{"id":42,"date":"2022-06-18T11:26:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-18T11:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/persona.ly\/glossary\/real-time-bidding\/choosing-a-dsp\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T07:57:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T07:57:55","slug":"choosing-a-dsp","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/persona.ly\/glossary\/real-time-bidding\/choosing-a-dsp\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing a DSP (Demand Side Platform)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The mobile app marketing industry is evolving towards automation, with companies increasing their spending on programmatic media buying, and shifting away from establishing and managing direct advertiser\\publisher relationships that are difficult to set up and sustain. While Ad Networks<\/em> still exist, there\u2019s a shift towards Programmatic DSPs<\/em> and ML-Based DSPs<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift to programmatic and ML-based media buying led to the development of different solutions and services available for marketing managers looking for growth opportunities. The three main options are In-house DSP, <\/em>a Self-service DSP, <\/em>and a Managed DSP<\/em> and here we\u2019ll elaborate about the differences and advantages each platform offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The In-House DSP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"In-house<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An In-house DSP refers to a self-developed DSP, a platform uniquely built for the company. There are many advantages to an In-house DSP: full control over the campaigns, full cost transparency, no data sharing (all of the aggregated data regarding the users stays within the company), and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Proprietary DSP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An In-house DSP<\/em> is commonly mistaken and used when referring to a Self-service DSP <\/em>though they are significantly different. The source for the confusion stems from the fact that in both cases the marketing manager has full control over running the campaign, but using an outsourced platform to run a campaign differs greatly from running it on a proprietary platform, which we\u2019ll elaborate on later in this article.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An In-house DSP is a highly rare solution since most companies simply can\u2019t afford it. Building a DSP requires investing resources in infrastructure and development, recruiting teams to develop and maintain it (data scientists, product managers, and an operational team). It\u2019s essentially building a whole new product within a company and those who can afford it are possibly corporate-sized companies (and they too probably wouldn\u2019t opt for creating a whole new product). For the rest, it\u2019s simply unrealistic. Most companies are faced with a choice between the two alternative solutions: a Self-Service<\/em> DSP<\/em> and a Managed DSP.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMarketers and agencies want and need the benefits of domain-specific AI capabilities. However, they also recognize that to build the capabilities themselves it would involve a commitment to a multi-year project, dedicated resources and investment on an ongoing basis across multiple platforms with no guarantee of a successful outcome\u201d<\/p>\nMatt Nash<\/a>, MD @ Scibids<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Self-service DSP<\/h2>\n\n\n