sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9/sitemap.xsd BrandArena : Quality Buying, AI Brand Safety, Curation and DOOH Set to Shape Future of Programmatic Advertising

Thursday, 10 July 2025

Quality Buying, AI Brand Safety, Curation and DOOH Set to Shape Future of Programmatic Advertising


The four major trends that are set to redefine programmatic advertising over the next year are quality-focused buying, AI-powered brand safety, sell-side curation, and the continued rise of programmatic digital out-of-home (prDOOH), according to WARC's The Future of Programmatic 2025 report.

Drawing from both WARC’s proprietary analysis and third-party research, the report provides an in-depth look at the evolving programmatic advertising ecosystem. It includes actionable recommendations for marketers looking to future-proof their ad tech strategies.

Paul Stringer, Managing Editor, Research and Insights at WARC, comments:
“The past few years have been challenging for open web programmatic advertising due to issues over transparency, targeting and measurement. There is a growing sense that it must reinvent itself or risk losing even more ground.
“Fortunately, programmatic advertising is showing promising signs of progress as advertisers put more emphasis on quality inventory, embrace privacy-friendly approaches and cookie-less channels like CTV, retail media and DOOH, and adopt advanced AI tools that enhance brand safety measurement — signalling a potential renaissance for open web programmatic advertising.”

Programmatic Advertising Marketplace Overview: The Shift Towards Quality
As spending on the programmatic open internet stagnates, most growth continues to be captured by the major walled gardens. In response to ongoing signal loss, advertisers are increasingly turning to cookie-free strategies, with first-party data and contextual targeting leading the way.

Research by Comscore reveals that 48% of marketers expect to primarily rely on cookie-free targeting methods by the end of 2025.

After years of limited progress, brands are now demanding greater transparency and control. Emphasis on quality, brand-safe inventory is growing, and programmatic campaign efficiency has improved by 14% since 2023, according to the ANA’s Q1 2025 transparency benchmark.

Phil Acton, UK Country Manager, Adform, notes:
“Walled gardens have built their empires on scale, not transparency or quality. The open web’s strength lies in accountability and collaboration, delivering better results for advertisers, more revenue for publishers, and richer experiences for consumers.”

WARC forecasts that connected TV (CTV) and retail media will drive the fastest growth in ad spend through 2026, outperforming channels such as social media, online audio and search. The IAB also highlights digital out-of-home (DOOH) as a fast-growing segment.

Sell-Side Curation Becomes a Core Programmatic Strategy
Programmatic curation—where inventory is packaged based on audience, behavioural, and contextual criteria—is shifting from an emerging trend to a mainstream strategy. It is poised to become the dominant method of trading inventory across the open web.

According to a 2024 study by Exchangewire, 41% of European marketers see curated deals as a path to higher ROI. Data from Jounce Media shows curated multi-publisher deals now account for nearly 75% of all programmatic bid requests, while open auctions continue to decline.

Joe Root, CEO and Co-founder, Permutive, explains “Curation effectively harnesses first party data from publishers alongside all addressable audience signals. When advertisers operate this way, you see huge uplifts in reach, and more importantly, significant improvements in outcomes.”

However, curated deals bring challenges. Advertisers often lack visibility into ad placements and data sources, while publishers may be unaware of how their inventory is being bundled or sold.

AI-Powered Brand Safety Redefines Advertising Standards
Brand safety has become a top priority for advertisers, according to IAB Europe. Marketers are proactively investing in quality, brand-safe media environments, supported by more advanced tools.

New AI-driven brand safety solutions offer greater contextual and content precision than legacy tools such as keyword blocking, which frequently fail to protect brands and penalise reputable publishers.

These innovations are helping brands shift from reactive to proactive safety strategies—enhancing trust and transparency across the programmatic ecosystem.

Laura Quigley, Senior Vice President APAC Sales, Integral Ad Science, states “AI is revolutionising digital advertising by enhancing brand safety and performance. Innovative AI technologies can analyse vast datasets to identify harmful content and predict trends, allowing marketers to strategically place ads that align with their brand image and risk tolerance.”

Programmatic Digital Out-of-Home Advertising Continues to Accelerate
Programmatic digital out-of-home (prDOOH) is bridging the reach of traditional outdoor media with the precision of digital advertising. While total OOH spend has remained static for over a decade, DOOH investment is surging.

WARC Media reports a 15.0% increase in global DOOH spend in 2024, with a further 14.9% rise forecast for 2025—reaching $17.6 billion.

Currently, half of all DOOH campaigns are now transacted programmatically, offering advertisers dynamic targeting based on time, weather, location, footfall and more. Dynamic creative optimisation (DCO) is gaining traction, allowing for real-time creative updates and increased campaign relevance.

Helen Miall, Chief Marketing Officer, VIOOH, says “prDOOH’s lower barriers to entry and data-driven capabilities are enabling advertisers to increasingly use real-time messaging within dynamic creatives. This ensures highly contextual and relevant campaigns, confirming the 37% more attention that OOH delivers to digital ads within multi-channel campaigns.”

No comments:

Post a Comment