The Programmatic Glossary
A practical glossary designed to help marketers, advertisers and ad-tech professionals understand the terminology that powers programmatic advertising
Programmatic
Private Marketplace (PMP)
An invitation-only programmatic auction where a publisher offers their premium inventory to a selected group of buyers under agreed terms. It is more exclusive than an open auction but more automated and scalable than a traditional direct deal.
HOW IT WORKS
A publisher creates a PMP (Private Marketplace), selects which buyers are invited, sets the floor price and defines the inventory in scope. Each invited buyer receives a unique Deal ID to enter in their DSP (Demand-Side Platform). When the inventory becomes available, only invited buyers compete in the auction. This gives publishers control over who buys their premium inventory while maintaining the efficiency of programmatic.
EXAMPLE
A premium sports publisher creates a PMP (Private Marketplace) for their live match coverage, inviting five premium sports brands: a bookmaker, a sports apparel brand, a car company, a beer brand and a streaming service. These five compete exclusively for the inventory, bidding significantly higher CPMs (Cost Per Mille) because competition is focused and the environment is premium.
RELATED TERMS
Deal ID | Preferred Deal | Programmatic Guaranteed | Open Auction | SSP (Supply-Side Platform)
★ LIMELIGHT INSIGHT: Limelight supports PMP (Private Marketplace) deal management within its platform, enabling publisher and ad network partners to create structured, premium deal environments for top-tier advertisers.
