If you’ve been in the marketing industry since Myspace was a thing, it’s probably easy to feel like all this talk of digital media is almost not worth learning.

I’ve had conversations with more than a few friends who seem to be of the mindset that maybe they can just keep their nose down with what they’re already doing and no one will notice. I’ve also seen quite a few who feel like it’s too late and too confusing, or they manage other people they count on to know what the difference is between a DSP, an SSP, and a DMP (because there’s nothing the digital media industry loves more than plenty of acronyms).

Don’t get fooled because it’s truly never too late to teach an old dog some new tricks!

You might also find in doing so that you can not only get up to speed with what’s happening, but that your longevity in the industry itself has become almost invaluable.

This industry lives off of a younger generation who is constantly evolving the industry. That said, this younger generation can lack the real world, real client, demand perspective that companies, agencies, and brands desperately need at the head of their accounts.

Helping a peer to understand what all of this industry jargon means is a way to replace the uncomfortableness that many might feel when asking someone several steps below their peer group for a lesson.

I’ve spent the better part of the last 3 years immersing myself in the industry, studying, taking copious notes, attending seminars, sitting in on employee presentations, and (not afraid to say it) resorting to some flash cards early on, to understand what my employees, our vendors, their accounts, and others in the industry were talking about.

There are so many places to gain insight, whether it’s a google search or a visit to the section on this site called “Digucation,” that can help along the way.

For the record, here’s a great start:

DMP: Data Management Platform

The DMP enables marketers to centralize and make use of all different kinds of data sets, including offline and online, first-party (your own audience data), third-party, etc., to make more informed decisions as to how they can most effectively reach their target audiences online and realize the best ROI.

DMPs can also act as the marketer’s data distribution hub by “forwarding” first- and third-party data sets to the publishers and ad networks that the marketer wants to use for digital campaigns.

Why DMPs Matter:

They centralize audience data, analytics, and reporting, allowing marketers to optimize their targeting efforts using multiple data sources.

DMP Companies and Solutions:

Bluekai, Lotame, Turn, [X+1], Adobe Audience Manager (previously Demdex), Krux, Aggregate Knowledge

DSP: Demand-Side Platform

The DSP facilitates the real-time bidding (RTB) on multiple RTB exchanges, which are brokers for ad inventory across thousands of publishers. This enables marketers to reach their target audiences through demographic, behavioral, and contextual targeting, and optimize based on the best-performing media strategies.

Why DSPs Matter:

They offer marketers a scaled, transparent approach to reaching target audiences using multiple targeting strategies.

DSP Companies and Solutions:

MediaMath, Turn, DataXu, Google Bid Manager (formerly Invite Media), Triggit, [X+1], Lucid Media, BRANDSCREEN, Adchemy

SSP: Supply-Side Platform

The SSP is the underlying technology that makes RTB exchanges possible. Inventory from thousands of online publications are made available via the SSP so that publishers receive the highest possible “market value” for their inventory. By automating and optimizing the sale of impressions, an “auction” environment is created to allow the impression to be sold to the highest bidder.

Why SSPs Matter:

Publishers who sell ad space should consider using an SSP to monetize their unsold inventory, thus gaining easy access to thousands of advertisers, DSPs, and ad exchanges that will be able to bid on their audience.

SSP Companies:

AppNexus, Pubmatic, Rubicon, Google (Formerly Admeld)

SOURCE: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/blog/a/a-marketers-alphabet-soup