Advertising Stacks & What Is Right for You

An ad stack, also called an “ad tech stack” or “publisher ad stack” is the composition of all the elements publishers and advertisers use to facilitate and manage digital advertising. It’s like a toolbox; the contents are the elements of advertising, selling, and buying, including the buyers and sellers themselves.

You could be talking about one large company that offers an out-of-the-box solution (simple but limited), or a custom-built solution that involves plugging in different technologies to fulfill complex marketing objectives. 

Ad Stacks For Beginners

Ad stacks have several purposes:

• Automate ad buying and selling by seamlessly connecting advertisers and publishers 
• Maximize publisher revenue and optimize ad placement/pricing
• Measure ad performance by tracking key metrics
• Protect against fraud; identify/prevent ad stacking
• Reach the right customers using data to target relevant users 

The main tools include advertisers, publishers, demand side platforms (DSPs), supply side platforms (SSPs), and the ad exchange. An ad stack also includes brand safety, customer-data platforms, data-management platforms, and reporting/analytics.

Publishers & Advertisers
If you are a “publisher,” you own your ad space and sell it to advertisers. An advertiser buys an ad space from a publisher and is the person trying to market a product or service. The advertiser has a message and is seeking an audience or buyers. Think of the publisher as the apple tree and the advertiser as the apple.

Ad Server
The ad server delivers the apples to its sellers. Publishers use “first-party” ad servers and advertisers use third-party servers. The ad server determines which ads should be delivered to which services and also stores the ads. 

Supply Side Platform (SSP)
The SSP is the beginning of the monetization process. Think of the SSP as the farmer that harvests the apple.  SSPs allow publishers to:

• Decide which types of advertisers can bid
• Determine where ads can be arranged in a program
• Manage how ad space is sold
• Set prices

Demand Side Platform (DSP)
The DSP is a grocery store offering a variety of apple types at different prices. It’s the venue for advertisers to design and manage ad campaigns, including pay-per-click (PPC) platforms. DSPs allow advertisers to:

• Define and target customers
• Determine advertising frequency
• Set and manage an ad budget

Ad Network, Ad Exchange
The ad network purchases inventory (apples) from several publishers and combines the various inventories into one platform. It then resells ad space to advertisers. The ad exchange connects the SSP with the DSP. Instead of purchasing ad space, the advertiser creates an “open marketplace” that connects advertisers and publishers as buyers and sellers. 

Data Management Platform (DMP)
A DMP collects and stores third-party (customer) data that SSPs and DSPs use to develop and deliver effective advertising. DMPs use cookies and tracking technology to collect data and refine user profiles.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)
CDPs collect first-party data from companies that directly engage with customers.

Brand Safety Tools
Advertising spaces can become cluttered with inappropriate ads that are brand-damaging. Brand safety uses inventory scanning and content quality tools.

Reporting/Analytics
Intensive reporting and analyses of information help publishers and advertisers identify ad campaign effectiveness.

Ad Stacks: More Control, Better Management

Ads stacks improve your website quality score (1-10) that rates your website’s performance and relationship to user intent as well as user experience. Ad stacks offer improved efficiency and greater control:

• Cross-channel integration/optimization between video ads, website content, and social media campaigns
• Identifies invalid traffic
• Improves customer conversion at a lower cost per acquisition (CPA)
• Improves digital ad campaign performance
• More accurate decision-making based on data analytics
• Prevents fraudulent advertising
• Protects ad budget spending
• Reduction of reporting conflicts/discrepancies
• Single-platform ad campaign management

Examples of ad stacks include:

• DSPs
  • Adobe Advertising
  • AdRoll – Remarketing
  • Amazon Advertising
  • Google Ads
  • LinkedIn Ads
  • MediaMath – Data analytics for programmatic ads
  • Meta Ads – Facebook/Instagram
  • Simpli.fi – Display, local, video ad solutions
  • StackAdapt – AI/data analytics
  • The Trade Desk – Cross-channel campaign management
    
    
• SSPs
  • PubMatic – Publisher ad inventory
  • SmartyAds LLP – Programmatic advertising
  • Google Ad Manager

Other ad stack platforms include Amobee, Criteo, Eskimi, and Marin.

Digital advertising has so many similarities and variables that we often feel as if we’re comparing apples to oranges. The constant evolution of digital advertising means the Modern Marketing & Media team is in education mode almost daily as we learn “new and improved” ways to promote online sales and information-sharing. 

For example, compare:

• Business-to-business (B2B) vs. business-to-client (B2C) advertising – They share marketing similarities but also have a very different focus. B2B advertising targets relationship-building and business solutions. B2C advertising reinforces customer trust but also depends on creating a sense of urgency.
  
  
• Traditional advertising (direct mail, print, and radio/television) vs. digital advertising (content creation, email, SEO, and social media) – Basic marketing principles form the foundation for both advertising mediums, but they use different delivery methodologies.

Which ad stack is right for you? Our clients can choose from a diverse field of marketing strategies. We offer customer/user analytics, customized advertising solutions, data management for businesses and organizations, and much more. Let’s review your digital ad options and website conversions. Contact Modern Marketing & Media.

FAQs
Two frequently asked questions we receive about ad stacks are: