By If you’ve been in a media planning meeting and nodded along when someone mentioned PG, PD, or PMP without fully knowing the difference — this is for you.
Programmatic advertising has a jargon problem. Terms get thrown around in briefs and RFPs as if everyone knows what they mean. Most people don’t. And that gap between terminology and understanding costs campaigns real money.
Open Auction (RTB) — The Default
Real-Time Bidding (RTB) in an open auction is the default programmatic model. An impression becomes available, multiple DSPs bid in real time (within ~100ms), the highest bid wins. The advertiser gets reach and efficiency. The publisher gets yield optimisation. But there’s no exclusivity, no guaranteed pricing, and limited premium inventory access.
PMP — Private Marketplace
A Private Marketplace is an invite-only version of the open auction. A publisher creates a curated deal — specific inventory, specific audience, floor price — and invites select DSPs or advertisers to bid. The deal has a Deal ID that prioritises those buyers in the auction. PMPs give publishers more control over who buys their inventory and at what price. They give advertisers access to premium inventory that isn’t available in the open market. Think of it as a velvet rope version of RTB.
PD — Preferred Deal
A Preferred Deal (also called a non-guaranteed deal) is a one-to-one arrangement between a publisher and a specific buyer at a fixed price — but with no volume guarantee. The buyer gets the right of first refusal on the inventory at an agreed CPM. If the buyer doesn’t bid, the impression falls back to the open auction. No commitments. Fixed price, flexible volume.
PG — Programmatic Guaranteed
Programmatic Guaranteed is the most structured of the three. A fixed volume of impressions is guaranteed at a fixed CPM to a specific buyer. It’s essentially a traditional direct IO executed programmatically. The buyer guarantees they’ll purchase X impressions. The publisher guarantees they’ll deliver X impressions. Programmatic targeting, creative personalisation, and reporting — but with the certainty of a direct deal.
Which One Should You Use?
Open Auction: Maximum reach, price efficiency, no frills. PMP: Premium inventory, better brand safety, auction dynamics still apply. Preferred Deal: Fixed price access, no volume pressure, good for testing premium placements. PG: Brand campaigns with guaranteed delivery, premium content alignment, highest CPMs. The mistake most buyers make is defaulting to open auction for everything. The programmatic ecosystem rewards those who understand all four layers.
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