Although programmatic advertising and real-time bidding (RTB) are related concepts within the digital advertising ecosystem, they are not the same. Here’s a brief explanation of the key differences between them:

Programmatic Advertising:

• Programmatic advertising is the data-driven automated process of buying and selling digital advertising inventory. This includes display ads, video ads, and native ads. 

• It encompasses various automated advertising techniques that include direct deals, private marketplaces, guaranteed deals as well as real-time bidding. 

• Programmatic advertising enables advertisers to target audiences based on specific demographics, allowing them greater precision and efficiency, through the use of data-driven insights and algorithms to make ad buying decisions. 

Real-Time Bidding (RTB): 

RTB is a specific subset of programmatic advertising. It’s the auction-based method of buying and selling ad impressions in real-time, on a per impression basis. 

• In an RTB auction, an ad impression becomes available for auction when a user visits a website or app. Advertisers are able to submit bids for that particular impression based on the audience they’re aiming to target as well as campaign goals and budget. 

• The highest bidder in a RTB auction wins the impression and has their ad displayed to the user in mere milliseconds. 

• RTB is heavily dependent on algorithms and data to determine bid prices and target specific user demographics, making it a highly efficient way to purchase ad inventory. 

In summary, programmatic advertising is a broader concept that encompasses various automated methods of buying and selling digital ads, while real-time bidding is a specific method within programmatic advertising that involves auctioning ad impressions in real-time. RTB is a key component of programmatic advertising, but programmatic advertising can also involve other methods like direct deals and private marketplaces. Both programmatic advertising and RTB aim to improve ad targeting, efficiency, and effectiveness through automation and data-driven decision-making.