OTTO Advertising: OTTO's retail media network, formats and in-house DSP

OTTO built its own demand-side platform (DSP) instead of licensing one. The OTTO DSP launched on 13 October 2025 and runs on an in-house programmatic stack. Volker Richter, head of programmatic advertising, said this brings cost efficiency and transparency on both the buy and sell sides (company claim, PPC Land, 27 March 2026). PPC Land noted that most European retailers expanding retail media have used vendor partnerships. MediaMarktSaturn, for example, launched offsite media in September 2025 through Unlimitail on Epsilon technology. OTTO took on the engineering instead, so it controls fees and data flows itself.

The DSP is aimed at agencies and at brands that do not sell on otto.de. Self-service targets media agencies, starting with upper and mid-funnel inventory; managed service already runs full-funnel campaigns for non-endemic clients. Inventory covers display on German premium publishers and digital out-of-home steles in public spaces. The Mediaplus Group was the first agency live, testing it for a tourism client in autumn 2025 (PPC Land, 27 March 2026). A travel brand buying shoppers by their retail purchases shows the non-endemic use OTTO wants.

The marketplace is the other engine. About 6,200 marketplace partners sell on otto.de, and OTTO said in 2024 that its ad revenue with these partners had doubled (retail-news.de, 9 April 2024). On 13 August 2025 it added keyword targeting, so sellers can bid on chosen search terms instead of relying only on automatic matching. In beta, campaigns with keyword targeting reported 120% higher return on ad spend and 50% higher click-through than automated ones (company claims).

Timeline

Onsite. Sponsored products (OTTO calls them Sponsored Product Ads) appear in search results on otto.de and in the app. Sponsored Display Ads place products and brands in relevant environments on OTTO. Live Shopping streams brand presentations that viewers can buy from in real time.

Offsite. Sponsored Display Ads can also run on external websites. The OTTO DSP buys display on German premium publishers. The offsite retail media explainer covers how retail data travels to such inventory.

Out of home. The DSP includes digital out-of-home (DOOH) steles in public spaces, an unusual surface for a retailer's own platform.

Targeting draws on 31 million active Otto Group accounts, covering purchase behaviour, brand preferences and browsing patterns (company claim, PPC Land, 27 March 2026). Because the accounts span the Otto Group, the data is broader than otto.de alone. OTTO says the DSP works without third-party data providers.

For marketplace sellers, Partner Connect lets them book search terms. An automated keyword report shows which terms already bring traffic to a product. Brands receive targeting and reports, not customer records.

Sellers see return on ad spend, click-through and keyword-level data, and set cost-per-click bids per keyword. In 2024 OTTO said it planned a web-based tool for deeper campaign analysis (retail-news.de, 9 April 2024). We found no independent audit, Media Rating Council accreditation or IAB Europe certification for OTTO Advertising. Ask for the attribution window and whether offsite DSP campaigns are matched to otto.de sales.

1. Marketplace partners: open Partner Connect and start Sponsored Product Ads on your listings.
2. Add keyword targeting for strategic terms, and use the keyword report to refine bids.
3. Brands and agencies: contact OTTO Advertising for Sponsored Display Ads, Live Shopping or managed campaigns.
4. Agencies buying offsite: request access to the OTTO DSP self-service for upper and mid-funnel campaigns.
5. Agree measurement before launch, including how offsite exposure is linked to purchases.

It suits:

• brands and marketplace sellers on otto.de;
• German agencies that want retail data in a programmatic buy;
• non-endemic brands, such as travel, that want Otto Group audiences.

It suits less:

• advertisers outside Germany, since the inventory is German;
• buyers who want lower-funnel self-service in the DSP today;
• teams that need audited measurement.

• The launch date of OTTO Advertising and the dates of its renames.
• Retail media revenue in euros; OTTO publishes growth rates only.
• Minimum spend, fees and DSP pricing.
• Whether the 2024 web-based analysis tool has launched.
• Otto Group's legal entity for OTTO Advertising, from a primary source.

1. OTTO, "Retail Media Jobs bei OTTO | OTTO Advertising Services" (company page, accessed 9 November 2026). https://www.otto.de/jobs/de/einstieg/fachbereiche/retail-media/
2. PPC Land, "OTTO Advertising posts 49% retail media growth after DSP and keyword targeting push" (27 March 2026). https://ppc.land/otto-advertising-posts-49-retail-media-growth-after-dsp-and-keyword-targeting-push/
3. retail-news.de, "Otto Advertising: Wie Retail Media das Umsatzwachstum ankurbelt" (9 April 2024). https://retail-news.de/otto-advertising-wie-retail-media-das-umsatzwachstum-ankurbelt/
4. OnlineMarketing.de, "Retail Media: Criteo und Otto Group Media schließen strategische Partnerschaft" (5 July 2018). https://onlinemarketing.de/unternehmensnews/retail-media-criteo-und-otto-group-media-schliessen-strategische-partnerschaft