Programmatic Creative vs. Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO)
This post is continuously updated to reflect how programmatic creative and dynamic creative optimization (DCO) are evolving.
When people think of the relationship of programmatic creative vs. DCO, a common misunderstanding is that dynamic creative optimization and programmatic creative are different technologies.
One term is actually a subset of the other. DCO is a form of programmatic creative.
While DCO falls under the programmatic creative umbrella, but it’s not the only way to build creatives that activate the 6+ billion dollars of data in contained in programmatic media.
To illustrate this idea, let’s start with a definition of programmatic creative.
Programmatic Creative Definition
Programmatic creative refers to the set of advertising technologies that add speed, scale, and automation to the creative process. This covers ad production, dynamic ads, and creative optimization.
Programmatic media has unlocked tremendous potential in how we tell stories in paid media online. The purpose of programmatic creative is to enable data and creativity to come together to tell brand stories in a more resonant and effective way than ever before.