Finding the Optimal Path to Efficient Programmatic Advertising 

The rapidly evolving programmatic advertising ecosystem is making great strides in AI, machine learning, first-party data and cookie deprecation. Yet, that march of progress is impeded by one thing in particular: Programmatic advertising becomes harder when resellers complicate the path from media buying to campaign execution. That non-value-added approach makes almost all ad buys, but particularly CTV buys, opaque, environmentally inefficient and costly.

In the bigger picture, ad buyers need more transparency into available CTV inventory to achieve their programmatic objectives. Ad buyers are left wondering if it is difficult to simplify the path from media buying to campaign execution. Can the still-evolving technique of Supply Path Optimization (SPO) do the trick?

The “why” of SPO is pretty well understood: Knowing the origin of ad inventory not only negates bid duplication but also provides valuable insight into the efficiency of your supply chain. Buyers prefer the most direct path when they want the most cost- and energy-efficient way to purchase ads. To that end, buying ads through direct connections can also prevent problems such as hidden fees, ad fraud or bidding against yourself on multiple platforms.

According to various media estimates, between 53% and 87% of media buyers practice SPO. But not everyone is on board. Some large advertisers worry that it could limit their access to premium inventory or that their ad tech data partners may need to support a new path. 

What’s less well understood is how SPO is evolving and, for those yet to fully embrace it, what the pursuit entails and which solutions will work best for your organization. 

Exploring SPO

In this era of heightened carbon footprint awareness, SPO’s progress in energy efficiency deserves additional attention. For organizations that measure their carbon emission or suitability goals, SPO can help advance their net zero objectives, noted Performance Marketing World, citing a study in which advertisers estimated an 11% carbon reduction from SPO. Nearly three in four (73%) ad buyers agreed that sustainability is an essential factor in determining their future SPO partners.

These considerations factor into a thoughtful search for a suitable SPO solution. Here, in a nutshell, are three Viant options for meeting your SPO business objectives.

Direct Access — Viant’s supply path optimization program can solve transparency hurdles by bringing buyers and sellers closer through direct inventory and first-party data integration. The result is more responsible and sustainable planning, buying and measurement across today’s media landscape. Direct Access enables ad buyers to connect directly with more than 16 CTV publishers and two streaming audio, cutting out the middleman for more competitive rates. The Viant program encompasses over 75% of the addressable US CTV market.

Data Match — an extension of Direct Access, provides walled-garden addressability and transparency into how CTV, Streaming Audio and other upper-funnel — and cookieless — ad channels drive audiences down the funnel, power purchase behavior and re-enforce loyalty. Utilizing this program, advertisers with first-party data can use the Viant DSP to match directly with publishers’ audiences, improving targeting and performance. Clean rooms powered by Snowflake, GBQ and others, directly integrated with the DSP, allow data matching according to privacy standards. 

IRIS.TV — the newest part of Viant, is a data platform built for video. It provides data that enhances our ViantAI media planning and optimization tool. IRIS.TV offers the only way to verify ad placement at the video-level. This level of granular data enables ad buyers to understand their ROI better and execute repeatable, high-performance strategies such as driving store visits and boosting sales. 

Better performance

Ad buyers would eschew the programmatic advertising ecosystem if it grew bloated and inefficient. Lakeer Kukadia, the founder of Radon Media, contends that only 51% of the $526 billion global digital ad spend “ends up with publishers.” Cutting out the middlemen reduces advertising ecosystem complexity and, Kukadia argues, “can reduce ad tech supply chain costs and improve access to better quality supply, ultimately leading to better user acquisition (UA) performance.”

That’s yet another reason ad buyers tap SPO — greater transparency leads to more informed business decisions. SPO is likely at the start of its growth cycle, with AI-driven supply path analysis likely to become ever more insightful in 2025 and beyond. The more data that emerges, the easier it becomes for ad buyers to evaluate supply-side partners, identify premium inventory and cut latency. 

Reach out to your account representative to hear more about Viant’s SPO solutions, or get in touch with us here.