Modernize your PMP buying with Deal Desk

Private marketplace (PMP) deals make up over half of programmatic spend. A lack of transparency, limited ability to optimize before and during activation, and inefficient workflows have historically hindered their performance. Deal Desk uses AI-powered tools to bring shared visibility to these deals and to help maximize their business impact. 

In this Trader Tips episode, Charlie Pullen, Programmatic Business Director at MG OMD, shares his perspective on why buyers still split budgets between direct insertion orders (IOs) and programmatic and why greater deal-level clarity is essential to helping advertisers feel confident when trading programmatically. 

Pullen explains that some marketers favor direct IOs because of the perceived certainty, even when programmatic might deliver stronger performance. To close that knowledge gap, traders need clearer visibility into how PMP deals will perform before activating them. 

Deal Desk offers this level of transparency by introducing standardized metadata, in-platform negotiation workflows, and Deal Quality Scores with which to assess deals before execution. This means less time spent troubleshooting and more time spent optimizing strategic media investments. 

As Pullen notes, programmatic works best when buyers and sellers have a shared view of how a deal is structured and what it’s meant to achieve, which can help reduce uncertainty before a campaign even begins. 

Explore more use cases 

Deal Desk, available within the Kokai platform experience, provides a centralized, structured platform for proposing, analyzing, and managing deals. Its features allow you to: 

• Audit quality using Deal Quality Scores to inspect deal health prior to activation 

• Streamline workflows by proposing, negotiating, and refining deals directly in the platform 

• Scale more easily with AI-powered suggestions and flexibility to modify underperforming deals 

Take a retail brand that wants to run a premium PMP deal ahead of a seasonal promotion. Deal Desk can let the team evaluate the deal’s quality, confirm inventory alignment, and adjust parameters before launching, all without jumping between systems. With those checks handled, the advertiser can focus on scaling the campaign and improving performance. 

Want to learn more about how Deal Desk can transform your PMP strategy? Start here, or contact your representative at The Trade Desk. 

This information is provided solely for background and is not a representation or guarantee of any future performance.