---
title: 3 Reasons Why In-Housing Programmatic Works for Small & Mid-Size Biz
description: If you’re a marketer at a small or mid-size business or a growing DTC brand, you’re probably wondering how you can make your budget stretch a bit further.
image: https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/3%20reasons%20why%20in-housing%20works%20for%20small%20businesses-take_2.jpg
---

[Skip to content](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/in-housing#main-content)

[![DDH-Group-Logo-2025](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DDH-Group-Logo-2025.png?width=8192&height=3091&name=DDH-Group-Logo-2025.png "DDH-Group-Logo-2025")](https://directdigitalholdings.com/)

- Company 
    - [About](https://directdigitalholdings.com/about)
    - [Awards](https://directdigitalholdings.com/awards-recognition)
    - [Events](https://directdigitalholdings.com/events)
    - [Team](https://directdigitalholdings.com/team)
    - [Careers](https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=2a589a95-d725-4b76-9185-1f88b5231fb5&ccId=19000101_000001&lang=en_US)
    - [Contact](https://directdigitalholdings.com/contact)
- [Buyers](https://directdigitalholdings.com/buyers)
- [Publishers](https://directdigitalholdings.com/publishers)
- Resources 
    - [AI Hub](https://directdigitalholdings.com/ai-council-resource-center)
    - [Blog](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog)
    - [Press Releases](https://directdigitalholdings.com/press-releases)
    - [Webinars](https://directdigitalholdings.com/webinars)
    - [White Papers](https://directdigitalholdings.com/whitepapers)
- Investors 
    - [Overview](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/)
    - [Investor News & Events](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/news-events)
    - [Company Info](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/company-information)
    - [Stock Data](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/stock-data/quote)
    - [SEC Filings](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/sec-filings)
    - [Governance](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/corporate-governance)

[ Get in touch 

](https://directdigitalholdings.com/contact)

# 3 Reasons Why In-Housing Programmatic Works for Small & Mid-Size Biz

If you’re a marketer at a small or mid-size business or a growing DTC brand, you’re probably wondering how you can make your budget stretch a bit further.

![Company Meeting](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/3%20reasons%20why%20in-housing%20works%20for%20small%20businesses-take_2.jpg)

#### [Written by Direct Digital Holdings](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/author/direct-digital-holdings)

 Category

#### [SMB](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/tag/smb)

## 3 Reasons Why In-Housing Programmatic Works for Small & Mid-Size Businesses

Oct 20

Written By [Direct Digital](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog?author=602a9c4ecd8e884dfa3a2a64)

If you’re a marketer at a small or mid-size business or a growing DTC brand, you’re probably wondering how you can make your budget stretch a bit further. You may be competing with an established brand with deep pockets, enough to engage several agencies to launch programmatic campaigns that span every digital channel.

But here’s an interesting fact: [69% of brands worldwide](https://www.adexchanger.com/ad-exchange-news/no-longer-the-exception-69-of-brands-in-house-programmatic/) have brought programmatic advertising in house. In-housing offers a ton of compelling benefits to organizations of all sizes, not just the ones with household names. The benefits are not just financial: in-housing programmatic means in-housing the expertise that is gained anytime anyone manages, optimizes and reports on ad campaigns. You’ll also begin to build an asset that will pay dividends for years to come, namely first-party customer data.

With the right partner to back you up, in-housing programmatic marketing will help you bring your business to the next level without overwhelming your team. 

Here are three reasons why it’s especially beneficial to small businesses.

**Own the Data. Own the Relationship**.

Small businesses, especially digitally native ones, have troves of online data available at their fingertips. This is the data that your customers generate when they buy your products, sign up for your newsletter, peruse your product pages, use your product configurators. This data is incredibly valuable and will go a long way in honing every aspect of your marketing, messaging, and even product development. 

Additionally, campaigns generate a ton of data that’s highly valuable. Which consumers saw your ad? On which channel was it seen? Which ad type, creative and messages generated the most clicks? How many ads did they see before clicking on your landing page? Visiting your site? Buying a product?

Harnessing these insights and building this level of marketing expertise in-house allows you to have full ownership of and access to this rich data. It’s an incredibly valuable asset, one that will provide you with strategic insight into your customer journeys, help you prioritize which initiatives to fund, as well as hone your messaging and customer acquisition strategies.

**Ability to optimize investments more agilely **

One of the best reasons to use programmatic is that it allows you to collapse marketing and market research into a single process. Many brands dedicate a small portion — say 5% — of their budget for random targeting in order to help them uncover hidden audiences and pockets of demand.

