On a recent post about curation, the most-liked comment argued that curation is an “ad network by another name.” But ad networks just connect buyers with a limited subset of supply. The idea of curation is that you’re developing a custom audience based on data modelling and then activating that audience against the supply where you can reach it most efficiently. Curation houses like Azerion and Audigent create the custom audience. SSPs like Pubmatic, Index, and Xandr activate it against inventory. Curation is not just a fancy name for an ad network. It’s a newer approach that provides more value than simply slicing up inventory.
Lynne d Johnson
6mo
Thanks for that clarification I know a lot of people are really confused by this. Even I thought it was just another name for ad network until Scott Messer really broke it down for us at AdMonsters.
Neil Sweeney
6mo
There is a larger debate about whether 'custom audiences' are actually being created here or just applied (different conversation). Is there unique data in the curation houses or is data being repackaged from others? There is zero value in 'curation' in its linear definition. The value of curation is like an hourglass - value at the top based on the UNIQUE data powering the deal, little to no value in the middle on the 'deal' and its allocation of supply and value at the back end with the ability to optimize. Too often, everyone is focusing on the actual deal, which is the skinny part of the hourglass. This is where the narrative of 'ad networks' originates from (and that definition is not wrong) but misses where curation, when done properly, does add value. my 2cents..
Digital Media, Data & Adtech Consultant
5moDepends on how you define curation. It can be positioned as custom premium ATL/ATF placements, audiences, formats or all of the above. The leading outstream ad networks vendors will say they offer all three - so have they been curating all along? On a more basic level, is curation not part of day to day optimisation under the remit of a media buyer/campaign manager? I think the cynicism/resistance to curation comes from lack of clarity on what levers are being pulled to find and unlock value in the supply chain. @curate have the most compelling AI and human adops combined approach I've seen so far.