Marketers, to take control of your supply chain you need more than ‘just’ a DSP

But they are quickly discovering that, in isolation, a DSP is not enough. It doesn’t do everything they need it to in order to solve modern-day marketing challenges. Moreover, those who look at their tech stack in isolation risk a lack of differentiation and are forced to increase their spend to stand out from the crowd.

As a result, a marketers’ virtual toolset must expand. They need to customize their strategy, access rich and diverse supply, and use technology that helps measure both reach and engagement, improve operational efficiency and manage partnerships, all with a click of a button.

Too good to be true? Well consider this and see it for yourself in the video above.

Get the bigger picture

A brand’s reputation is only as strong as its supply chain. Take Cisco, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Sneider Electric or Nestlé – recognised by Gartner as the top five organisations for supply chain excellence in 2021. What sets them apart is a supply chain that is efficient, resilient, and competitive. One that delivers on unique purpose and success metrics to drive the individual end goal.

Digital advertisers should expect nothing less. Only by fully understanding the entire digital supply chain can advertisers re-gain control and prove efficacy of their media buys. Technology partners that foster direct connections between buyers and sellers really do empower marketers. Greater control and increased transparency lead to optimized audience reach, discrepancy-free buying and most importantly, no hidden tech fees. Simply put, it means more of your marketing dollar goes towards working media, increasing content owners’ revenue and ultimately creating a more virtuous digital advertising cycle.

“A standalone DSP doesn’t give you the full picture,” says Luca Masiello, senior manager, Advertiser Partnerships at Xandr. “If you don’t have all the tools to begin with, you’re only halfway there. You can still get to the end goal, of course, but the outcome will be substandard. Digital ad buyers need more than a DSP because it’s their money going into the ecosystem. They need to be able to see where that money is going and how it’s being spent.”

Build competitive advantage

Every digital advertising buy starts with a brand’s marketing dollar. You could be using the most popular DSP in-market which, alone, will let you buy media – but it doesn’t give you the flexibility and choice to differentiate from your competitors. By using the same DSP as all your competitors, and letting it make your decisions, then by default the outcome is going to be the same. To build competitive advantage, your tech stack must look different. It should be tailored and built with your brand’s individual and specific goals in mind.

“It’s not that DSPs don’t give you the right fit, but they only give you part of what you need,” says Masiello. “All advertisers start with the media spend. You’ll get certain things from a DSP and others from an SSP, but that’s still only half the picture. By working with multiple partners, things are going missing along the way, and you don’t have the tools to do everything. Moving beyond out-of-the box tech solutions is key to realizing your brand’s true advertising potential.”

More than just a DSP, you need a marketplace

To build real competitive advantage and move forward successfully, marketers need a marketplace that brings the buyers and sellers together in one place. Only a marketplace can fill the void that separates the buy and sell-sides of the programmatic landscape, giving advertisers an opportunity to see and improve the whole ecosystem. It’s a community that can guide you towards that end goal.

There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to address identity challenges right now and buyers will have to use multiple solutions. A curated marketplace is an elegant solution that centralizes their deployment whatever the use case. They also offer a centralized place for buyers to target and report across multiple DSPs, simplifying campaign execution and increasing operational efficiency.

A marketplace gives advertisers all the tools they need to see the full picture of their media buys. It removes any points of friction by prioritizing transparency, innovation and competitive advantage, to help advertisers achieve maximum control over their supply, strategies and business. It also provides choice in who you want to work with and how, ensuring all the players in your supply chain are the right fit for your brand. Best of all, it provides the tools to put consumer privacy front of mind which, as we enter a critical year of advertising, should be every marketers’ top priority.

To find out more, get in touch with Xandr at hello@xandr.com.