Data Curation Is the Future of Programmatic Ad Buying

While traditional SSPs served as conduits connecting buyers and publishers, differentiated platforms like OpenX are pioneering advanced sell-side technology that is radically transforming the programmatic landscape. These differentiated SSPs harness sophisticated data and identity tools to create targeted audience segments, driving unparalleled value and optimization for buyers. 

One of OpenX’s most important contributions to programmatic is its 2018 creation of the largest independent sell-side graph, which powers our data-driven curation offering today. Built from our own proprietary tech, our people-based graph reflects the future of programmatic. 

Read on to discover how curation is changing the programmatic landscape and how OpenX helps deliver buyer outcomes.

The benefits of inventory curation

Years ago, an SSP would auction all available publisher inventory to brands. As the technology became more advanced and buyer needs became more specific, inventory curation (or site-list activation) emerged to drive greater efficiency. This practice involves selecting and activating specific websites, subdomains, and CTV apps where campaigns will run.

Through inventory curation, a brand can request a specific subset of ad inventory that aligns with the needs of their campaign. In collaboration with SSP deal consultants, they use tools like sitelist activation (or content object targeting for CTV) to curate a selection of websites, apps, CTV platforms, and other digital properties that match the brand’s identity and campaign objectives. Once this tailored inventory is established, the brand then partners with a DSP to overlay third-party data segments, enabling precise targeting of their desired audience.

Inventory curation has proven popular with publishers looking to drive higher CPMs and better monetize their inventory, while advertisers enjoy clearer insights into where their ads are being placed. Since OpenX has direct relationships with premium publishers, actively reduces made for advertising (MFA) content from the supply chain, and optimizes its exchange to enable a more sustainable footprint, our inventory curation provides buyers with greater efficiency and transparency.

The benefits of data-driven curation

As the role of an SSP continues to evolve, data-driven curation has become a crucial path to achieving superior campaign performance for buyers. In short, data-driven curation allows brands to leverage precise and relevant data to reach their desired audiences more effectively.

Through data-driven curation, brands can access enriched datasets that include behavioral insights, demographic information, and purchase intent. This process (which we originally called supply-side targeting) involves working with an SSP like OpenX to leverage first-party data, second-party data, and trusted third-party data sources. By curating and combining these datasets, advertisers can create highly targeted audience segments that align with their campaign objectives.

One of the key advantages of data-driven curation is the ability to refine targeting and improve ad relevance. With curated data, brands can ensure their ads are reaching users who are most likely to engage and convert. This precision targeting reduces wasted impressions, maximizes ROAS, and lowers total energy consumption.

Data-driven curation supports decision-making and strategic planning for both buyers and sellers by:

• Providing advertisers with deeper insights into audience behavior and preferences, enabling them to optimize their messaging and creative strategies
• Improving addressability with less data leakage, higher match rates, and fewer hops by targeting at the source of the supply
• Offering publishers the opportunity to enhance their inventory value by providing advertisers with access to high-quality, curated bidstream data

The OpenX difference

The benefits of data-driven curation fulfill the programmatic ecosystem’s long-standing demand for improved targeting, while OpenX’s identity graph, which includes more than 250 data partners, provides a future-proofed offering that can reach audiences in any browser.

By integrating a brand’s first-party data or any pre-built audience segments, we’re able to seamlessly match audiences to our identity graph of more than 210 million unique people. Interoperability across data sources and identifiers can significantly increase addressability, which leads to greater scale in campaigns and results in better outcomes. And with the industry’s shift towards a privacy-first, consent-based marketplace, data curation becomes essential in balancing data privacy with ad inventory monetization. It’s a future-proof tool that can tip the scales toward success across campaigns.

Simply put, data-driven curation is driving programmatic to a higher level of efficiency. Tap into the power of the world’s largest supply-side identity graph and revolutionize your digital advertising strategy. Contact us now or browse our curated packages to get started.