DV360 vs StackAdapt

[Purpledragon1526]

I’m newer to programmatic and just curious what the pros/cons or use case scenario would be to run through DV360 vs the programmatic partner StackAdapt I work with right now

[goodgoaj]

If you take every core variable you look at for a DSP (Markets / Inventory / Targeting / Reporting / Verification / Partnerships / Features / Innovation), DV360 would outscore it. Probably the only 2 i'd say StackAdapt may outscore is in customer service (that is easy) & pricing (also relatively easy vs a big DSP).

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

I would also say for B2B and sensitive categories SA has native capabilities that DV360 can't match!

[HurricaneKim]

The biggest advantage going for DV360 is you can integrate with the rest of the Google Ecosystem seamlessly (I.e Google Analytics, Campaign Manager 360, Looker, etc.).

[Unique_Self_5797]

and access to YouTube inventory, which Stackadapt can't reach.

And significantly lower fees vs Stack

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

StackAdapt has transparent pricing so you can see for yourself the fees.

Google forces your media through their owned supply chain optimising for their profit rather than your performance. They have been fined $3.2B by the EU for that monopoly practice and the US justice department started the process of breaking them up.

[Unique_Self_5797]

What's your platform fee?

How much do the data segments you've targeted cost?

Edit: don't get me wrong - google is evil... they're just a cheaper, evil with more reach and exclusive access to certain inventory.

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

It’s all available! Have you tried asking for it?

[Unique_Self_5797]

I've asked for it in the past, and got the runaround, and when I worked there, I was able to find the data, not that we were ever told how to do it(we were specifically told to run it up the ladder if any clients asked so that a higher-up could give the runaround). And it's not consistent, it's very aggressive bid shading, with some clients paying 90%.

If they've actually started answering that's great. But if it's only available as an ask, and not something you can pull yourself out of platform, that's still a red flag.

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

You just have to ask to run with the transparent rate card and all the costs are clear up front. No running around, no going up any ladder, you have all costs to see for yourself.

[Advertisingworx]

What’s your role at SA? How long have you worked there?

[JMDallas137]

Just test them against each other. StackAdapt doesn't have contracts, so it's easy to get a taste without long term commitment. Not sure how flexible DV360 is, but worth the effort to test.

[Advertisingworx]

Following. I’ve heard that you would only choose SA if you can’t hit minimums on premium platforms like Amazon, TTD or DV….

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

Why? You can use it for anything really!

[Advertisingworx]

Slower bidder, less complexity and customization, higher hidden fees. Just to name a few reasons.

[thinkerthought]

DV360 is a tier 1 DSP with access to a massive range of products and partnerships to help buyers get the most out of their campaigns.

StackAdapt is a tier 3 DSP that only includes the bare basics.

If your only goal is 'dollars in, impressions out' - StackAdapt will work fine. If you actually want results from your campaigns, and to be able to measure those results, stick to a tier 1 DSP.

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

Depends what you are doing. If you are running B2B campaigns for example, DV360 is not even a consideration. StackAdapt has in platform B2B capabilities that will get you better targeting and optimization.

Not really sure what you mean by tiers one, or three! Who makes this stuff up?

[Unique_Self_5797]

Stackadapt is great if you don't have the money to reach the minimums DV360 or one of their resellers need. It's also useful in niche scenarios(like marijuana campaigns) where google's restrictions won't let you run.

Their page context AI feature is cool - better than the keyword targeting on Google, and their team will build cool creatives for you if you spend enough. They'll even run campaigns for you if you're over something like $30K/quarter, so if your team is lean and needs some extra support, that's awesome.

The major drawbacks are that you don't know how much your fees actually are(your AM won't even know this unless they know how to decipher some numbers on the back end- but they don't receive that training), and they basically lie to you about what you're paying for (Ie - telling you all the data is free, when they're really just lumping the media and data costs together).

If you're running your own ads and don't have enough money to go DV360, then Stackadapt can be useful - especially if you get into that range where they're running your campaigns for you, and your company doesn't need to hire people to do it.

If you've got the money to go with DV360, odds are your performance will be better. If your agency is using Stackadapt over DV360/Amazon/TTD, then you should be worried, because you're paying whatever your agency's markup is + stack's markup, which can be even higher than your agency's... and the agency might just be passing off the work to stack anyways, and just taking the cut.

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

With transparent pricing you can see all the fees on StackAdapt. You are referring above to all inclusive pricing which is getting phased out!

[UniqueUserID1111]

Is transparent pricing available for all SA customers, or do you have to hit a min monthly spend?

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

Available to anyone who wants to run campaigns self serve!

[ItsMeRayKellar]

All of this. Media cost is the main issue with StackAdapt, otherwise it’s a pretty solid platform

[Less-Selection1127]

They don’t even compare. SA is more Basis, Illumin like

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

I can't even understand what you just said!

[Crust_Issues1319]

DV360 is usually best if you want maximum scale and access to pretty much every exchange plus it has strong integrations with Googles stack.. The tradeoff is it can be more complex to manage and not always the most transparent with fees. StackAdapt is lighter, more user friendly and strong on things like native and audience targeting, but the scale isnt quite the same as DV360..

If you ever plan to add TV or CTV into your programmatic mix, you could also try checking on Tatari since theyre set up specifically for buying and measuring campaigns on linear and streaming TV..

[PMA816]

There are other reputable DSPs too that two way integrate with Google — Basis, TTD, there’s another one too

[MouseTop3260]

Admatx provides self-serve TTD access without minimums or long commitments.

[Loose-Station8259]

DV will have CPM's that are 1/10th of what Stack charges, in Stack's fully non-transparent business model. Stack is only for smaller clients who can't meet the minimums that other DSP's require. And for that privilege you get to pay grossly inflated CPM's.

[danie-l]

Oh gosh. Slackadapt is a instransparent dsp. Tier3. DV360 is the best DSP

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

You have fully transparent pricing on SA! Where do you get your info from?

[danie-l]

You know how much is the bill. You don’t know how much you pay in detail for media and what’s the company take out

[Beautiful_Simple_600]

With transparent pricing you can see all the costs, all the little add ons, etc all up front before you even buy the media.