Understanding programmatic display advertising
Understanding programmatic display advertising is crucial for a successful digital brand awareness campaign. Programmatic display advertising has transformed the way brands connect with their audiences. By using automated technology and real-time bidding, advertisers can deliver targeted and efficient campaigns across multiple platforms. This approach ensures that the right message reaches the right audience at the right time.
What is programmatic advertising?
Programmatic advertising is a method of buying and selling digital ad space using automated technology. Unlike traditional methods, which involve manual negotiations and fixed placements, programmatic advertising leverages real-time bidding (RTB) and data-driven algorithms to streamline the ad-buying process. This ensures that your ads are served to the right audience at the right time across multiple platforms, all within milliseconds.
At its core, programmatic advertising relies on vast amounts of data to make quick decisions about where and when to display ads. These decisions are based on user behavior, demographics, browsing history, and interests. This precision allows brands to reach highly targeted audiences while minimizing wasted impressions and maximizing ROAS. This automation saves time and improves accuracy, as the algorithms continuously optimize campaigns in response to real-time performance metrics. Programmatic ensures your ads are served where they’ll perform best, whether on websites, apps, or connected TV.
In the world of programmatic display advertising, understanding ad formats is equally important as the delivery mechanism. Formats like banner ads, HTML5 rich media, and native ads determine how well your campaigns capture attention and drive results. Choosing the right format can enhance visibility, engagement, and, ultimately, the success of your campaign.
By mastering the basics of programmatic advertising, brands can make smarter, data-driven decisions and drive measurable success in their digital strategies.
Role of display ad formats in campaign success
Choosing the right display ad format is crucial for campaign performance. Formats like HTML5 rich media and native display ads ensure your creative stands out, captures attention and drives engagement. Well-planned ad formats lead to higher click-through rates, improved visibility, and more substantial ROI. Understanding programmatic display advertising often starts with the most recognizable format – banner ads. These versatile and widely used ad units lay the foundation for programmatic campaigns, helping brands convey their message effectively.
What are banner ads?
Banner ads are advertisements that appear on web pages in various sizes and formats, containing embedded links that direct visitors to the advertiser’s site. Users who click these ads are taken to the advertiser’s landing page.
They are also known by different names, such as square ads, leaderboard ads, skyscraper ads, or mobile leaderboard ads, depending on their size and the device they are displayed on.
Publishers often use the most visible areas on their websites to display banner ads, typically placing them at the top, bottom, or sides of a page. Advertisers purchase this ad space either through ad networks or directly negotiate with publishers.
Why are banner ad sizes important?
Banner ad sizes are crucial for determining the success of an ad campaign. Choosing the right size helps maximize visibility, ensuring the ad effectively reaches its intended audience.
Banner ad sizes, such as the 728 x 90 horizontal format, are ideal for displaying at the top of desktop pages, ensuring high visibility for users. Similarly, the 320 x 480 format works perfectly on mobile devices as a fullscreen ad, maximizing user engagement on smaller screens.
10 most popular desktop ad sizes In 2025
Top 10 most popular desktop ad sizes in 2025 help advertisers optimize their campaigns by choosing formats that are both cost-effective and provide good visibility. Here’s a summary of the most popular desktop ad formats, along with their usage and Cost per Mille (CPM):
7 best desktop ad sizes
- Format 320 x 50 (Mobile Leaderboard) – The most popular Display format, accounting for 32.62% of impressions. The mobile format combines low costs ($0.27) with broad reach. It works great in mobile device campaigns.
- Format 300 x 250 (Medium Rectangle) – Another popular format, accounting for 26.43% of impressions. This is a classic format often referred to as “Medium Rectangle.” The cost per impression is $0.35. This format is versatile and well-visible on most devices.
- Format 728 x 90 (Leaderboard) – Accounts for 14.14% of impressions. It is a “Leaderboard” format, which works perfectly on desktop sites, especially at the top of the page. The cost per impression is $0.31.
- Format 300 x 600 (Half Page) – A popular “Half Page” format accounts for 7.88% of impressions. It is significantly larger than typical banners and provides more space for the advertising message. The cost is $0.56, but it is worth investing in this format if you want to capture the user’s attention better.
- Format 320 x 480 (Mobile Fullscreen) – This format accounts for 3.46% of impressions. It is a mobile “Fullscreen” format, which provides excellent visibility on smartphone screens. The cost is $0.72, making it one of the more expensive formats but also one of the most effective in terms of user engagement.
- Format 970 x 250 (Billboard) – Accounts for 3.20% of impressions. It is in a “Billboard” format, which is ideal for use on desktop sites. Its cost is $0.51, and the large surface area makes it eye-catching for users.
- Format 320 x 100 (Large Mobile Banner) – This format also accounts for 3.20% of impressions. It is a larger version of the 320 x 50 format, providing better visibility on mobile screens for $0.33.
Less popular display formats
- Format 300 x 50 (Mobile Banner) – This format accounts for 2.93% of impressions, with a cost of $0.26. It is a compact format that works well for smaller advertising spaces on mobile devices.
- Format 160 x 600 (Wide Skyscraper) – Accounts for 2.22% of impressions. This is the “Wide Skyscraper” format, which works well on sidebars on desktop sites. The cost is $0.40.
- Format 336 x 280 (Large Rectangle) – This format accounts for 1.92% of impressions. It is a slightly larger 300 x 250 format version and works well in high-impression campaigns. The cost is $0.28.
What are the most popular HTML5-rich media formats in 2025?
