Where each channel lives, how buying works, and why programmatic reaches audiences that Google and Meta cannot.

What automation means in media buying, how real-time bidding works in plain English, and the journey of an ad impression.

Who the players are — DSP, SSP, Ad Exchange, Data Providers, Verification Partners — and how they connect to each other.

Impressions, CPM, viewability, brand safety, frequency capping, deal types (Open Auction, PMP, Programmatic Direct) — the vocabulary every practitioner needs.

Display, video, native, audio, CTV/OTT, and DOOH — what they are, where they run, and when to use them.

Overview of major platforms marketers will encounter: DV360, The Trade Desk, CM360, IAS, MOAT, DoubleVerify — and what each one does.

How DV360 fits within Google Marketing Platform. Account hierarchy: Partner → Advertiser → Campaign → Insertion Order → Line Item.

Building your first campaign end-to-end — budgets, flight dates, goals, and pacing settings explained simply.

Audience, contextual, geographic, device, dayparting, and keyword targeting — and how to layer them for precision without over-restricting reach.

First-party audiences, Google Audiences, custom intent, in-market segments, and connecting Google Analytics audiences to DV360.

Open auction vs. private deals. How to browse and activate inventory in the DV360 Marketplace.

What a deal ID is, how PMPs and Programmatic Guaranteed deals work, and how to set them up in DV360.

Uploading creatives, Studio basics, responsive display ads, and best practices for creative rotation and testing.

Running YouTube via DV360 vs. Google Ads — when to use each, TrueView formats, brand suitability controls.

What digital out-of-home is, how it is bought programmatically, and setting up DOOH line items in DV360.

Building custom reports, understanding reach & frequency, viewability, brand safety, and conversion reporting. What CTR, VTR, CPM, CPA mean in programmatic context.

Bid strategies, performance signals, creative fatigue, pacing issues — practical ways to improve campaign delivery and results.

What the global site tag does, how it fires, and why it matters for conversion tracking and audience building — no code required.

What an ad server does vs. what a DSP does. Why CM360 exists alongside DV360 and how they work together.

Advertiser → Campaign → Site → Placement → Ad → Creative hierarchy. Setting up your first campaign correctly.

What a site represents in CM360, how to create placements, and matching placement specs to publisher ad slots.

Trafficking display, video, and rich media creatives. Understanding ad rotation, scheduling, and creative approval.

What impression trackers and click trackers are, when to use them, and how to implement without touching code.

What Floodlight is, the difference between counter and sales activities, and how to set up conversion tracking for a campaign.

Using Floodlight to build remarketing audiences that flow into DV360 and Google Ads for retargeting.

How The Trade Desk differs from DV360. Account structure: Advertiser → Campaign → Ad Group → Ads. When clients choose TTD over Google.

What Kokai is and what it means practically: AI-driven bidding, forecasting, and optimization without black-box complexity.

Building campaigns step by step — objectives, KPIs, budgets, and scheduling inside The Trade Desk UI.

Audience segments, contextual signals, geo, device, supply source targeting, and how TTD’s open identity graph enables cross-channel reach.

Audience segments, contextual signals, geo, device, supply source targeting, and how TTD’s open identity graph enables cross-channel reach.

Using TTD’s Data Marketplace to activate third-party data. First-party data onboarding basics and UID2 identity explained simply.

Open market buying vs. curated deals. Accessing premium inventory via PMPs and navigating TTD’s inventory options.

My Reports, custom dashboards, key metrics (win rate, spend pacing, ROAS, VCR) and how to read performance data inside TTD.

Bid multipliers, frequency controls, creative performance levers, and when to let Kokai optimize vs. when to intervene manually.

What IAS does and why advertisers need a verification partner alongside their DSP. How IAS sits in the ad delivery chain.

IAS vs. DoubleVerify vs. MOAT — what they have in common, how they differ, and how to explain them to a client.

What brand safety means, how IAS segments content (GARM categories), how to set brand safety floors and choose the right suitability tier.

What MRC viewability standards are, how IAS measures viewable impressions, and how to use viewability data to optimize placements.

General and sophisticated IVT explained in plain English. How IAS detects it, what bot traffic looks like in reports, and what actions to take.

Capstone Project guided workshop: Students build full media plan across DV360 + TTD using a given brief

Capstone Project: Optimization decisions & IAS setup

What to include in a weekly/monthly report, how to tell a story with data, and how to frame under-performance constructively.

Certifications such as DV360, CM360, The Trade Desk, and other learning resources. Understand their relevance, benefits, and how they can strengthen your profile for programmatic advertising roles.

Fundamentals of Programmatic Advertising
DV360 Certification
CM360 Certification
The Trade Desk DSP – Programamtic 101
The Trade Desk DSP – Foundations of Open Internet
The Trade Desk DSP – Unlocking the Premium Internet CTV
The Trade Desk DSP – Unlocking the Premium Internet Audio
The Trade Desk DSP – Activating OmniChannel Campaigns
The Trade Desk DSP – Future of Programmatic Trading
Amazon DSP Advanced Certification
Set up your Amazon DSP campaign
Get started with Amazon DSP audience solutions
The Trade Desk Certification

Explore common career paths in programmatic advertising, including Ad Operations, Campaign Management, Trading, Planning, Analytics, and Account Management.

Learn how to create a professional resume tailored for digital marketing and programmatic advertising roles.