How to Buy a DV360 Advertiser Seat or Sub-Account Access

Getting DV360 Access: What "Buying a Seat" Actually Means

Display & Video 360 (DV360) is Google's enterprise demand-side platform — the buying engine for display, video, YouTube, connected TV, audio and digital out-of-home across the open web and Google's inventory. Unlike Google Ads, you can't simply sign up with a credit card and start spending. Access to DV360 is provisioned through a partner or directly from Google, and understanding the difference matters before you commit.

When marketers say they want to "buy a DV360 seat" or get "sub-account access," they usually mean one of a few distinct things:

• A full partner (CM360/DV360) account of their own
• An advertiser seat inside a partner's existing structure
• A sub-account nested under a managing partner or agency
• A self-serve arrangement where they operate the platform independently

Each route changes who controls billing, who signs the Google contract, how much platform fee you pay, and how much hands-on support you receive. This guide breaks down the options so you can choose with confidence.

The DV360 Account Hierarchy, Briefly

DV360 organises everything in a nested structure. Knowing the hierarchy makes the purchasing options far clearer.

Level	What it is	Who typically holds it
Partner	Top-level entity tied to the Google contract and billing	Google partner, agency, or large direct advertiser
Advertiser	A brand or client within a partner	Individual company or division
Campaign	A set of insertion orders and line items	Media team
Insertion Order / Line Item	The actual buying units	Traders

When you "buy a seat," you are really being granted access at the advertiser level — either inside someone else's partner (a sub-account arrangement) or inside your own partner entity.

Your Three Main Routes to DV360

1. Advertiser Seat Under a Partner (Sub-Account Access)

This is the fastest and most common way for mid-market and growing teams to get into DV360. A certified partner provisions an advertiser seat for you within their partner account. You get a login, access to inventory, audiences, and reporting — without signing a direct Google contract or committing to minimum spend thresholds that direct access can require.

Best for: teams that want to start quickly, keep setup light, and lean on a partner for billing and compliance.

• Faster onboarding — often days, not weeks
• No direct Google contract to negotiate
• Partner handles invoicing, credit and platform administration
• You can run self-serve, co-managed, or fully managed within this model

If this sounds right, our DV360 self-serve account and co-managed services are both built on this foundation.

2. Your Own DV360 Partner Account

For larger advertisers and agencies that want maximum control, a dedicated partner account places you at the top of your own hierarchy. You hold the relationship, manage multiple advertisers beneath you, and control user permissions across the organisation.

Best for: high-spend advertisers, holding companies, and agencies managing many brands.

• Full ownership of structure, billing and data
• Ability to create and manage your own sub-advertisers
• Direct control over partner-level settings like inventory sources and brand safety defaults
• Usually paired with a contract and spend commitments

Setting up a partner account correctly — permissions, floodlights, inventory, and brand controls — benefits from experienced hands. See our DV360 partner account service for how we provision and configure this.

3. Fully Managed Access

Some teams don't want to operate the platform at all — they want the outcomes. In a managed model, the partner provisions the seat, runs the trading, optimisation and reporting, and you review performance against agreed goals. You still get transparency into the account, but the day-to-day buying is handled for you.

Best for: teams without in-house programmatic specialists, or those scaling faster than they can hire.

Learn more on our DV360 managed services page.

Self-Serve vs Managed vs Co-Managed

Access type and operating model are two separate decisions. You can have a sub-account seat and still choose how much you operate it yourself.

Model	You control	Partner controls	Ideal when
Self-serve	Trading, optimisation, reporting	Provisioning, billing, support	You have an in-house trading team
Co-managed	Strategy and oversight	Execution support and QA	You want to upskill while scaling
Managed	Goals and budgets	End-to-end execution	You want outcomes, not operations

The right choice depends on your team's programmatic maturity, how much time you can dedicate to the platform, and whether you need to build internal capability over time.

What to Check Before You Buy

Before committing to any seat or sub-account, work through this checklist:

• Billing and payment terms — Who invoices you, and on what cycle? Is the platform fee transparent and separated from media cost?
• Data ownership — Confirm that your campaign data, audiences and floodlight tags remain yours and are portable if you leave.
• Access and permissions — Will you get genuine platform access and visibility, or only reports? Insist on seeing the UI.
• Portability — Can your advertiser be migrated to another partner or to your own partner account later without losing history?
• Support model — Who do you contact for troubleshooting, and what are the response expectations?
• Brand safety and inventory controls — Check default settings for exclusions, verification and inventory sources.

A reputable partner will answer all of these openly. Vagueness around data ownership or fees is a red flag.

How Billing Typically Works

DV360 costs break into two parts: the media you buy and the platform fee charged on that spend. In a partner or sub-account arrangement, the partner is usually billed by Google and then invoices you. The structure of that fee — and whether it's fully transparent — varies between providers, which is why reviewing terms upfront matters.

We keep fee structures clear and documented; you can review the approach on our pricing page or request a tailored breakdown.

Choosing the Right Route

Use these guiding questions:

• Do you need to launch quickly? A sub-account seat under a partner is the fastest path.
• Do you manage many brands or very high spend? A dedicated partner account gives you ownership and scale.
• Do you have trading expertise in-house? If yes, self-serve or co-managed fits. If not, managed services remove the operational burden.
• Is building internal capability a goal? Co-managed lets your team learn while a partner backstops execution.

There's no single correct answer — the best setup aligns access, billing and operating model with your team's resources and ambitions. If you're unsure, a short consultation can map your requirements to the right structure. Explore all options on our services overview or read more on the blog.

Get the Right DV360 Setup from Day One

Buying a DV360 seat is less about the transaction and more about the structure behind it — billing clarity, data ownership, access, and the operating model that fits your team. Getting it right from the start saves costly migrations later. Talk to our team about the fastest, cleanest route to DV360 access: speak to a DV360 expert or request a quote and we'll recommend the setup that matches your goals.