Amazon Advertising Platform (AAP) has edged ahead of Google DoubleClick Bid Manager as the most commonly used demand-side platform (DSP) among marketers and advertisers, with 41% using the former as opposed to 35% the latter. That’s according to Advertiser Perceptions, which notes that the two were tied at 38% usage in the previous survey conducted 6 months earlier.
Last year, Google had been slightly ahead of Amazon in terms of DSP buying intentions.
Amazon’s popularity is brought further to light in this latest survey by a separate question. Asked which DSP they would choose if given only one RFP, a leading 24% share of the 483 advertisers surveyed pointed to AAP, ahead of the 17% opting for Google DoubleClick Bid Manager.
The results come on the heels of research from Third Door Media, which found that 30% of digital marketers are using Amazon Advertising Platform.
Meanwhile, the Advertiser Perceptions data reveals growing interest in The Trade Desk, which has moved into the third spot in DSP usage, jumping from 18% of survey respondents in January to 26% in July. Rounding out the top 5 are Brightroll (21%), Adobe Advertising Cloud (20%) and MediaMath (19%).
Which Criteria Influence the DSP Decision?
When choosing between DSPs, a proven track record and solid industry foundation count as the most important factor, with an index score of 171 in terms of driving likelihood of DSP use. Audience targeting capabilities (index of 152) are a more important factor in advertisers’ choices than audience scale or reach (138), a result that brings to mind a Lotame study in which marketers evaluated data segments to purchase more on the basis of targeting accuracy than scale.
The focus on targeting capabilities also reflects what advertisers want from programmatic. A leading 43% of respondents said that improved targeting capabilities ranks among the top-3 issues that programmatic ad buying solves.
Programmatic ad buying is also increasingly valued for its better time and resource efficiency, per the report, while broader reach, greater cost-efficiency than publisher direct and the ability to leverage 1st, 2nd and 3rd-party data are also prioritized.
Advertisers Grow More Concerned With Fraud
Programmatic ad buying doesn’t come without its share of concerns, though. A growing number of advertisers are worried about fraud, viewability and non-human traffic, according to the study, with this now narrowly seen as the most negative aspect of programmatic ad buying.
Brand safety concerns are right behind fraud in the mix of worries. Research does show that programmatic inventory is riskier than publisher-direct buys, but at the same time data from Oath suggests that 7 in 10 advertisers feel that DSPs and exchanges are addressing these concerns.
Finally, among other worries that are growing in importance for advertisers are pricing transparency and hidden costs, as well as the complexity of managing data.
About the Data: The results are based on a survey of 483 marketer (51%) and agency (49%) respondents who are involved in the purchase of programmatic advertising and/or who have used or worked with DSPs or DMPs in the past 12 months. Some 43% are Senior-level respondents, and the vast majority (82%) are from companies with at least $1 million in annual digital ad spending.
