Programmatic advertising for mobile app growth explained

Programmatic advertising has revolutionized how marketers buy and sell digital media, and it’s now critical for brands aiming to expand their reach and grow their apps. Global programmatic ad spend reached $595 billion in 2024 and is projected to approach $800 billion by 2028, reflecting its dominance across channels, from mobile to video, in-app,  connected TV (CTV), and more.

For mobile marketers navigating a privacy-first, cross-platform market, programmatic advertising is essential. In this blog, we’ll break down how it works, explore the different buying methods, clarify key terms, and share actionable tips to help you run smarter, more effective campaigns.

Programmatic display advertising is the automated process of buying and selling ad inventory through an ad exchange. It utilizes real-time bidding (RTB), artificial intelligence (AI), and audience data to deliver ads with speed and precision. Rather than relying on manual negotiations, it uses software to instantly match ads with impressions that meet an advertiser’s predefined targeting criteria.

Marketers typically run campaigns through demand-side platforms (DSPs), where they set budgets, audiences, bidding strategies, and creatives. When a user opens an app or webpage, programmatic systems assess whether that impression meets campaign goals—if it does, they bid on it in real time.

What sets programmatic apart is its ability to respond instantly to user behavior and market signals. Advertisers can fine-tune delivery while campaigns are live, adjusting creatives, bids, and targeting dynamically. This level of responsiveness enables continuous optimization and ensures each ad opportunity contributes to broader performance goals.

Programmatic advertising has evolved beyond automation, it’s now a strategic engine that helps marketers unify planning, delivery, and performance across today’s fragmented digital landscape. As users move fluidly between devices and formats, whether browsing apps, streaming CTV, or engaging with mobile content, programmatic acts as the connective layer that ensures campaigns remain consistent, efficient, and outcome-driven.

Here’s what programmatic advertising empowers marketers to do:

• Save time and resources by streamlining media buying and campaign execution.
• Connect with high-intent audiences through data-driven targeting powered by first-party, contextual, and behavioral signals.
• Improve ad performance with personalized creatives and dynamic delivery.
• Minimize waste by optimizing spend toward meaningful outcomes, not just impressions.
• Unlock real-time insights to refine creative, bidding, and channel strategy mid-campaign.

Programmatic also supports more cohesive storytelling. For example, a user who watches a CTV ad for a fitness app in the evening could be retargeted the next morning with an in-app promo tailored to their interests, creating a fluid brand journey that feels relevant and intentional.

While programmatic advertising has long been associated with mobile, video, and in-app inventory, its reach now extends across an even broader mix of channels. Digital out-of-home (DOOH), programmatic audio, and in-game ads are emerging as powerful extensions of omnichannel strategies, offering dynamic, measurable, and context-aware placements in physical spaces, streaming environments, and gameplay. As these formats mature, they’re not only opening new ways to engage users where they spend their time, but also enabling deeper personalization, improved attribution, and greater creative flexibility across the funnel.

At the core of programmatic advertising are the platforms that automate how ads are bought and sold in real time. Here are the three essential components of the ecosystem:

Supply-side platform (SSP)

A supply-side platform (SSP) is software that enables digital publishers to sell display, mobile, and video impressions in real time. SSPs automate the sale of inventory, giving publishers more control over pricing, demand sources, and yield optimization. They connect to ad exchanges and multiple DSPs, allowing publishers to open their inventory to a larger pool of advertisers.

Demand-side platform (DSP)

A DSP is software that allows advertisers to buy mobile, display, and video ad inventory programmatically. DSPs evaluate available impressions across many ad exchanges and place real-time bids based on the advertiser’s campaign settings, such as target audience, budget, and creative format. These platforms help advertisers deliver ads to relevant users across multiple channels while optimizing spend.

Ad exchange

An ad exchange is an online marketplace where advertisers, publishers, agencies, DSPs, and SSPs buy and sell ad inventory through RTB. Publishers supply inventory via their SSPs, and advertisers bid on it through their DSPs. The exchange facilitates the auction and ensures the highest bidder wins the impression.

By acting as the central layer between supply and demand, ad exchanges help expand inventory access while offering oversight and  predictability for all parties involved.

There are four main types of programmatic media buying, each with its own structure and level of control. Understanding the differences can help marketers choose the right strategy based on their goals, budget, and desired inventory availability.

Success in programmatic advertising is more than campaign setup, it’s about continuous iteration, smart automation, and audience insight. Here’s how to get the most out of your strategy:

1. Define clear KPIs from the start

Before launch, align your bidding, targeting, and creative strategy to the outcomes that matter most, whether that’s installs, retention, or revenue. KPIs will differ by app category, so be sure your metrics reflect real user behavior in your vertical.

2. Let AI do the heavy lifting

Work with DSPs and measurement partners that offer AI-powered optimization. From dynamic creative delivery to real-time bid adjustments, automation helps improve performance without micromanagement, especially when integrated with live attribution data.

3. Build predictive and lookalike audiences

Go beyond demographic targeting. Use behavioral cohorts, engagement data, and LTV predictions to create smarter segments. Lookalike and predictive audiences help you connect with high-value users earlier in the funnel.

4. A/B test and iterate

Test everything, from creatives and calls to action to placements and audience segments. Structured experiments, combined with privacy-safe measurement, reveal what’s really driving performance so you can double down on what works.

5. Don’t overlook retargeting

Use insights from your user funnel to re-engage those who drop off at key moments, such as post-install but pre-purchase. Programmatic makes it easy to deliver timely, personalized nudges.

6. Lean into contextual and creative relevance

As privacy rules evolve and traditional identifiers phase out, contextual targeting is making a comeback, especially in mobile. In-app native ads that match the look and feel of their environment are gaining traction for good reason: they feel less intrusive, perform better, and don’t rely on third-party cookies. Pair this with real-time creative optimization, and you can deliver ads that feel apt, brand-aligned, and user-friendly, all without compromising on privacy.

7. Monitor and optimize

Set up real-time performance alerts and regularly review pacing, creative effectiveness, and audience breakdowns. Optimization doesn’t stop at launch and refining as you go is key to maintaining ROI.

Programmatic advertising is critical in helping marketers manage complex, cross-channel campaigns more efficiently. As user journeys span multiple platforms and formats, having flexible, real-time tools to plan, optimize, and measure campaigns is essential.

At the same time, expectations continue to shift. Teams are expected to deliver timely, creative experiences while maintaining high standards for privacy, transparency, and performance. But as the ecosystem expands, so do the risks—invalid traffic, misattributed installs, and low-quality placements can quietly erode ROI. That’s why working with a trusted mobile measurement partner (MMP) is key to ensuring your data is accurate, your traffic is clean, and your campaigns deliver real results.

Adjust supports mobile marketers through every stage of the programmatic journey—from attribution and real-time optimization to fraud prevention and cohort analysis. Our solutions are built to help you make smarter decisions, reduce wasted spend, and grow sustainably.

Ready to improve your programmatic strategy and grow your app business? Request a demo to see Adjust brings automation and clarity to every step.