This article is meant only to provide information about the tools that are available in the AdTech landscape. It is not meant to provide any novel or new information, but merely to combine information from many disparate places into a single overview of the landscape.

AdTech-Landscape-2021

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This article is not meant to provide any comparisons, or favoritism about any of said tools.

Have a product, ad tech company, or tool that fits into the ad tech ecosystem that you don't see here? Tell us! We'd be happy to add it.

Don't feel like your product is categorized in the right place? Tell us! We'd be happy to update it.

The RAMP Platform combines all disparate pieces of the complex adtech ecosystem into a single, easy to use platform. Learn more about how it works.

The primary categories of tools in the ad tech landscape are:

  1. Demand Side Platforms
  2. Supply Side Platforms
  3. Ad Networks
  4. App Mediation Partners
  5. Data Management Platforms (DMPs)
  6. Consent Management Platforms (CMPs)
  7. Malvertising Solutions
  8. Ad Quality Solutions
  9. Viewability Measurement Providers
  10. Brand Safety Providers
  11. Native Ad Solutions
  12. Publisher Management Platforms
  13. Revenue Amplification Platforms

Demand Side Platforms

A demand-side platform (DSP) is the adtech platform that allows advertisers to submit ad creative and purchase impressions across a variety of publisher properties in a single place. Advertisers and ad agencies will submit all ad creatives to a DSP and pay the DSP for any impressions.

Read our in-depth blog about the top DSPs.

Display & Video 360 (DV360)

Display & Video 360 (previously InviteMedia) is an enterprise marketing platform by Google that has mobile ad management functions.

Amobee

Amobee is the company that acquired Turn, a popular DSP platform, and now has features that include campaign/portfolio/ad management and specialized solutions for broadcasters and agencies.

OneView

OneView (owned by Roku) rebranded its acquisition dataxu, a popular DSP that offers programmatic ad-buying, now with access to Roku's vast body of data.

theTradeDesk

theTradeDesk is a media company that provides ad access to major media buying platforms. The DSP is relevant for TV, audio, mobile, native and video ads.

Adelphic

The Adelphic platform prides itself on being "better than DSP" and provides omnichannel DSP, unlimited media buying and programmatic trading.

Basis by Centro

Basis by Centro is a top-rated DSP with comprehensive automation and a suite of tools that allow targeting on search, display, audio, TV, native and social.

MediaMath

MediaMath has ad technology that allows brands to buy addressable media on its responsive platform.

RhythmOne

RhythmOne has solutions for demand partners and supply partners. Owned by Tremor, it self-describes as a worldwide leader in multiscreen advertising.

Xandr

Xandr (owned by AT&T) uses proprietary technology to drive monetization, providing a platform for both buy-side and sell-side ad tech.

Verizon Media DSP

Verizon Media DSP is a unified solution for advertisers to control every aspect of their buys - from planning, buying and management, to insights and optimization - across all formats and exclusive inventory opportunities.

Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP is a demand-side platform that enables advertisers to programmatically buy display, video, and audio ads. Start automating your advertising today. 

Supply Side Platforms

A supply-side platform (SSP) is the ad tech platform meant to connect the marketplace of digital publishers with available ad content. Within the ad tech ecosystem, SSPs programmatically bid on available ad inventory on publisher websites or apps, then the publisher will display the ad provided by the SSP. The SSP will then pass along the revenue from the initial ad purchaser to the publisher to pay for the impression.

Read our in-depth blog about the top SSPs.

Read our in-depth blog about the top Header Bidders.

Read our in-depth blog about the top Ad Servers.

triplelift

triplelift is an ad exchange and ad placement company that offers design services, omnichannel publishing and works directly with publishers.

Magnite

Magnite was born from a merger of The Rubicon Project, Telaria, and SpotX. They claim to be the world's largest independent SSP, with integrations for every ad format and ad channel.

Google Ad Manager

Google Ad Manager is a sell-side platform and ad server. It provides access to programmatic buying and networks.

Kevel

You can build a custom ad server in just weeks with Kevel . Their ad serving API allows publishers to build and scale innovative, server-side ad tech platforms without reinventing the wheel.

