic guaranteed (PG), and preferred deals (PD), which means buyers and sellers can collaborate on KPIs and targeting to curate inventory—prioritizing the best-suited content and audiences. Here at SiriusXM Media, DSPs enable advertisers to reach listeners across platforms like Pandora and SoundCloud—both of which are part of the broader SiriusXM Streaming Network. DSPs are beneficial not only for reach but ultra-precise targeting capabilities, allowing advertisers to serve ads based on demographics, listening habits, moods, or even weather conditions. That’s the magic of programmatic within your reach.

And don’t forget about the cross-channel targeting capabilities. DSPs empower marketers to target their streaming audio audience—whether they listen on mobile, desktop, or smart speaker—and tailor the ad perfectly. 

Which DSP Platforms Do We Partner With? 

We partner with major DSP players to allow for turnkey activation for our clients and agencies, including the Trade Desk, Yahoo, AudioMatic, Amazon, and more. 

The SiriusXM Streaming Network + Programmatic Placements = Significant Lifts 

Want to see the power of programmatic in action? Our streaming network previously partnered with a retail store advertiser who was aiming to increase foot traffic and generate behavioral lifts. Together, we developed a strategy that incorporated precise targeting of audio listeners who are also children’s clothing consumers, high-impact messaging, and programmatic placements on mobile audio. 

The campaign results speak for themselves:

• +404K total store visits

• +40K behavioral lift in store visits 

• +10.95% increase in behavioral lift

Upgrade Your Programmatic Campaign with SiriusXM Media

Thanks to DSPs, advertisers gain the ability to target and measure their ads with precision, all in real time. It is an essential tool for those seeking to connect with a diverse, engaged audience and create campaigns that drive results.

We lead the charge in the evolving audio landscape, offering marketers access to the largest audio advertising ecosystem in the US. Whether your goal is to drive awareness or boost sales, our suite of programmatic solutions and partnerships with leading DSPs will ensure your brand is heard loud and clear.

Ready to leverage the full power of programmatic advertising solutions? Let’s talk.

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