SPO

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.

Broadcasters and brands love the idea of applying digital targeting to CTV ad campaigns. But there are still roadblocks stopping CTV advertisers from fully embracing programmatic, including price and transparency (or the lack thereof).

With last year’s lingering slide in ad spend, PubMatic sees itself playing the long game by innovating in CTV and retail media, leaning into the SPO trend and adopting cookieless tech.

Why are publishers accepting this reality – in which The Trade Desk is now bidding below floors and, in many cases, bypassing the sell-side vendor ecosystem altogether with OpenPath – without batting an eyelash?

Yahoo Backstage, a sorta SSP, is emblematic of a­n SPO trend that hops over either DSPs or SSPs. Plus: a primer on the ecommerce ad metrics and tools changing how marketers buy digitally, from ACOS to TROAS to cost capping.

While Backstage does cut out SSPs for the most part, it also resurrects some aspects of Yahoo’s own SSP tech.

Programmatic platforms are still unclear whether supply-path optimization is a way to compete or cooperate with each other.