If you see an ad while you’re reading a recipe on a blog or while viewing a clip on your local news site, you’re likely seeing a programmatic ad. “Programmatic advertising” literally means the automated buying and selling of digital advertising space, but this definition could cover pretty much any digital ad buying. Most of the time, a “programmatic ad” refers to all non-social or search inventory across the web, apps, and digital devices; this means if you see an ad outside of a “walled garden” of Facebook, Google, or another social networking site, that’s a programmatic ad. The buyer sets targeting and usually uses inventory sources that cover a wide range of sellers/publishers. This type of ad buying happens via demand-side platforms (DSP) like The Trade Desk, Google DV360, Centro, OneView, or Adobe.