Even if you have a strong notion of who your prospects are likely to be, programmatic still illuminates nuances you may have missed. You may assume going into a campaign that East Coast moms are the best candidates for a specific product, but it may turn out that West Coast singletons are even more receptive — as evidenced by their level of engagement. 

Ditto for all the assumptions you made about the channel, time of day, messages, and ad format you prepared. Programmatic simply reveals what’s piquing consumer interest at the moment.

Having hands-on-keyboard talent in-house means you can adjust your investments quickly based on real-time signals in order to optimize performance and business outcomes. What’s more, your in-house marketers can leverage what they learn to plan better campaigns in the future.

These benefits are particularly relevant to small and midsize businesses that need to make smaller budgets work harder. Why waste media budget targeting a region or cohort that just isn’t responding, when another is engaging at sky high levels?

**Efficiency and Effectiveness**

In-housing with the right model is not just extremely effective for small and mid-size businesses, but much more cost-efficient. But take care to choose wisely. You want a partner that is willing to share their expertise so that you or your team can become in-house experts.  

What to look for in a partner? Find a company that is willing to keep you up to date on industry trends and emerging technologies. And given that you’re likely to need extra support from time to time, choose a partner that can supplement in-house talent when needed without a lot of overhead. Finally, look for a partner that has the expertise in your sector and can help guide your investment strategies. 

All businesses need outside partnerships that can round out the skills your teams will need to be effective as possible.

 

 

[![Direct Digital Holdings](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/300w-Sep-05-2023-08-11-04-9765-PM.png) ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/author/direct-digital-holdings)

### [Direct Digital Holdings](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/author/direct-digital-holdings)

Direct Digital Holdings brings state-of-the-art supply-side and demand-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. We deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers.

[![Facebook Author](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/inboundelements_com/One_Elements/images/theme/icons/social/facebook.svg) ](https://www.facebook.com/directdigitalholdings) [![Twitter Author](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/inboundelements_com/One_Elements/images/theme/icons/social/twitter.svg) ](https://twitter.com/directdigitalh) [![Linkedin Author](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/inboundelements_com/One_Elements/images/theme/icons/social/linkedin.svg) ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/76323331/admin/feed/posts/) [![Website Author](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/inboundelements_com/One_Elements/images/theme/icons/social/website.svg) ](https://directdigitalholdings.com)

#### Subscribe to our email newsletter

### Latest Posts

[![The Measure: After an Uncertain 2025, Bold Predictions for 2026](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/2026%20banner.jpg) ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/the-measure-after-an-uncertain-2025-bold-predictions-for-2026)

##### [The Measure: After an Uncertain 2025, Bold Predictions for 2026](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/the-measure-after-an-uncertain-2025-bold-predictions-for-2026)

[![TVTech: Ad Tech and CTV Experts Forecast 2026’s Biggest Trends](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/banner.webp) ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/tvtech-ad-tech-and-ctv-experts-forecast-2026s-biggest-trends)

##### [TVTech: Ad Tech and CTV Experts Forecast 2026’s Biggest Trends](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/tvtech-ad-tech-and-ctv-experts-forecast-2026s-biggest-trends)

[![Best Practices for AI Prompting](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/LIT-Course_Best-Practices-for-AI-Prompting.png) ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/best-practices-for-ai-prompting)

##### [Best Practices for AI Prompting](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/best-practices-for-ai-prompting)

## Subscribe to our email newsletter

## Latest Articles

Browse more posts

![The Measure: After an Uncertain 2025, Bold Predictions for 2026](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/2026%20banner.jpg)

[ Advertising Industry Information ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/tag/advertising-industry-information)

#### The Measure: After an Uncertain 2025, Bold Predictions for 2026

Explore bold predictions for 2026 in streaming, ad tech, and AI to n...

![The Measure: After an Uncertain 2025, Bold Predictions for 2026](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/300w-Sep-05-2023-08-11-04-9765-PM.png) Direct Digital Holdings

![TVTech: Ad Tech and CTV Experts Forecast 2026’s Biggest Trends](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/banner.webp)

[ Advertising Industry Information ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/tag/advertising-industry-information)

#### TVTech: Ad Tech and CTV Experts Forecast 2026’s Biggest Trends

Discover the top trends in CTV and ad tech for 2026, from AI advance...

![TVTech: Ad Tech and CTV Experts Forecast 2026’s Biggest Trends](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/300w-Sep-05-2023-08-11-04-9765-PM.png) Direct Digital Holdings

![Best Practices for AI Prompting](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/LIT-Course_Best-Practices-for-AI-Prompting.png)

[ Marketing Industry Information ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/tag/marketing-industry-information)

#### Best Practices for AI Prompting

Learn practical frameworks for effective AI prompting, including pro...

