Programmatic · also called PG, programmatic direct, automated guaranteed
Programmatic guaranteed (PG)
Programmatic guaranteed (PG) is a deal in which a buyer commits in advance to buy a fixed volume of impressions at a fixed price from a publisher, delivered through programmatic pipes.
Programmatic guaranteed combines a traditional direct-sold advertising deal with programmatic delivery. The buyer and publisher agree on price, volume, dates and targeting, just as in an insertion order. But instead of the publisher trafficking the advertiser's tags manually, the campaign runs through the buyer's DSP using a Deal ID, and each impression is passed to the DSP in a bid request that it is expected to accept.
The advantages are the certainty of a reservation plus the buyer's own frequency capping, data, ad verification and reporting in one DSP. Publishers get premium, predictable revenue. PG is common for CTV, premium video and high-demand events.
Because the buyer is committed, it cannot simply refuse impressions it dislikes without consequences: if the DSP declines too many, the deal under-delivers. Filtering for invalid traffic and brand safety therefore needs to be agreed upfront. PG sits at the top of the deal hierarchy, above preferred deals and PMPs.
Think of it like this
Programmatic guaranteed is like a season ticket bought online: your seat and price are fixed in advance, but you still get in by scanning an automated ticket.
An example
A soft-drink brand agrees to buy 20 million CTV impressions from a streaming service at a US$32 CPM for the football season via a PG deal ID, a US$640,000 commitment.
Related terms
Direct-sold advertising
Direct-sold advertising is ad space sold by a publisher straight to an advertiser or agency through a negotiated deal, usually with a fixed price and guaranteed volume.
Deal ID
A deal ID is a unique code in a bid request telling the buyer's DSP that the impression belongs to a specific pre-agreed deal, such as a PMP or programmatic guaranteed.
Preferred deal
A preferred deal gives one buyer the first chance to buy a publisher's impressions at a fixed, pre-agreed price, with no obligation to buy and no guaranteed volume.
Private marketplace (PMP)
A private marketplace (PMP) is an invitation-only programmatic auction in which a publisher lets a selected group of buyers bid on specific inventory, usually with a floor price, via a deal ID.
Insertion order (IO)
An insertion order (IO) is the signed contract between an advertiser or agency and a publisher or vendor, specifying what ads run, where, when, in what volume and at what price.