Introduction

The way advertising is bought, sold, delivered, and measured has changed dramatically over the past three decades.

What started as simple banner ads on websites has evolved into one of the most sophisticated, data-driven industries in the world. 

Programmatic advertising, which refers to the use of automation and data to power digital advertising, is responsible for displaying billions of ads globally each day.

At the heart of this industry lies AdTech — the technologies, platforms, and processes that enable advertisers and publishers to connect with audiences at scale, in real time, with greater precision and more accurate measurement.

This book explores the world of AdTech and programmatic advertising from multiple angles. It is designed to give readers not just a historical perspective, but also a practical understanding of the ecosystem, its key components, and the forces shaping its future.

Table of contents

Chapter 01: The History of AdTech and Programmatic Advertising

• 1994 to 1999: The beginning of programmatic advertising
• The first ad server
• 2000 to 2009: The evolution of programmatic advertising and the introduction of real-time bidding (RTB)
• 2010 to 2019: The rise of mobile advertising, data, and privacy
• The history of AdTech and programmatic advertising at a glance
• 2020 and beyond: The future of AdTech 
• A summary of key milestones in AdTech

Chapter 02: The AdTech & Programmatic Advertising Landscape

• The advertiser and the publisher
• The role of advertising agencies
• The anatomy of an ad creative
• The main AdTech platforms and their role
• The interconnected web of AdTech
• The 3 key programmatic advertising processes
• How companies make money in programmatic advertising

Chapter 03: How Digital Media Is Bought, Sold and Measured

• From insertion orders to automation: the early days
• The main ways digital media can be bought and sold
• How ads are served to the end user
• How digital media is measured
• The future of media buying and measurement

Chapter 04: User Identity in AdTech & Programmatic Advertising

• What is identity in AdTech & programmatic advertising?
• Why do we need to identify users for advertising?
• The main user identification methods
• Deterministic vs probabilistic data
• Web cookies
• Device fingerprinting

Chapter 05: The Role Data & AI Play in AdTech & Programmatic Advertising

• The key data platforms and their role in AdTech & programmatic advertising
• Other platforms that collect data
• How is data collected in programmatic advertising?
• The different types of data: Zero-party, first-party, second-party, and third-party data
• Data onboarding
• The role data plays in AdTech & programmatic advertising
• Examples of how data is used in different digital advertising channels
• AI in AdTech
• Summary

BONUS CHAPTER: Predictions for the Year Ahead [2026]

More chapters coming soon…

Over the coming months, we’ll be releasing the following chapters:

• Chapter 06: The Main Channels and Mediums in Programmatic Advertising
• Chapter 07: Measurement and Attribution
• Chapter 08: Privacy in Programmatic Advertising
• Chapter 09: The Main Challenges Facing the AdTech & Programmatic Advertising Industry
• Chapter 10: How to Create a Digital Advertising Campaign
• Glossary and Key Terms

To get notified when new chapters are released, sign up to our waiting list.

About Spyrosoft AdTech

This book has been produced by Spyrosoft AdTech, a software development company that specialises in designing and developing advertising and marketing technology.

Copyright and reusage

We’d love for you to share our book and its contents, but if you do, we ask that you correctly attribute the source – e.g. by linking to the webpage or clearly stating the source.

For other usages, including language translations, please contact Michael Sweeney via LinkedIn.

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Chapter 01: The History of AdTech and Programmatic Advertising

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