Continuing our adtech 101 series explaining the fundamentals of all things adtech, we move on to consider one area of the adtech ecosystem that is still explosively growing – ad exchanges. Most marketers will have come across the term and been told that they should be purchasing from these channels but still haven’t got to grips with exactly what an exchange is and how they can be used effectively.

Continuing our adtech 101 series explaining the fundamentals of all things adtech, we move on to consider one of the most important, but arguably least correctly understood, areas of the adtech ecosystem – Demand Side Platforms (DSPs). Most marketers have at best a vague idea; in this article we will explore exactly what constitues a DSP, common features and key platforms available to marketers.

Private ad exchanges are controlled environments, typically run by major publishers or a group of them, with ads sold through carefully selected agencies or advertisers using trading desks and/or demand side platforms. They are used by publishers to more carefully control who can buy their inventory, and at what price.

In this article, we consider the rise of private ad exchanges and the pros and cons for publishers using them.