MoPub

MoPub (owned by Twitter) gives mobile app developers and publishers monetization solutions. The MoPub marketplace has a busy mobile in-app RTB exchange.

Xandr

Xandr (owned by AT&T) uses proprietary technology to drive monetization, providing a platform for both buy-side and sell-side ad tech.

PulsePoint

Within the programmatic landscape, PulsePoint is a global advertising technology and content marketing company. For publishers, PulsePoint offers flexible integrations and simple monetisation options to your publishing needs.

Wunderkind

Wunderkind , formerly known as BounceX, provides services specific to enterprise ecommerce clients on its SSP platform.

OpenX

OpenX addresses a full range of digital ad and marketing needs, built on privacy, knowledge and performance. Their branded ad platform is called OpenAudience.

RhythmOne

RhythmOne has solutions for demand partners and supply partners. Owned by Tremor, it self-describes as a worldwide leader in multiscreen advertising.

Admob

Owned by Google, Admob is a mobile app monetisation platform for publishers who want to monetise their apps.

AdSense

Own by Google, Adsense is one of the most simple ways of display monetisation. might not be the best to optimise yield but the easiest to implement. The ads you see on this page are powered by Google Adsense.

PubMatic

PubMatic has several branded technologies, including OpenWrap OTT and is connected to Prebid.

Verizon Media SSP

Verizon Media has a publisher-built SSP for omnichannel businesses, video creators, bloggers and app developers.

AdThrive

SSP for bloggers. Adthrive offers you the highest possible income for each pageview. Adthrive handles the ads so that you can focus on creating content.

Rivr

Rivr is an AI-powered SSP platform that reduces manual effort and has an intelligent demand selection tool to improve bid request turnaround and increase traffic.

Inmobi Exchange

Inmobi Exchange is an advertising platform within the programmatic landscape geared toward in-app ads.

Tapjoy

Tapjoy is a monetisation platform for mobile app developers and mobile app owners. Mobile App Developers leverage Tapjoy technology and expertise to acquire high-value users and generate more revenue.

Chartboost

Part of Zynga, Chartboost is one of the leading mobile programmatic advertising and ad tech platforms. Reaching 700+ million monthly users and 90+ billion monthly advertising auctions, Chartboost empowers publishers to earn high CPMs while connecting marketers to highly engaged audiences through immersive ads.

ECN Media

ECN Media is an ad exchange platform for some of the country's top advertisers and focuses on commercial ads.

Nativo

Nativo is an ad platform that has both DSP and ad exchange services, as well as a content intelligence platform called NATIVO IQ.

Smaato

Smaato is an in-app ad platform with ad exchange and services for both publishers and demand partners.

SmartyAds

SmartyAds is an ad exchange platform for publishers. It has a marketplace for supply partners that generates revenue with websites or app ads.

IndexExchange

IndexExchange is a global advertising marketplace with high-quality inventory for publishers and buyers.

Smart Ad Server

Scalable and robust ad management platform, Smart allows publishers to run direct and programmatic campaigns across all digital formats and screens.

Applovin

AppLovin is a global technology platform that enables developers to market, monetize, analyze and publish their apps.

AdColony

Adcolony is the highest quality mobile advertising and marketing platform

Sonobi

Sonobi is an ad technology developer that designs advertising tools and solutions for the industry's leading publishers, media agencies and advertisers.

33Across

33Across builds technology for publishers to increase the value of their inventory and safely monetize it for the open internet within the bounds of privacy.

Criteo

Offer a variety of ads including native ads, standard IAB, Sticky footer, native API. Criteo Direct Bidder maximises revenue by directly connecting your premium inventory to our premium demand.

ePlanning

ePlanning offers ad server + SSP. One of the oldest ad servers in the world. You can manage advertising sales efficiently with e-planning tools while maximising each impression profit and increasing income.

GumGum

GumGum is an artificial intelligence company, with particular expertise in computer vision. Since 2008, the company has applied its patented capabilities to serve a variety of industries from advertising to professional sports.

UnrulyX

UnrulyX is a supply-side platform that allows publishers to unify and report on all outstream video demand in one place.

