Programmatic Advertising Essentials | 2025+

Master RTB auctions, buying lanes, brand safety & cookieless targeting—in one 60-minute, hands-on course.

What you'll learn

Describe how DSPs, SSPs and DMPs work together in the programmatic ecosystem.

Choose the optimal buying model—from Open Auction to Programmatic Guaranteed—for any campaign.

Configure brand-safety, fraud and viewability filters to protect budget and reputation.

Build cookieless targeting using first-party IDs, contextual and semantic AI signals.

Analyse reports to optimise CPM, CPV and ROAS for continuous performance lift.

Requirements

No prior media-buying experience required—course starts from the basics.

Helpful: general digital-marketing terminology (CPM, CTR, conversion).

Description

Unlock the engine behind today’s digital marketing spend. In around 60 minutes of tightly-edited lessons you’ll move from “I’ve heard of DSPs” to confidently briefing a multi-channel, brand-safe campaign—without prior media-buying experience. What you’ll learn:How DSPs, SSPs and DMPs cooperate in a 0.5-second real-time auction When to choose Open Auction, PMP, Preferred Deal or Programmatic Guaranteed The exact guardrails that keep your ads off unsafe pages (GARM + verification tags) Privacy-first targeting using first-party IDs, contextual & semantic AI Smart-data tactics to lift ROAS—plus a downloadable CPM calculator Why this course? Updated for 2025+—Chrome’s cookie phase-out, Topics API, UID 2.0 Beginner-friendly, but also a useful refresher for prosShort, animated explainers matched with expert experiencesFive mini-quizzes lock in knowledge. Plus a 15-Q final exam at the end (30 minutes timeframe)Bonus resources: Campaign-brief template (Word Doc)Excel cost model (Programmatic CRM Calculator)One-pager summarizing deal types, key KPIs, and the six-step auction (PDF)Who should enroll:Digital marketers, media planners, start-up founders and small-business owners who want a no-fluff, practical introduction to programmatic advertising—and anyone preparing for an ad-ops or marketing-analytics interview. By the end, you’ll be able to explain, plan and optimize programmatic campaigns—and talk numbers with any stakeholder, from finance to C-suite.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Course Welcome & Agenda

Section 2: What Is Programmatic?

Lecture 2 Definition & Market Momentum

Lecture 3 Benefits: Efficiency, Relevance & Control

Lecture 4 Omnichannel Formats in 2025 & Myth-Busting

Section 3: How It Works

Lecture 5 DSP, SSP & DMP Explained

Lecture 6 The 6-Step Real-Time Auction

Lecture 7 Data Signals That Influence a Bid

Section 4: Buying Models

Lecture 8 Open Auction vs. Private Deals

Lecture 9 Preferred Deal & Programmatic Guaranteed

Lecture 10 Response, Cost Breakdown & Optimal Mix

Section 5: Brand Safety & Verification

Lecture 11 Definition, DSP Guardrails & Pre-Bid Filters

Lecture 12 Third-Party Verification & Context + Semantic

Lecture 13 SPO & Post-Bid Diagnostic

Lecture 14 Mini-Case: Family-App Launch with Safety Layers

Section 6: Post-Cookie Solutions

Lecture 15 Definition, First-Party & Interoperable IDs

Lecture 16 Contextual & Semantic AI 2.0

Lecture 17 Non-Personal Signals & Clean Rooms

Lecture 18 Google Privacy Sandbox & Example Cookieless Campaign Blueprint

Section 7: Data Targeting

Lecture 19 Smart vs. Big Data Strategy

Lecture 20 Vendor Landscape

Lecture 21 Evaluation & A/B Segment Testing Framework

Lecture 22 Mini Case Playbook: Winter Sportswear

Section 8: Skills & Career Path

Lecture 23 Ten Essential Programmatic Skills

Lecture 24 T-Shaped Growth Plan & OKRs

Section 9: Recap & Next Steps

Lecture 25 Lightning Summary & Action Plan

Digital marketers, media planners, junior ad-ops specialists and small-business owners who want a hands-on, up-to-date introduction to programmatic advertising.