Question 1

How much does a programmatic agency cost in the UK?

Accepted Answer

UK programmatic engagements in 2026 layer two costs. Agency management runs £2,000-6,000 a month for specialist trading desks, £4,000-15,000 at mid-market, and £15,000-100,000+ at network or holding-group level. On top sits the DSP access fee, typically 10-20% of media spend on The Trade Desk and 10-15% on DV360. Most credible agencies set a minimum media commitment around £10,000 a month because below that, platform fees swallow efficiency.

Question 2

How is programmatic different from PPC and paid social?

Accepted Answer

PPC means search ads on Google and Microsoft, bought through Google Ads and Microsoft Ads. Paid social means Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and similar, bought inside each platform. Programmatic is the automated buying of everything else: display, online video, connected TV, digital out-of-home, and digital audio across the open web and broadcaster inventory. It is run through demand-side platforms like DV360, The Trade Desk, and Amazon DSP rather than directly inside Google or Meta.

Question 3

What is the 'adtech tax' and how do I avoid it?

Accepted Answer

The adtech tax is the cumulative fee taken by intermediaries between an advertiser and the publisher: DSP, SSP, exchange, data, verification, and any reseller hops. ISBA's Programmatic Supply Chain Transparency research and the 2024 ANA benchmark both found that less than half of advertiser spend typically reaches working media. To control it, demand a separated fee schedule, log-level data access, supply path optimisation, and independent verification via DoubleVerify, IAS, or MOAT.

Question 4

How long does programmatic onboarding take?

Accepted Answer

Realistic onboarding for a serious first-party data and CTV launch is four to eight weeks. DV360 and Amazon DSP can reach a simple display launch in two to four weeks if assets and pixels are ready. The Trade Desk typically lands at three to eight weeks for fuller open-web and CTV setups. The variable that stretches timelines is first-party data onboarding: consent, hashing, match testing, and clean-room integration. Always-on optimisation then runs continuously.

Question 5

How has programmatic changed in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Four shifts. First, third-party cookies are functionally gone in Chrome, so buying now leans on first-party data, Topics API signals, contextual targeting, and clean rooms. Second, connected TV is the strongest growth channel and now a core planning input, not a test budget. Third, retail media networks (Amazon, Tesco, Boots, Sainsbury's) are a planning priority for any commerce-led brand. Fourth, supply path optimisation, Made-for-Advertising exclusion, and Scope3 emissions reporting are now standard procurement asks.

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