Programmatic and Display

Open auction or deal: where should your budget buy?

The difference lies in whether volume and price are fixed in advance. With programmatic guaranteed deals, buyer and seller agree beforehand, and many of the deal's settings cannot be changed afterwards dv-deals. Next to them stand the non-guaranteed forms: non-guaranteed fixed-price inventory, non-guaranteed auctions and preferred deals dv-deals. The choice is therefore not a buying question but a planning question: how much certainty do you need, and how much flexibility do you give up for it?

What we do: We clarify the need before buying, negotiate conditions in full, benchmark every deal against the open auction and monitor delivery; you pay for certainty only where you need it, and committed budget does not sit idle.

By Svenja Müller, Strategic Team Lead Programmatic

Last updated on 5 October 2026

What it is about and when it becomes relevant

Guaranteed and non-guaranteed

With guaranteed deals the terms are pre-agreed, and many settings such as standard targeting, budget and pacing cannot be changed afterwards dv-deals. The non-guaranteed forms, meaning fixed-price inventory without a guarantee, non-guaranteed auctions and preferred deals, leave more flexibility but deliver no committed volume dv-deals.

When it becomes relevant

For campaigns with a fixed date where the reach has to be certain, and for environments that are scarce or unavailable in the open auction. Likewise when a publisher offers certain formats exclusively.

What is immutable afterwards

Whoever signs a guaranteed deal fixes targeting, budget and pacing along with it dv-deals. That is the real price of the certainty: if the campaign develops differently than planned, little can be adjusted here.

Common mistakes and how you spot them

Treating guaranteed deals like auctions

How you spot itMid-campaign the targeting is supposed to be adjusted, and it does not work. With guaranteed deals many settings are fixed in advance dv-deals.

Deals signed without a need

How you spot itSeveral deals are running whose volume is never used up. The budget is committed without producing reach.

No comparison to the open auction

How you spot itThere is no metric that puts the deal against comparable inventory from the auction. The premium then cannot be justified.

Deal and campaign goal do not match

How you spot itA guaranteed deal runs toward a performance goal that demands short-term reallocation. Both together do not work.

How we go about it

Clarify the need before buying
We settle whether volume and environment really have to be committed. If the answer is no, a non-guaranteed form is usually the more flexible choice dv-deals.
Negotiate the terms completely
Because targeting, budget and pacing are fixed alongside guaranteed deals dv-deals, they belong in the negotiation and not in the execution afterwards.
Calculate against the auction
We put comparable auction inventory next to every deal, so the premium has a justification.
Monitor delivery
We continuously check whether committed volumes are actually being delivered, so committed budget does not sit idle.

Frequently asked questions

What is a programmatic guaranteed deal?

A deal in which buyer and seller agree in advance. Many settings such as standard targeting, budget and pacing cannot be changed afterwards dv-deals.

What is a preferred deal?

A non-guaranteed form of buying. Display & Video 360 lists it next to non-guaranteed fixed-price inventory and non-guaranteed auctions dv-deals.

Is a deal worth it compared to the open auction?

If volume or environment have to be committed, yes. Otherwise you are paying for a certainty you do not need. The answer only becomes provable through a comparison with similar auction inventory.

Can I change a deal's targeting later?

With guaranteed deals usually not, because the terms are agreed in advance dv-deals. That belongs in the planning, not in the optimization.

Is this exactly where you are stuck?

Write to us about where it is stuck. Svenja Müller and the team will look at what is concretely behind it in your case, and tell you where the biggest lever sits.

Book a meeting

Sources

Every statement about ad products comes from the official documentation of the respective platform, with the date we retrieved it. Products change; if something looks outdated to you, write to us and we will check it.