ServicesProgrammatic Ads

Programmatic Ads agency

Programmatic advertising buys display, video, connected TV and digital billboard space through software called a demand-side platform. It suits businesses that already capture search demand and now need more people to know their name. If it’s too early for you, we’ll say so plainly.

Discuss Programmatic Ads
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Reach and awareness buying, planned around brand safety and a clear test.

PROGRAMMATIC ADS
Readiness check

Search, tracking and budget come first.

DSP and inventory plan

Choose audiences, publishers and formats.

Brand-safety and frequency controls

Keep ads off poor sites and limit repeats.

Recommended only when search is covered

What we can help with

What a programmatic plan covers

The buying platform is the last decision. Audience, inventory and how success will be judged are settled before it.

  • Readiness review against search and social results
  • DSP selection and access through a buying partner
  • Audience, contextual and location targeting
  • Brand safety, site lists and fraud filtering
  • Creative specs for display, video and CTV
  • Frequency, reach and lift reporting

Programmatic Ads in practice

How the buying actually works

A DSP such as The Trade Desk, Google’s Display & Video 360 or Amazon DSP bids on ad space in real time across websites, apps, streaming services and outdoor screens. You can target audiences (people in data segments, or past site visitors), context (pages about renovation or personal finance), location (postcodes, or a radius around your branches) or named publishers through private marketplace deals. In Australia that includes catch-up TV on the commercial networks’ streaming apps, sold as broadcaster video on demand, so a regional business can run TV-style ads without buying a broadcast slot.

Programmatic sits above the search and social layers in our performance marketing plans, adding reach once demand capture is covered.

Planning and implementation

Brand safety, and when to wait

The open exchange carries plenty of poor inventory: made-for-advertising sites, cluttered pages and apps where accidental taps are common. We use inclusion lists of known publishers, exclusion lists, verification tools such as IAS or DoubleVerify where the budget allows, and frequency caps so the same person isn’t shown your ad dozens of times. Many DSPs and managed-service partners also set spend minimums. For a sole trader or a small local business, that usually makes programmatic premature, because Google Search, local SEO and Meta will do more with the same money. It starts to make sense for multi-site operators, franchise networks and brands with a recognisable offer across a metro area or state.

Video made for programmatic can also run as YouTube ads, and our creative strategy work sets the sizes and cut-downs you’ll need. Smaller businesses usually get more from local SEO first.

How we work

Deciding first, then buying

01

Confirm you're ready

We look at search impression share, conversion tracking and how much demand is still uncaptured. If search isn’t covered, we recommend fixing that first.

02

Plan audiences and inventory

We choose the targeting approach, publishers or deal types, formats and frequency cap, and set a fixed test period with a holdout region where possible.

03

Measure lift, not impressions

At the end of the test, branded search, direct traffic and enquiries in the target area are compared with the holdout to see whether the spend moved anything.

Measurement and review

Reading programmatic results honestly

Impressions and clicks are easy to report and say little. Display click-through is low by nature, and view-through conversions give credit to ads someone may have scrolled straight past. We put more weight on viewability, completed video views on real publishers, and changes in branded search and direct visits within the targeted area.

Where volume allows, a geographic holdout gives the cleanest answer: run ads in some regions and not others, then compare enquiries. Placement reports are shared so you can see exactly which sites and apps carried your ads.

Good questions

Programmatic, answered plainly

The questions that decide whether it’s worth trying.

Is programmatic the same as Google Display ads?

Related, but not the same. Display campaigns inside Google Ads are a self-serve version of display buying limited to Google's network. A DSP reaches far more inventory, including other exchanges, streaming TV and outdoor screens, with finer control over publishers, data and frequency. The trade-off is the cost of access, more setup and a need for verification tools. Small budgets usually belong in Google Display or Demand Gen first.

Can programmatic target a local service area?

Yes, by postcode, radius or region, and through device location on mobile. The limit is scale. A tightly drawn suburban area may not have enough inventory to spend a meaningful budget without hitting the same households too often. That is one reason local tradies rarely need programmatic, while a business covering a whole city or several states can use it well.

What is connected TV advertising?

Ads that play on streaming services watched on a television, such as the free catch-up apps run by the commercial networks. They are bought through DSPs and can be targeted by region and audience, which brings TV-style reach within range of businesses that could never buy a broadcast slot. You need a properly produced video, usually 15 or 30 seconds long, and success is judged on reach and lift rather than clicks.

How much budget does programmatic need?

More than most channels before the result can be read, because reach campaigns need enough impressions over a test period to shift branded search or enquiries. Partner minimums vary and change. Our guide to marketing budgets explains how we weigh programmatic against search and social. If the numbers don't support a proper test, we'll recommend spending that money elsewhere.

Will the free audit tell us if we're ready?

Yes, that is usually the main question. We look at how much search demand you're already capturing, whether your tracking could show any lift, and what creative you have. You get a clear yes, not yet, or no, with the steps that would change the answer. Learn what the free audit involves.

Connected services

Get these right before and alongside

01

Performance Marketing

Budget planning across search, social and display.

Explore Performance Marketing

02

YouTube Ads

Video reach inside Google Ads with a simpler setup.

Explore YouTube Ads

03

Creative Strategy

Formats, cut-downs and messages for each placement.

Explore Creative Strategy

A useful starting point

Find out if programmatic fits your stage

We’ll check your current search coverage, tracking and creative, then give you a straight answer on whether programmatic belongs in this year’s plan.

  • How much search demand is still uncaptured
  • Whether tracking could show lift from display or CTV
  • What video and display creative you would need
See the 100% free audit offer

Get a 100% free audit with an actionable checklist.

Ask us whether programmatic makes sense at your size.

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