Supporting Strong Data Quality with the Certified Partner Program

When it comes to data quality, the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” is possibly digital advertising’s favorite saying. The reason is obvious: In the era of third-party signal loss, advertisers need quality data partners to ensure their ad campaigns are reaching target audiences. If not, it’s wasted ad investment. 

To help streamline the process of discovering and leveraging quality data partners, Viant recently launched the Certified Partner Program. 

To discuss the program, its partners and usefulness for our agency and advertiser clients, we recently sat down with SVP of Business Development, Tom Wolfe. 

Q: Tom, let’s dive right in: Can you give us a high-level overview of the Certified Partner Program?

You bet I can, Dan. Our advertising clients care about performance, data fidelity and transparency. The Viant Certified Partner Program (CPP) is designed to elevate these quality indicators to ease smart decision-making by our traders. By deepening our relationships with industry-leading data partners, the program scales Viant’s identity-matched data, enriches Viant Household ID™ profiles and shows the value of advertising spend across all channels, particularly Connected TV. 

Q: Can you discuss the genesis behind creating the program?

As the digital ecosystem evolves, our clients are making it clear they seek greater certainty and confidence in their results. With the crowded marketplace, our obligations include exposing as many partners to buyers as possible. But thinking about curation based on quality — much like we do with streaming TV and Audio inventory in our Direct Access program — some buyers don’t want to look through 200 haystacks to find one needle — especially if it proves to be the wrong needle! We realized data and measurement partners should be held to the same or higher standards as inventory providers are, and began thinking more intently about providers’ user onboarding, data path optimization and matching and projection methodologies. The subsequent evaluations led to the first set of Certified Partners. With the planning tool within ViantAI, Direct Access and now, our Certified Partners, we use the combination of technology and human acumen to find the right user, in the right channel, at the right time in the consumer journey.

Q: Can you share some of the partners in the first phase of the program, and also share why and how they can be impactful for Viant agencies and advertisers?

The inaugural partners include Adstra, Circana, Experian, TransUnion and Wiland. Agencies and advertisers who use these partners in Viant’s identity graph, DSP and Advanced Reporting platforms can see enhanced results, particularly when they include Viant’s Direct Access publishing set in the mix. For example, as shown in Viant’s Customer Optimization Advanced Report, which leverages Circana data, in the first half of 2024, clients who integrated CTV into their campaigns were able to drive and measure a conversion rate of 12.89%, outperforming non-CTV campaigns, which averaged 2.5%. Similarly, Circana data showed the AMP agency how it could double ROAS by adding CTV to its plan for a national restaurant chain selling branded products, from $5.89 without CTV to $10.44 with CTV. These kinds of insights demonstrate the combined might of Direct Access and the Certified Partner Program as drivers of activity throughout the consumer journey, allowing agencies and advertisers to optimize performance on all channels.

Q: What kind of standards does Viant require of its Certified Identity Partners?

The programmatic ad industry is maturing, starting to put quality ahead of quantity. As such, our standards for the program are high, and we want to launch with the best of the best. We believe a long list of “quality” partners does not really indicate “quality.”

All of our Certified Partners are directly integrated with the privacy-friendly Viant Household ID™ solution. The data must have high fidelity; where possible, we should match on multiple signals within a single profile — and the match rate must be meaningful, to reinforce our confidence in the partner. The partners must have comparatively strong user onboarding, data paths and methodologies. The data must generate trustworthy, high-quality outcomes for clients (as evidenced by the statistics in the previous question, for example). Finally, the partners must adhere to privacy regulations, including enhanced security and risk mitigation.

Q. How do you see the program developing in 2025 and beyond?

The CPP is a groundbreaking, quality-focused program which we believe will inspire other providers in the ecosystem. We expect to evaluate prospective members across pure-play measurement, technology, and key verticals, such as Pharmaceutical, Travel & Tourism, Retail and CPG for consideration in H2 2025.