The Programmatic Glossary
A practical glossary designed to help marketers, advertisers and ad-tech professionals understand the terminology that powers programmatic advertising
Programmatic
Preferred Deal
A private buying arrangement where a publisher gives a specific advertiser the first opportunity to purchase a defined set of inventory at a pre-agreed fixed price, before that inventory goes into any wider auction. The deal is preferred because the buyer gets early access, but there is no guarantee they have to buy.
HOW IT WORKS
Publisher and buyer agree on a Deal ID, a fixed CPM (Cost Per Mille) floor and the inventory in scope. When that inventory becomes available, the SSP (Supply-Side Platform) offers it to the preferred buyer first at the agreed price. If the buyer bids at or above the floor, they win. If they choose not to bid on a specific impression, it flows down to other deal types and eventually the open auction.
EXAMPLE
A luxury car brand has a preferred deal with a premium business news publisher at $15 CPM (Cost Per Mille) for their homepage. When a user loads the homepage, the car brand gets a first look. If their DSP (Demand-Side Platform) decides this particular user matches their campaign, they bid. If not, the impression goes to the open auction.
RELATED TERMS
Private Marketplace (PMP) | Deal ID | Programmatic Guaranteed | Open Auction | SSP (Supply-Side Platform)
★ LIMELIGHT INSIGHT: Limelight's platform supports preferred deal management, enabling publisher partners to create premium buying arrangements with key advertiser partners.
