Don’t make me come back there (curation update)

OMG can we stop with the curation dialog? I guess not since I’m writing about it again.

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Don’t make me come back there (curation update)

I’m not 100% sure why, for some reason everyone totally freaked out about curation this week.

If you want to understand curation, re-read my article in the very first Marketecture newsletter, and you can go back to what you were doing. If you want the drama, keep reading.

Why did people freak out? Blame Prohaska

It’s always a challenge to the find the exact moment when the tide turns, the zeitgeist unravels, or the vibes become non-immaculate. I’m going to point to the end of the halo around curation as of last Thursday, when Friend-of-the-pod Matt Prohaska put out a press release saying that he is now curating a list of legitimate news-oriented publishers on Index Exchange. Here’s what the press release said:

I think this broke everyone’s brain. Because — obviously — you can curate your own include list in any DSP. Why use this fancy, and possibly suspect, method of “curation” to execute what should be table stakes for the programmatic buyer? Isn’t this just how we got into this mess in the first place, and how the mysterious “ad tech tax” got started? Isn’t it!?

Chill.

Let’s review the point of curation

First, a helpful chart from Lotame that Chris Harihar tweeted:

The chart is simple and easy to understand, but maybe the implications are a little more complex, so let’s unpack. And once again, you could just read my original newsletter and skip ahead.

Advantages of curation for data owners:

• Integrate data once, works across all DSPs via Deal-IDs.

• Better control over pricing of your data. Can offer rev share or CPM pricing.

• Better control over distribution of your data. Can offer PMPs for only certain buyers. Can only apply your data on certain kinds of inventory.

• More flexibility on types of data that can be offered. DSPs are optimized for the resale of user-denominated data lists, not as much for lists of sites or placements.

• Allows sale of data without resale of media.

Advantages of curation for publishers:

• Reduces pressure to allow resale of inventory by data owners.

• Onboard new partners without changing ads.txt.

• New revenue with transparency over reasons it is being bought.

• Control over relative pricing of inventory vs data.

• Fights back against DSP-led SPO.

Advantages of curation for buyers:

• More reach against desired data segments since it routes arounds DSP-led SPO.

• Easier to implement via Deal-IDs.

• New kinds of data available.

• Doesn’t take away from the ability to target and optimize like PG deals do.

• Reduces need to buy from resellers.

But isn’t this just an ad network?

Maybe. Sure. Who cares?

Calling something “just an ad network” is the ad tech version of calling a politician a socialist. Sure, sounds bad. But also I like Medicaid. (please don’t write to me about politics, this is just a random metaphor).

Ad networks are fundamentally good and have enabled digital advertising to thrive for over 20 years now. They are good because otherwise it would be very hard for smaller sites to monetize, and for smaller advertisers to reach their audiences. There has never been a point where spot-buying tools like DSPs have been able to fully surpass the power of the ad network, and with the loss of signal it seems increasingly likely they won’t.

Anyway, this has strayed a little off topic. The important question is why curation is “bad” because it allegedly has characteristics of ad networks that are also perceived as “bad.” The two consistent criticisms of ad networks are transparency, and margin, neither of which apply here.

• Transparency: Arguably buying a deal from a curator is far more transparent that the alternative of buying the inventory from a reseller. And while buying on the open exchange using a DSP might be preferable in this regard, it also might not be feasible.

• Margin: The way the curation systems I’ve seen are built, the publisher accepts a specific pricing strategy from the curator, and is fully aware of the mark-up being taken. This is radically more transparent that previous ad network models.

Can’t you do all of this in your DSP?

Maybe. Sure. Who cares?

Curation is certainly a threat to DSPs. In the same way programmatic guaranteed deals turn DSPs into dumb pipes, curated deals threaten the same. If the important data is already baked into the Deal-ID, there’s less (or nothing) for the DSP to do.

But there’s still a lot to do. A curated deal, from the likes of Prohaska, might reduce the need for an include list, but it doesn’t do anything for campaign performance. DSPs are complex tools and they add value in a lot of ways. Who knows, maybe they’ll get into curation themselves.

I’ll leave you with my deeply dry and sarcastic tweet, that nevertheless some people misunderstood, because that’s what my life is like:

Reading list

• IAS and DV in the DOJ’s sights (link)

• DV making a push for brands to invest in News… starts News Accelerator and hires Jack Marshall (link)

• Launch of PayPal ads (link)

• Taboola releases “Abby”, GenAI product (link)

• Bunch of Amazon product announcements at Unboxed (link); some cool AI stuff - AI creative tool and audio ad generator (link)

• Direct Digital Content, aka Colossus, releases disastrous earnings. Revenue down 38% YoY and just $1 million in cash at the end of the Q. This release was delayed by the loss of their auditor (link)

• OpenWeb CEO sues company, board over ouster (link)

• Sovrn goes SaaS (link)