A centralized programmatic buying unit inside an agency or holding company, operating DSP seats on behalf of client teams. Trading desks were the original agency programmatic model and drew the transparency criticism of the mid-2010s; most have since been folded back into media agencies.
Cite this entry:
Agency Echelon. "Trading Desk." Agency Echelon Reference, reviewed September 2026. https://agencyechelon.com/reference/glossary/trading-desk/