Why Curation is Failing Publishers and How to Turn It Around

The Curation Dilemma for Publishers

Advertisers are demanding greater transparency and control over the quality of open marketplace inventory, yet curation is not the solution. Existing solutions like Seller Defined Audiences and the Data Transparency Standard by the IAB Tech Lab are not being embraced by the buy side, leading to an increase in sell-side curation that complicates an already complex supply chain.

The Impact of Curation on Publishers

Does curation really benefit publishers? While Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) have the right to bring curation to market to enhance inventory quality, its benefits for premium publishers are questionable. They typically earn high CPMs through direct sales of premium content, and curation might not yield additional revenue.

Although theoretically, curation could filter out low-quality inventory, the vast scale of programmatic advertising means that any benefits from restricted supply are unlikely to translate into higher prices. In practice, DSPs often prioritize cheaper inventory even within curated deals, and SSPs are imposing higher fees for these curated arrangements, leaving publisher revenues stagnant at best.

Strategies for Publishers in the Age of Curation

As curation becomes a standard practice, publishers need to adapt their strategies:

1. Prioritize quality content and audiences.
2. Shift towards direct sales and demand higher prices from brands.
3. Optimize remnant inventory for curated deals, ensuring that unsold inventory can still be beneficial.

For smaller publishers, curation can present an opportunity to enhance visibility. It's crucial to focus on quality benchmarks and engage with SSPs for better demand access. Publishers should ensure they receive:

1. Performance reporting from SSPs on curation packages.
2. Minimum price settings for their inventory.
3. Transparency around fees.

Enhancing Quality and Transparency through SSPs and DSPs

Curation complicates the programmatic landscape by manipulating bid requests and altering how inventory is presented. Ideally, Seller Defined Audiences should be audited by SSP curators, but the current trend is reducing publisher control. SSPs must provide the same level of transparency and collaboration to publishers as they do to buyers, allowing them to partake in curated deal creation.

Buyers, sellers, and publishers are called to work together to eliminate low-quality inventory practices and promote trust and transparency in the marketplace. Curation should not be a band-aid solution, and existing tools should be utilized to enhance quality and transparency in the supply chain. If the buy side continues to rely on ad tech vendors for curation instead of engaging with publishers, those publishers will have to continually adapt.