![Best Practices for AI Prompting](https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/300w-Sep-05-2023-08-11-04-9765-PM.png) Direct Digital Holdings

##### Digital advertising built for hospitality.

###### COMPANY

[About](https://directdigitalholdings.com/about)

[Awards](https://directdigitalholdings.com/awards-recognition)

[Culture](https://directdigitalholdings.com/culture)

[Events](https://directdigitalholdings.com/events)

[Team](https://directdigitalholdings.com/team)

[Careers](https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=2a589a95-d725-4b76-9185-1f88b5231fb5&ccId=19000101_000001&lang=en_US)

[Contact](https://directdigitalholdings.com/contact)

###### BUYERS

[Buyers](https://directdigitalholdings.com/buyers)

 

###### PUBLISHERS

###### [Publishers](https://directdigitalholdings.com/publishers)

###### RESOURCES

[AI Hub](https://directdigitalholdings.com/ai-council-resource-center)

[Blog](https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog)

[Press Releases](https://directdigitalholdings.com/press-releases)

[Webinars](https://directdigitalholdings.com/webinars)

[White Papers](https://directdigitalholdings.com/whitepapers)

###### INVESTORS

[Overview](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/?__hstc=43208506.c61037fa0ac8b93f8c75381c5d951323.1693351539844.1699493058055.1699544890058.172&__hssc=43208506.8.1699544890058&__hsfp=3909720395)  
[Investor News & Events](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/news-events?__hstc=43208506.c61037fa0ac8b93f8c75381c5d951323.1693351539844.1699493058055.1699544890058.172&__hssc=43208506.8.1699544890058&__hsfp=3909720395)  
[Company Info](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/company-information?__hstc=43208506.c61037fa0ac8b93f8c75381c5d951323.1693351539844.1699493058055.1699544890058.172&__hssc=43208506.8.1699544890058&__hsfp=3909720395)  
[Stock Data](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/stock-data/quote?__hstc=43208506.c61037fa0ac8b93f8c75381c5d951323.1693351539844.1699493058055.1699544890058.172&__hssc=43208506.8.1699544890058&__hsfp=3909720395)  
[SEC Filings](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/sec-filings?__hstc=43208506.c61037fa0ac8b93f8c75381c5d951323.1693351539844.1699493058055.1699544890058.172&__hssc=43208506.8.1699544890058&__hsfp=3909720395)  
[Governance](https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/corporate-governance?__hstc=43208506.c61037fa0ac8b93f8c75381c5d951323.1693351539844.1699493058055.1699544890058.172&__hssc=43208506.8.1699544890058&__hsfp=3909720395)

### Subscribe to our newsletter

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc, 1177 West Loop South Suite 1310 Houston, TX. 77027 (832) 402-1051  |  [contact@directdigitalholdings.com      ](mailto:contact@directdigitalholdings.com)Copyright 2025 © Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.   [Privacy Policy  ](https://directdigitalholdings.com/privacy-policy)|  [Terms of Use](https://directdigitalholdings.com/terms-of-use)

 Cookie Settings

[![Visit facebook](https://f.hubspotusercontent10.net/hubfs/8768169/One%20Elements/images/social-icons/facebook.svg) ](https://www.facebook.com/directdigitalholdings) [![Visit twitter](https://f.hubspotusercontent10.net/hubfs/8768169/One%20Elements/images/social-icons/twitter.svg) ](https://twitter.com/directdigitalh) [![Visit instagram](https://f.hubspotusercontent10.net/hubfs/8768169/One%20Elements/images/social-icons/instagram.svg) ](https://www.instagram.com/directdigitalholdings/) [![Visit linkedin](https://f.hubspotusercontent10.net/hubfs/8768169/One%20Elements/images/social-icons/linkedin.svg) ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/direct-digital-holdings)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Direct Digital Holdings",
    "url" : "https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/author/direct-digital-holdings"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2023-11-14T22:53:39.320Z",
  "datePublished" : "2021-10-20T04:00:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "3 Reasons Why In-Housing Programmatic Works for Small & Mid-Size Biz",
  "image" : [ "https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/3%20reasons%20why%20in-housing%20works%20for%20small%20businesses-take_2.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://directdigitalholdings.com/blog/in-housing",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://directdigitalholdings.com/hubfs/DDH-Group-Logo-2025.png"
    },
    "name" : "Direct Digital Holdings"
  }
}
```