Seven steps to build a programmatic advertising strategy framework

What to take away

Step 1: Define the objective and the decision

Write the objective as a decision

An objective such as "raise awareness" gives no one anything to do. Rewrite it as a decision: which audience gets the next £12,000, and by what date. That decision tells you what the framework must produce.

Put a figure and a deadline against it. A team might decide to move £12,000 a month into programmatic video by the end of the quarter. That version can be tested at review; a vague ambition cannot.

For example, a retailer deciding whether to shift £30,000 a quarter from paid search into programmatic display needs an answer it can act on, not a slide of impressions.

Agree who signs it off

The framework needs one owner and one approver. Name both before you start. If three people can change the objective, none of them owns it.

Write the sign-off threshold as well: who can move money without asking, and at what amount approval is needed.

Worked example, one page: the objective becomes a decision, move £12,000 a month into programmatic video by the end of the quarter, with a named owner, a named approver and the sign-off threshold.

Step 2: Set the audience

Build the audience profile

Write the audience as a profile with a source, a size and a reason for inclusion. A profile you cannot size is a preference, not a target. The linked programmatic advertising strategy and planning guide sets out the wider planning sequence.

Name where the size estimate comes from, whether that is your own first-party data or a panel. A number with no source will not survive a finance review.

Keep the profile to one page. Include the data you will use to reach the audience and the lawful basis for using it.

Record the relevant rules alongside the lawful basis. The UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 govern personal data; the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) set rules for cookies and similar technologies used for ad targeting. If using IAB Europe's Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF), check consent signals and vendor configuration; the framework does not replace legal obligations.

Worked example, one page: the audience, the source of its size estimate, the data used to reach it and the lawful basis, each on its own line.

Step 3: Set the budget

Split the budget into working media, technology and measurement. For example, a team paying £400 a month for a demand-side platform should show that figure separately from media spend.

Make the buying route explicit as well as the budget. Compare demand-side platforms such as Google Display & Video 360 (DV360), The Trade Desk and Amazon DSP, or ask agencies such as MiQ and Jellyfish whether they offer managed-service buying. Record the platform used, fees, inventory and data access so the choice can be assessed against the objective.

Hold back a small contingency for testing. A framework with no test budget cannot answer the questions it was written to answer.

Worked example, one page: an indicative split of a £50,000 monthly budget gives £36,000 to working media, £9,000 to technology, £4,000 to measurement and £1,000 to testing.

Step 4: Choose the formats

Choose formats against the objective. Options include display, native, programmatic video, connected TV (CTV), audio and digital out-of-home (DOOH). For programmatic video, the IAB UK's creative best practice principles for digital video are a sensible starting reference for what the creative must carry.

Worked example, one page: each format named with the objective it serves and the creative it needs, video first where the objective is attention.

Step 5: Plan measurement

Define measurement before launch

Pick the metric that matches the decision. If the decision is budget reallocation, the metric is cost per outcome, not viewability. Google's guidance on getting value from web and app channels is useful on joining channel data to outcomes.

Agree the attribution window before launch too. A 30-day window and a 7-day window will tell different stories about the same campaign.

Set the reporting cadence at the same time. Weekly for active tests, monthly for the framework itself.

Worked example, one page: cost per outcome, a 30-day attribution window, weekly reporting for the live test and monthly reporting for the framework.

Step 6: Add governance

Governance covers who approves creative, who checks data use and who can pause a line item. Write the escalation path into the framework.

Name the person who can pause activity out of hours. If nobody holds that duty, the escalation path is only a diagram.

Worked example, one page: who approves creative, who checks data use, who can pause a line item and the out-of-hours contact.

Step 7: Set the review date

Book the review before launch. A framework with no review date becomes a document nobody opens. Use the linked programmatic advertising planning template to record the seven outputs and the review agenda.

Worked example, one page: a review booked for the first working day after quarter end, with objective, budget, audience and measurement on the agenda.

Common questions

How long should a framework be?

If it runs beyond a few pages, you are writing a media plan. Keep the framework short and put detail in appendices.

Who should own the framework?

One named person, usually the planning lead, with a single approver. The owner updates it; the approver signs off changes to objective, budget or measurement.

When should the framework be reviewed?

At least quarterly, and immediately after any material change to budget, audience or regulation. A review date set at launch is the simplest way to keep it current.

What if the objective changes mid-campaign?

Rewrite step one and check whether steps two to seven still hold. If the objective changes, the measurement metric almost always does too.