DV360 agency: programmatic advertising for SaaS, fintech & DTC.
Display & Video 360 (DV360) is Google's enterprise programmatic platform — the same demand-side platform (DSP) that brands like the ones down the road in the Bay Area use to buy display, video, connected TV, audio and native across millions of sites and apps. But DV360 isn't self-serve friendly: it requires a licensed seat, trading expertise and constant optimization. That's why most companies run it through a DV360 agency. Here's what one actually does, when you need it, and how to choose.
What is DV360, and why it's not Google Ads
Google Ads buys Google-owned inventory (Search, YouTube, the Display Network) on a self-serve basis. DV360 is a full DSP: it buys across the open programmatic ecosystem — premium publishers, private marketplaces (PMPs), programmatic guaranteed deals, CTV and audio — with granular control over audiences, frequency, brand safety and viewability. It's built for scale and precision, not for a solo marketer clicking through a dashboard.
What a DV360 agency actually does
- Provides the seat & licensing — DV360 requires a partner or enterprise seat; an agency gives you access without the minimums
- Deal curation — negotiates PMPs and programmatic guaranteed with premium publishers your buyers actually read
- Audience & data strategy — first-party data onboarding, Google audiences, custom intent, and lookalikes
- Creative & formats — HTML5 display, video, CTV and dynamic creative optimization (DCO) built in-house
- Trading & optimization — daily bid, frequency and inventory tuning against your CAC and ROAS targets
- Brand safety & verification — viewability, fraud and adjacency controls (IAS/DV) so spend isn't wasted
When a SaaS, fintech or DTC brand should use DV360
DV360 earns its complexity once you need reach and control beyond Google Ads:
- You're scaling spend and Google Ads/Meta are saturating
- You need CTV / YouTube at scale with frequency management across screens
- You want premium publisher environments (Bloomberg, Reuters, tier-1 tech media) via PMPs
- You're running account-based marketing and need precise B2B targeting and suppression
- You need real brand-safety and viewability guarantees for a regulated fintech or crypto brand
DV360 for regulated fintech & crypto
Programmatic is one of the few channels where fintech and crypto brands can scale compliantly — with the right inventory curation and brand-safety controls. We come from the most compliance-heavy advertising vertical there is, so DV360 deal lists and creative clear policy while still reaching high-intent audiences.
What DV360 management should cost
US agencies typically charge a DSP management fee of 15–25% of media spend, sometimes plus a platform markup. For US accounts, HeatMarketers runs DV360 on a flat 8% of ad spend — no double markup — so more of your budget reaches working media. Pricing scales with spend and stays aligned to results.