Sovrn

Sovrn is one of the top publisher's advertising partners you can find to optimize programmatic revenue and increase ad monetization.

AdWizz

AdWizz is a digital audio advertising experts providing audio advertising within the programmatic landscape for advertisers and publishers via server-side ad insertion on streaming servers and client-side ad insertion on standard player technologies

Media.Net

Part of the Yahoo! and Bing network, Medianet gives you instantaneous access to one of the world's largest marketplaces for keyword-targeted advertisers.

Rubicon

Advertising marketplace that connects sellers across trusted, high-quality buyers.

SpringServe

Open Video Ad Serving Platform. SpringServe provides a suite of ad serving tools that make digital advertising more efficient.

Teads

Teads market themselves as the inventors of outstream video and the number 1 video advertising marketplace in the world.

UNITY Ads

Monetise your entire player base and reach new audiences with video ads.

Ad Networks

Ad Networks, while not used nearly as often as programmatic solutions, are essentially an all in one package. Buyers can directly purchase advertising, upload creative and run those ads across publishers in the network. They essentially offer a different way to traverse the ad tech ecosystem, which removes the DSP/SSP pathway and does not include an open auction. The networks that are still used regularly are often highly specialized, for specific types of advertising.

Read our in-depth blog about the top Ad Networks.

epom Ad Server

epom Ad Server is an ad management platform for cross-channel business ads. Users can manage multi screen ad campaigns and buy and self traffic with programmatic tools.

GroundTruth

GroundTruth is made for location-based ads and has self-serve, publisher, marketer and channel partner solutions.

Infolinks

Infolinks (by Intent) provides contextual targeting and can also provide exclusive placement for publishers and advertisers.

AdRoll

AdRoll is a D2C marketing platform for ecommerce brands. It has automation services and is integrated with NextRoll and RollWorks.

Plista

Plista is a platform for data-driven online ads. Users can create campaigns using desktop and mobile friendly native ad solutions.

AdUp Technology

AdUp Technology is a platform for creating customized, device-compatible native ads. It has beginner-friendly tools and managed support services.

Dianomi

The Dianomi platform is built for native ads and focused on the finance industry, financial websites and finance technology (fintech).

App Mediation Partners

In a single software development kit (SDK) integration, the top app mediation partners provide centralized access to a bunch of ad networks. They then work to increase your cost per mille (CPM) rates by algorithmically selecting the best ad network to fill each programmatic call for bids.

Read our in-depth blog about the top App Mediation Partners.

AdMob

AdMob is Google’s app mediation platform. It integrates with more than 30 of the top ad networks, and more than 97% of AdAge’s top 100 advertisers purchase inventory through AdMob.

AppLovin

AppLovin is a platform that connects app publishers with a large web of ad networks and demand-side platforms (DSPs), and it uses predictive algorithms and machine learning to get better at boosting your CPMs over time.

Appodeal

Appodeal is a platform that claims to do “hybrid” header bidding and waterfall programmatic auctions, and they say the result is the highest available CPMs.

Tapjoy

Specializing in rewarded video ads, Tapjoy can be a particularly helpful app mediation partner for mobile game developers. 

MoPub

MoPub is a network mediation solution, which integrates with pretty much all of the major sources of demand for both iOS and Android.

ironSource

Called LevelPlay, ironSource’s app mediation tool connects publishers with incredibly broad global demand, LevelPlay also runs an “auto optimization algorithm” that takes real-time data into account as it selects networks for your auctions.

Epom Apps 

Epom Apps comes with most of the bells and whistles that the other top mediation partners come with, but it adds a little excitement — and additional revenue potential — by working with local ad agencies and sourcing direct demand to go alongside your programmatic demand.

Fyber FairBid

Fyber’s app mediation tool gives no preference to particular demand partners and instead offers a unified auction among more than 180 DSPs.

Tapdaq

Tapdaq’s uses its network to provide CPM insights for networks you haven’t yet integrated with your programmatic stack. That means you can see what you may be missing and make changes to maximize your revenue.

Yandex

Yandex blends in-app header bidding with what it calls a “smart waterfall” auction to find the highest bid for every single auction. 