HTML5 has revolutionized the way we design and deliver interactive advertising experiences. As the latest standard of HyperText Markup Language, HTML5 provides unparalleled flexibility and compatibility across devices, making it the go-to choice for creating engaging, rich media ads. Unlike traditional static formats, HTML5 allows for dynamic, responsive, and interactive content that captures user attention in increasingly competitive digital environments.
Among the most popular HTML5 formats are Parallax, Panorama, and Cue card. Each format brings unique features and storytelling opportunities, enabling advertisers to craft stand-out immersive campaigns. Whether leveraging depth effects with Parallax, providing a carousel experience with Panorama, or delivering interactive content with Cuecard, HTML5 empowers brands to create ads that look stunning and drive higher engagement and performance.
In this section, we will explore why these formats have gained popularity and how they can enhance programmatic campaigns, ensuring better user experience and measurable results.
Parallax
Parallax ads are interactive formats that create a sense of depth by layering images and moving them at different speeds as users scroll. This creates an engaging, dynamic experience that attracts attention and encourages interaction.
Panorama
Panorama ads are wide-format ads that allow users to scroll horizontally through a graphic, featuring three cards that can each contain different text or images. This format is great for storytelling or showcasing multiple product features in a visually engaging way.
Cue card
Cue card ads are interactive cards that successively deliver information, similar to flipping through a series of cards. They are often used to tell a story or guide users through a step-by-step process, making the ad experience informative and engaging.
What are native display formats, and when should you use them?
Native display ads are designed to blend seamlessly into the surrounding content, providing a non-intrusive user experience. Unlike traditional display ads, which can sometimes feel disruptive, native ads match the look, feel, and function of the media format in which they appear. This makes them highly effective for engaging users without interrupting their browsing experience.
Native ads are especially valuable for content-heavy environments, such as news websites or blogs, where they align naturally with editorial content. They can be used to increase brand awareness, drive traffic, or generate leads, making them a versatile option for various marketing goals.
We distinguish between two formats: Native Display Rectangle (1200x627px) and Native Display Square (1200x1200px).
Native Display Rectangle
The Native Display Rectangle format is ideal for horizontal images, offering a clean and engaging visual experience. With image dimensions of 1200×627 px, this format seamlessly integrates into content, maintaining a natural and unobtrusive appearance. It’s perfect for capturing attention while blending into the user’s browsing environment.
Native Display Square
The Native Display Square format focuses on versatility with its square layout. This format works well across various placements and platforms, ensuring balanced and visually appealing ad creatives. Its square shape accommodates diverse visuals and messaging, making it a flexible solution for digital campaigns.
How to choose the right ad format for your campaign?
Selecting the right ad format is a key element in ensuring the success of any digital advertising campaign. Your chosen format should align with your campaign objectives, engage your target audience effectively, and deliver measurable results. At MTA Digital, we take this process a step further by focusing on formats that maximize impact, visibility, and performance.
When planning creative strategies, we recommend ad formats that guarantee the highest possible impact among your audience. We prioritize solutions that are highly noticeable and designed to drive strong engagement and high click-through rates (CTR). Our expertise ensures that each format is optimized to capture user attention and achieve your KPIs.
It’s also important to consider the design’s size and where it will be shown. A common mistake is making designs that don’t fit the platform, making them hard to see or read. For example, putting too much text on a small banner or forcing a big logo onto a tiny space can make the ad look messy and ineffective. To make your ads work better, keep them simple, clear, and suited to the platform.
Moreover, thanks to our collaboration with Equativ and their advanced ad tech solutions, we have access to comprehensive data on the most popular formats across specific markets. This includes insights into average CPM rates, CTR benchmarks, and other critical performance statistics. By leveraging this data, we can make informed decisions to select formats that align with current market trends and deliver maximum value for your campaign.
Whether it’s dynamic HTML5-rich media, eye-catching native ads, or high-performing display formats, we tailor our recommendations to help your campaigns stand out and achieve measurable success.
Looking to make your ads more impactful and results-driven? Let’s talk! At MTA Digital, we combine strategy, technology, and creativity to deliver campaigns that truly resonate. Partner with us and ensure your message reaches the right audience in the most effective way.
Summary
In this article, we explored the most popular display formats for Programmatic advertising, covering both standard and rich media options. The choice of ad format plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of campaigns, as it directly impacts visibility, user engagement, and overall cost efficiency.
We discussed various banner formats, such as Mobile Leaderboard (320×50), Medium Rectangle (300×250), and Leaderboard (728×90), among others, highlighting their popularity, costs, and best use cases. We also looked at HTML5 Rich Media formats like Parallax, Panorama, and Cue card, each offering unique interactive experiences to capture user attention.
Native Display formats were also covered, emphasizing their seamless integration into content-heavy environments, making them less intrusive and highly engaging for users.
When planning a Programmatic campaign, it’s important to select ad formats that align with campaign goals, target audiences, and the devices used by those audiences. Leveraging a mix of standard and rich media formats can lead to better engagement and campaign performance.
Display ad formats are a key element of any Programmatic campaign. Choosing the right sizes can make a difference in campaign effectiveness, so it is worth carefully considering emission strategies and tailoring formats to the preferences of the audience and the devices on which the ads will appear.
At MTA Digital, we understand the importance of effective Display ad formats in running successful Programmatic campaigns. Our expertise in selecting the right formats, creating compelling creatives, and optimizing campaign performance makes us a valuable partner for your advertising needs. We take pride in being an agency prioritizing quality and effectiveness in every campaign we manage, ensuring our clients receive the best possible results.
