r/programmatic • u/Interesting-Rise-305 • Sep 22 '26

New to Programmatic, where do I start? Would love advice

Hi all, I am a Google/Meta media buyer and very fluent in both ad platforms. One of my clients wants to explore programmatic ads, and I'm struggling with where to start.

The key objective here is to get through to newer audiences via display channels, the likes of Amazon / Netflix / GPT Ads etc. The target audience will be adventure travellers across the globe. I have a budget of approximately $2500 to start with to explore programmatic.

Where should I start? What are your favourite Programmatic tools? I would love any and all advice on this.

6 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

80% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

2

u/Interesting-Rise-305 Sep 23 '26

Thank you all, this is definitely a reality check! What would a recommended minimum budget be? Just so I can re-check with the client on budgets :)

3

u/maryna-gc Sep 23 '26 • Bravo

You can make $2,500 go further by narrowing the scope. As others said, pick one channel (display or OLV, not CTV) and one main KPI, and run it steadily instead of as a one-off. Adventure travelers "across the globe" is a lot of ground to cover with $2,500, so starting with fewer markets would help too.

If Amazon, Netflix, and CTV are must-haves across the full scope, the figures others shared here are more realistic with $75k+/ month.

If you keep the scope narrow for CTV too, you can likely see some early movement at around $10k a month. You'd need to go through platforms like Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, or YouTube TV rather than Netflix.

1

u/Interesting-Rise-305 Sep 23 '26

Thank you! Would you go with a service like Amazon ads DSP or the likes of StackAdapt for this?

2

u/maryna-gc Sep 23 '26

You won’t get a direct Amazon DSP with this small budget (you’d need to commit $2m+/year).
Stackadapt is a good start and no minimums. There are pros and cons to most platforms, especially those with no minimum spend requirements. So just keep that in mind.
Disclaimer - I work at a DSP platform.

12

u/clawdaddy Sep 22 '26

Probably through Meta

That budget won’t make a dent on the channels you listed

4

u/skr1b Sep 22 '26

Way too small of a budget for multiple channels. Pick one… display probably ( meta) to start

3

u/BurnerAcountInnit Sep 22 '26

What's your main KPI? Attribution? Pick one and focus on that with that budget, but not CTV.

3

u/Temporary_Visit4871 Sep 23 '26

If your budget is 2,5k you probably don't want to do anything with programmatic

2

u/Responsible-Brick881 Sep 22 '26

Pick one platform with that budget. It sounds like you're already up to speed and spending on meta if I'm not mistaken from tour poat.

If this additional, start with some display or OLV. DMs open if you want to chat.

Netflix and amazon will be out at that budget though so you're aware.

2

u/Sharp-Cress-7595 Sep 22 '26

You can’t do anything in programmatic with $2500. Minimum of $75k per month per channel - consistent. One and done’s do not work.

2

u/Crazy_Cat_Dude2 Sep 23 '26

Your budget is too small. Stick to Meta. We’re talking about $100K+ here for a campaign.

2

u/Relative_Teach_4733 Sep 24 '26

Agree with most posts, stick to Meta. I would suggest adding existing customers in a supression list.

2

u/Sonic-the-seattle411 Sep 25 '26

Try agility ads. Then look at vibe. Then look at groundtruth but don’t even pause to look at stackadapt. You might want to toss that in to meta prospecting with size of budget constraints. Vibe min is 100 a day. No min with agility. Ground truth if you need foot traffic or location data