SPO

PubMatic has its supply-path optimization initiative, its strategy to introduce direct deals for CTV and online video, to thank for its quarterly revenue growth.

The IAB projects digital video ad spend will rise to $63 billion in 2024, representing a 16% increase from last year. Of the three video ad categories the report breaks out (social and online video and CTV), the clear winner is social video.

TV inventory shrinks as supply paths proliferate. To help organize the chaos, video ad server Innovid launched a new SPO product called Harmony Direct to give media buyers the shortest path possible to CTV ad supply.

Third-party cookie deprecation creates an opportunity for publishers to increase inventory value, efficiency and partnerships in the open exchange. Here are some efficiency initiatives that should make your inventory more valuable to advertisers.

Advertisers are turning the spigot back on. And PubMatic’s investments are paying off. The SSP reported 14% year over year revenue growth in Q4, powered by 9% growth in display.

On Thursday, TEGNA-owned CTV ad platform Premion announced the acquisition of Octillion Media, a DSP launched in 2019 to serve local CTV ad buyers. Premion declined to disclose the terms of the deal.

Since advertisers now treat connected TV more like a digital performance channel, expect programmatic CTV demand to keep ramping up – including in the open exchange.

2023 saw SPO become further cemented in the strategies of DSPs and SSPs for capturing market share. But the long-term trend might see SPO become the default for programmatic advertisers.

In 2023, supply-path optimization took off, brands took their scalpels to made-for-advertising websites and DSPs and SSPs launched SPO products to cut down on hops. Plus: lessons from the year in data privacy.

Three themes dominated our coverage this year: consolidation, transparency and measurement.