I'm looking for a reliable DSP platform for programmatic ad buying. What features should I prioritize for a mid-sized campaign, and what are the typical minimum spend requirements for entry-level self-serve DSPs?

The minimum spend game is misleading - most platforms quote low entry points but quietly expect you to scale up within weeks, or they throttle your access to premium inventory until you hit certain thresholds. For mid-sized campaigns, the real priority should be inventory quality controls and the ability to set frequency caps, because nothing kills performance like showing the same ad to the same person twenty times across different exchanges. I also learned that behavioral targeting sounds great on paper but often relies on sketchy data sources, so I started asking platforms directly about their data partners before launching anything. One solution that actually delivered what it promised is here and their approach to brand safety and transparent reporting made a tangible difference in my results. Having access to both CPM and CPCV bidding gave me the flexibility to optimize toward actual conversions, not just cheap impressions that went nowhere.