Programmatic Advertising

Learn the fundamentals of programmatic advertising by understanding the digital ad ecosystem, ad tech platforms, audience targeting, and automated media buying from start to finish.

Bestseller 4.7 (2,847 ratings) 8,234 students

Created by Dr. Pritesh Patel

Last updated 03/2026 English English [Auto]

What you'll learn

Understand the complete digital advertising ecosystem and how programmatic advertising works
Learn the roles of ad servers, ad exchanges, and creative optimization tools in digital advertising
Understand how Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) and Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) enable automated media buying and selling
Explore the purpose of Data Management Platforms (DMPs) and how audience data is collected, managed and activated
Learn how data suppliers contribute to audience targeting and how DMPs integrate with the programmatic ecosystem
Understand the role of trading desks and how they optimize digital advertising campaigns
Learn how real-time bidding (RTB), retargeting, and automated bidding work in programmatic advertising
Gain a complete understanding of the programmatic advertising workflow and the technologies powering modern digital campaigns

Course content

5 sections • 11 lectures • 2 hours total length

Requirements

  • No prior marketing experience required
  • Basic understanding of digital marketing concepts is helpful but not mandatory
  • A willingness to learn about digital advertising technologies and ad tech platforms
  • Interest in understanding how automated digital advertising and audience targeting work

Description

Become an expert in Programmatic Advertising and discover how the world's leading brands use automated media buying, real-time bidding (RTB), audience targeting, and ad tech platforms to deliver highly effective digital advertising campaigns. This comprehensive, industry-focused course is designed for beginners, digital marketers, media planners, performance marketers, business owners, freelancers, and advertising professionals who want to master the technology powering modern digital advertising.

Throughout this course, you'll gain practical knowledge of the complete Programmatic Advertising Ecosystem, including Ad Servers, Ad Exchanges, Demand Side Platforms (DSPs), Supply Side Platforms (SSPs), Data Management Platforms (DMPs), Trading Desks, Real-Time Bidding (RTB), Audience Segmentation, Creative Optimization, Retargeting, First-Party Data, Third-Party Data, Cookie-Based Targeting, and Automated Media Buying. You'll understand how each component works together to deliver personalized, data-driven advertising campaigns at scale.

Using real-world examples and industry best practices, you'll explore how advertisers purchase digital media programmatically, how publishers monetize their inventory, and how audience data is collected, managed, and activated for highly targeted campaigns. You'll also learn how bidding algorithms, machine learning, and optimization techniques improve campaign performance, increase return on ad spend (ROAS), reduce wasted ad spend, and maximize marketing efficiency.

The course also explains how Programmatic Advertising integrates with Google Display Network (GDN), Display Advertising, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Digital Analytics, and Performance Marketing to create full-funnel digital marketing strategies that deliver measurable business results.

By the end of this course, you'll have the confidence to understand and navigate the complete programmatic advertising workflow, evaluate ad tech platforms, optimize audience targeting, interpret campaign data, and make informed media buying decisions using industry-standard tools and frameworks. Whether you're looking to build a career in digital advertising, improve your media buying skills, grow your business, or expand your agency or freelance services, this course provides the practical knowledge and strategic foundation needed to succeed in today's rapidly evolving advertising landscape.

Start your Programmatic Advertising journey today and learn how to leverage DSPs, SSPs, DMPs, RTB, audience targeting, ad exchanges, and automated media buying to create high-performing digital advertising campaigns that reach the right audience, improve campaign efficiency, and drive measurable business growth.

Who this course is for:

  • Marketing students and beginners who want to understand how programmatic advertising works
  • Digital marketers looking to build expertise in ad tech platforms and automated media buying
  • Business owners and entrepreneurs who want to understand how digital advertising reaches the right audience
  • Media planners, buyers and advertising professionals looking to upskill in programmatic advertising
  • Anyone interested in learning about DSPs, SSPs, DMPs, ad exchanges, real-time bidding, and the modern digital advertising ecosystem

Instructor

Dr. Pritesh Patel

Founder & Coach — BaseCamp Digital | Ex-Meta · Ex-Yahoo · ISB Alumni | Doctorate in Gen AI

4.9 Instructor Rating 8,000+ Students

With 21+ years of experience in digital marketing and AI, Dr.Pritesh Patel has trained professionals from top companies like Times of India, OLX, Network18, and more. His practical approach combines industry insights with hands-on learning.