For most advertisers, programmatic advertising is a one-stop shop: log into a demand-side platform (DSP), place your bids and call it a day.

Mars Petcare, however, is doing things differently.

When it comes to CTV, it’s using a supply-side platform — the tool publishers normally use to manage ad sales — to buy ads directly, skipping the usual DSP route altogether.

“For over a year now, We’ve been consolidating our CTV ad spending into fewer partners in order to mitigate cross partner frequency overlap and extend unique reach,” said Jonathan Tuttle, associate director of media for Mars Pet Nutrition North America.

In March, Mars put this strategy to the test, snapping up unsold CTV inventory outside the upfront trading window to promote Greenies pet treats to non-brand buyers. But instead of using its go-to DSPs in Google Dv360 and The Trade Desk, Mars leaned on PubMatic, doing deals through programmatic guaranteed and private marketplaces.

The advertiser’s logic was straightforward: fewer ad tech middlemen mean fewer fees, leaving more of the budget for actual ad placements.

Get it right, and the savings could be substantial. PubMatic connects advertisers directly with publishers, eliminating layers of intermediaries and offering a more transparent fee structure. By comparison, DSPs typically lack those direct connections and often operate within a complex, multi-step ecosystem that stacks on technology and transaction fees — driving up costs with every layer.

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Source: https://digiday.com/marketing/mars-petcare-is-testing-direct-ssp-buying-for-ctv-ads/?utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=general-rss