Data Management Platforms (DMPs)

A data management platform does one basic thing: it gathers relevant data. For publishers, a DMP may gather data about user demographics, on-site or in-app behavior or engagement with ads, among many other things. 

Read our in-depth blog about the top DMPs.

LiveRamp

LiveRamp is a DMP that does a little bit of everything. In part, LiveRamp helps publishers monetize their first-party data to create a revenue stream that is separate from ad revenue. The monetization of first-party data is only going to become more important as the cookie-less world becomes a reality.

Lotame

Lotame has been a leader in the DMP sphere for a while now, and they've taken all the right steps to get ahead of the death of the third-party cookie. Today, Lotame users can analyze and monetize their first-party data and even take advantage of the platform's built-in predictive data analytics functions.

Adobe Audience Manager

Adobe Audience Manager is designed to work well with the rest of the Adobe suite, but if you're not on the Adobe bandwagon, don't worry. This AI-powered and agnostic platform can pull in data from virtually any channel. If yours is a tech-forward brand, you may enjoy the built-in Data Science Workspace, which allows you to use your own algorithms or pre-built ones to get deep data insights. 

Oracle BlueKai

The Oracle BlueKai Data Management Platform comes with all the bells and whistles of the other top DMPs mentioned here, but it truly excels in helping publishers grow their audiences. As you are gathering and analyzing data within the platform, you can use built-in tools to get look-alike modeling that helps you identify new users. A bigger audience means more ad revenue.

Permutive

Permutive is a DMP that is well-positioned for the next phases of online privacy. It comes with the typical features of high-quality DMPs, but it adds a lens of privacy to every piece of data, enabling you to manage and analyze your data while keeping privacy at the highest possible degree.

OnAudience.com

OnAudience.com specializes in really big data sets, and it's capable of incorporating data not only from your channels, but from those of any partners you may have. That gives you an added layer of analysis, segmentation and potential new audience targets. The data sharing goes both ways, too - you can easily share your data with partners whenever you like.

Consent Management Platforms (CMPs)

CMPs inform website visitors that their data is being collected, ask for users’ permission to collect their data, store users’ data preferences, and provide additional information about websites’ cookie and data policies.

Read our in-depth blog about the top CMPs.

OneTrust

OneTrust is a comprehensive CMP that offers consent management for websites, apps and over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV (CTV) channels. 

CookieYes

The CookieYes platform supports more than 30 languages and maintains a customer satisfaction rating of more than 97%.It focuses on GDPR and CCPA consent rules for websites. 

Osano

Osano calls itself the world's most popular consent management platform. This CMP simplifies integration by giving publishers a single line of JavaScript code to add to their sites and software development kits (SDKs).

Usercentrics

Usercentrics is a comprehensive CMP that also comes with a free consent management website auditing tool. 

Quantcast Choice

Quantcast Choice markets itself as a free CMP with a pretty full suite of consent and preference management features.

Secure Privacy

Secure Privacy is a simple, straightforward CMP that offers pricing based on business size and supports privacy policies, cookie banners and more in over 70 languages.

Cookiebot

Cookiebot automatically detects all the cookies on your website and blocks them until the user gives their consent and maintains a database of common third-party cookies and uses it to inform users about the purposes of the cookies that are currently tracking them.

DataGrail

The DataGrail platform provides the usual features of a CMP - consent management, preference management and banners - but it also pulls in data from various other ad tech platforms your website or app may use to help you make the most of the user data you can legally collect.

Piwik Pro

Piwik Pro offers the standard CMP features along with simple integrations with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. The platform pays attention to the requirements of even the less well-known privacy laws, such as France's CNIL.

TrustArc

TrustArc has a long view of consent management and has watched the industry evolve into what it is today. It offers a full suite of CMP features, including a gold-level offering to provide industry and regulatory updates every quarter.

Malvertising Solutions

Malvertising solutions are meant to help solve issues with malicious advertisers that seek to redirect users to nefarious landing pages, steal personal information, and/or install malware on their device.

GeoEdge

GeoEdge (Add Integrity) is a malvertising and ad quality solution tool for many platforms, meant to protect a company's reputation without compromising performance or efficiency.

