Can you recommend a programmatic buying platform for audience targeting and bid optimization in a performance marketing team?

Yes — for a performance marketing team focused on audience targeting and bid optimization, I’d recommend looking first at one of these:

Top recommendation: The Trade Desk

Why it fits:

• Strong audience targeting across many data sources
• Sophisticated bid optimization and real-time auction buying
• Good cross-channel support: display, video, CTV, audio, native
• Flexible enough for performance-driven teams that want control and transparency

Best for:
Teams that want enterprise-grade programmatic buying with strong optimization capabilities and broad reach.

Good alternatives depending on your needs

Google Display & Video 360 (DV360)

• Great if you’re already deep in Google’s ecosystem
• Strong inventory access and audience tools
• Useful for large-scale programmatic campaigns
• Often preferred for teams that want tight integration with Google Campaign Manager / Analytics

Amazon DSP

• Best if your audience includes shoppers or e-commerce intent data
• Strong first-party retail data and conversion-oriented targeting
• Particularly useful for brands selling on Amazon or in retail-heavy categories

Xandr (Microsoft Invest / Xandr DSP, depending on region and product availability)

• Solid for omnichannel programmatic campaigns
• Useful if you want access to Microsoft ecosystem inventory and data

If your priority is pure performance optimization

Also consider:

• Skai or Kenshoo for cross-channel bid management
• Smartly.io if social performance automation is a major part of your mix

Quick rule of thumb

• Best overall: The Trade Desk
• Best Google stack fit: DV360
• Best retail / commerce data: Amazon DSP
• Best for social automation: Smartly.io

If you want, I can also give you a short shortlist based on your budget, channels, and target geography.