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Self Service and Full-Service: what is it, what is the difference between them?

The programmatic has dramatically expanded marketers’ tool kit, in large part because of one simple but transformative development: machine learning algorithms and data. Precise targeting, affordability, real-time optimization and scalable results of ads is one of a bunch of benefits. So you may face a dilemma: do you need a self-service or managed programmatic advertising platform? So let’s learn more about both in the article.

Self-Service Programmatic Platform

With self-service advertising, you are pretty much on your own. It means that you are responsible for developing advertising strategy, ad creatives, setting of targeting options and bids, and managing the entire process. Self-service platforms provide you direct access so you can keep track of your ad campaign efficiency in real-time and make any adjustments, optimize your ad campaign, and evaluate your ad performance. 

Pros: 

  • Total control and transparency
  • Flexibility
  • You can try different ad strategies quickly
  • Cheaper than managed service

Cons:

  • Require full-time, in-house dedication and control
  • Opportunity to throw ad budgets due to mistakes
  • Limited functions and tools
  • Could take long time before you completely understand how it works

One of the main disadvantages of self-service advertising is the opportunity to make crucial mistakes, misinterpret data, target not your target audience and so on. It’s important to notice that self-service platforms also require a team of tech and analytics staff to manage the platform and data for better results. Not everyone has opportunities to have such employees in their pocket. 

If you want to save money or your business is small, you like to work on different ad challenges and manage with tech and analytics details, then self-service is a good choice to start your programmatic campaign. 

Managed service 

With managed service, you get the added benefit of having a team of professionals to help you every step of the way and avoid a lot of mistakes on your way towards success. It means that a programmatic-platform team will handle all aspects of running the successful ad campaigns: media planning, ad creative development, campaign launch and optimization, post-campaign reporting, etc.

Pros of managed service programmatic platform: 

  • cost-efficient advertising
  • reliable support on each step of ad campaigns
  • deep analytic of advertising
  • access to exclusive and premium ad inventory
  • save your time and nervous
  • expertise & insights: traffic patterns, benchmarks, creative best practices

Thus, programmatic experts will take care of your ad campaign, while you will be empowered to dedicate time and energy to developing your business. However, there are also some cons of that type of platform to consider. One of the main disadvantages is cost of managed service. As you pay for expertise and experience of the agency as well as high-quality advertising, managed-service usually is more expensive than self-service ad management. Other cons might be: 

  • You may not to be involved in the process of advertising as an agency do most of work;
  • You may not to be able to make changes quickly as it requires time to connect with your manager and peculiarities of programmatic platforms;
  • There are management fees on top of ad budgets.

Bottom line 

If your business needs high-quality and high-efficient ads but you don’t have time or experience to manage it on your own, then managed service is the way to go. Also, it’s a great choice for business that requires comprehensive and data-based approaches. If you want to be more involved in the process, then self-service is a better option.

What do we offer for your business?

NT Programmatic Platform offers advertisers managed service.We create a team of experts focused on complete solutions for every project to ensure your business will succeed. They develop a programmatic strategy, an individual media buying algorithm for specific clients’ tasks.

Our AdOps specialists have already launched 40000+ programmatic ad campaigns for 3000+ clients from different business spheres. 

 Why is NT programmatic managed service?

  • Constant support. Regularly communicating and answering client’s questions, resolving issues arising in the work process with developers for making optimal decisions.
  • Work for results: forecasting and guarantees of KPI. Through an advertising campaign, we are responsible for the quality and results of a campaign. Automation capabilities of RTB optimization allow us to avoid stagnation periods and achieve all the KPIs planned.
  • Personal approach. We know everything about our platform, so we can customize it for each clients’ needs in order to achieve more with AI-powered advertising. 
  • You can leave the complications to us. The NT team will achieve your business goals and report to you about them.

Are you looking for an efficient solution for your business?

NT can power your success with unique data for precise targeting, a wide

range of advertising formats, cross-device synchronization and fraud detection solutions. Through our years of experience and advertising technologies

powered by deep learning algorithms, we help advertisers achieve their branding goals across all channels to attract the right audience, with the right

message at the right time.

See for yourself how it can take your ad campaign to the next level — leave a request and we’ll create a media plan for you. Need more information? Contact us info@nt.technology