Confiant

Confiant has solutions for ad quality controls as well as ad security and malvertising with the goal of protecting digital ad ecosystems.

Ad Lightning

Ad Lightning provides both ad security and ad quality solutions for ad exchanges and publishers, enabling them to audit and monitor programmatic ads, identify bad ad sources and block bad ads.

cleanAD by clean.io

cleanAD uses an innovative (and completely novel) approach to reducing the threat of bad ads. Rather than pre-scanning or blocklisting, it uses behavioral analysis to eliminate threats in real time. Learn more about cleanAD .

Ad Quality Solutions

Ad quality solutions are usually pre-scanning tools meant to check ad creative at runtime to verify the acceptability of the creative for the publisher's audience. This usually means restricting certain categories of ads or removing NSFW (not safe for work) ads.

The Media Trust

The Media Trust is a product meant to identify and resolve security, privacy, and quality issues on mobile apps and websites.

GeoEdge

GeoEdge (Add Integrity) is a malvertising and ad quality solution tool for many platforms, meant to protect a company's reputation without compromising performance or efficiency.

Confiant

Confiant has solutions for ad quality controls as well as ad security and malvertising with the goal of protecting digital ad ecosystems.

RiskIQ

RiskIQ is an attack surface management platform. It uses security intelligence in the form of its patented technology, the Internet Intelligence Graph.

Ad Lightning

Ad Lightning provides both ad security and ad quality solutions for ad exchanges and publishers, enabling them to audit and monitor programmatic ads, identify bad ad sources and block bad ads.

DoubleVerify

DoubleVerify has ad quality and ad safety tools for brands, markets (buy & sell) and publishers. They have a dedicated Semantic Science department and Fraud Lab.

Viewability Measurement Providers

There are many measurement tools on the market which help to keep track of viewability metrics. Most will count an ad as "viewable" if at least 50% of it was displayed on the screen for a minimum of one second for display ads (defined by IAB measurement standards) and two seconds for video ads. Tracking and reporting viewability numbers can help publishers drive higher prices for advertising slots if they are good metrics.

Moat

Moat (by Oracle Data Cloud) has measurement tools for consumer attention, viewability and quality on all devices, platforms and channels.

Integral Ad Science (IAS)

Integral Ad Science provides tools to verify, optimize and activate better strategies for ads that get seen by real people.

Comscore

Comscore provides ad quality services as well as cross-platform measurements of ad value, which helps business plan and transact more effectively.

Pixalate

Pixalate has a Fraud Management System, to ensure quality for in-app ads, video ads and OTT or CTV ads.

Impact Radius

Impact Radius has numerous ad quality tools, including those that identify fraud, traffic abnormalities and undermine traffic.

Fraudlogix

Fraudlogix improves ad performance with a few proprietary tools that address viewability and security. These include ADanalytix and IPlogix.

Google Ads Manager

Google Ads Manager has an Open Measurement tool for apps. This can increase the value of inventory and save time.

Adform FLOW

Adform FLOW is an ad platform built to create high-performing ads. Its interface includes configurable and cross-checked ads, to ensure optimal viewability.

Brand Safety Providers

This category of tools are basically the opposite of ad quality solutions (where a publisher is controlling the ads on their site). Brand safety tools are meant for advertisers to ensure that their ads aren't showing up on publisher websites they wouldn't like (for instance a major brand wouldn't want their ad to show up on a pornography site).

Integral Ad Science (IAS) Brand Protection

IAS has a brand protection division that specializes in secure ads. Use their toolkit to control the contextual adjacency of an ad.

Adform Bearskin

Adform has a brand safety product called Bearskin. It has high precision statistics, anti-fraud solutions and real time auditing to determine placement.

GlobalWide Media

GlobalWide Media ensures that ads are in compliance with any relevant regulations or standards and provides quality assurance.

Human Security

Human Security (formerly White Ops) protects digital platforms from fraud by verifying humanity through a method they call "bot mitigation." It addresses app and advertising integrity.

DoubleVerify

DoubleVerify is an authentication platform that works for brands/agencies, marketplaces and publishers.

Moat

Moat (by Oracle Data Cloud) is a platform with a few different services, including ad fraud protection, bot detection and other types of cybersecurity.

Native Ad Solutions

Native ads are meant to match the look and feel of the content they accompany, so they feel as though they are an extension of the site experience rather than an "interruptive" ad. Most tools also allow for curation of content to ensure the right ads are being displayed with the right content on the site.

Taboola

Taboola is well-known for chumbox ads and browser/website pop-ups. It offers native advertising and DIY ad campaigns.

Revcontent

Revcontent is built for audience and revenue growth, focusing on content development and publisher partnerships.

Outbrain

Outbrain is a global platform for native advertising. Advertisers, companies and publishers can get access to the Outbrain SmartFeed and ad network.

Verizon Media Native

Previously Yahoo Gemini, Verizon Media Native is a self-serve ad platform for search and native digital ad campaigns.

Brax

Brax can manage native ads for agencies and brands. Ad creation, optimization and scalability are all built into their easy-to-use platform.

Inbox Ads

Inbox Ads provides email monetization, giving publishers the ability to monetize email content with custom-built solutions.

MGID

MGID is a native advertising platform built for advertisers and publishers. They use strategic approaches to improve brand performance for companies around the world.

Adobe Advertising Cloud

Built for programmatic media buying, Adobe Advertising Cloud is an independent ad platform that allows users to create and deliver cross-channel ad campaigns.

BuySellAds

BuySellAds is a cross-functional platform that provides instant access to publishers and hundreds of ad formats to choose from for an easy setup and deployment.

Sharethrough

Sharethrough has a Native Advertising Exchange ( Sharethrough for Advertisers) geared toward performance oriented buyers.

Adcash

Adcash has two interfaces, one for publishers and one for advertisers. Both are self-serve ad tech platforms for native ad creation and management.

Adblade

Adblade has monetization services and advertising services for publishers and advertisers and is a content-style ad platform.

Redirect

Redirect buys and sells traffic and has native ads and CPM redirect options to optimize visibility and conversion.

StackAdapt

StackAdapt is a leader in programmatic advertising. It's a self-serve platform optimized for digital marketers who want to create native ads.

Nativo

Nativo is a leading advertising platform for native ads. It features mechanisms to control scale, measure outcomes and control all aspects of an ad campaign.

PowerInbox

PowerInbox is a multichannel, engagement-oriented platform built for publishers. Its cutting edge services cater to emerging channels and provide personalized interfaces for ads.

fraudlogix

Fraudlogix offers an automated monitoring solution providing brand-safety flags across partners and platforms using custom category and content inputs.

Publisher Management Platforms

Publisher management platforms are tools which allow publishers to offload the majority of work to a third party with respect to ad monetization and management.

Playwire

Playwire is a global technology and services company that helps publishers make more revenue from their user base and run their businesses more efficiently.

Freestar

Freestar provides monetization solutions for websites and apps.

Sortable

Sortable is an Ad Ops partner with a focus on helping publishers monetize their sites through accessing advertising, reporting and analytics.

CafeMedia

CafeMedia provides the expertise and technology of some of the biggest, most innovative and successful digital publishers in the world and puts it to work for independent publishers and creators.

MonetizeMore

MonetizeMore combines state of the art monetization technology with a team of dynamic, creative thinkers.

Proper.io

Proper Media is a full-service advertising technology company focused on technology, automation and hands-on service.

Revenue Amplification Platforms

There is really only a single platform serves not just to manage your ad revenue, but to actually help amplify it. That is Playwire. 

Digital advertising is complex and multifaceted. Evolving ad technology and increasing advertiser demands make it challenging for publishers to successfully manage their own advertising while creating great content for their users.

Through our complete monetization platform, RAMP® (Revenue Amplification Managed by Professionals), publishers never have to worry again. Playwire's turnkey solution has the entire adtech ecosystem covered! Publisher ad revenue is maximized while yield ops, direct sales, and custom creative teams work diligently in your best interest.

To learn how Playwire's revenue amplification platform works, reach out to us. Give us a call at 1-561-206-4621 or contact us online and let's get your programmatic advertising on track.

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