In their candid mid-summer check-in, Rob sat down with Chris Kane, founder of Jounce Media, to dissect the current state of the adtech ecosystem. From shifting DSP and SSP roles to the murky future of curation and identity, these two dive deep into how publishers, platforms, and advertisers are grappling with control, ROI, and transparency across the supply chain.
Key highlights? Let’s see…
The buy-side vs. sell-side power struggle is real. The traditional DSP-led dominance is eroding, with SSPs and publishers asserting more influence over how and where budgets are spent. Publisher-direct DSP integrations are growing, bypassing classic SSPs and changing who holds strategic power.
Curation is a promise and a peril in equal measure. Publishers benefit from visibility but risk commodification and margin loss. Fee-extractive curation exists but is the exception; most curated deals maintain similar economics to traditional models. Opting out of curation may protect margins, but it often means being excluded from budgets entirely. Ultimately, the industry still lacks tools for nuanced control - publishers need better levers to manage how their inventory is packaged.
SSPs are becoming decisioning engines. SSPs are evolving from transactional layers to strategic decision-makers, further blurring the line between DSP and SSP roles. The sell side is increasingly taking on responsibilities once owned by the buy side.
We’re struggling to align. Despite attempts to put best practices in place, reseller reduction, identity strategies, and signal fidelity remain inconsistent due to short-term revenue pressures. The ecosystem rewards those who break ranks, leading to a race-to-the-bottom dynamic in many cases.
Transparency and trust is on the up. That said, publishers often struggle to define exactly what they want. Strong, strategic SSP relationships can help, but only if publishers invest in understanding the business models at play.
We need to drive higher ROI across the open web. It’s lagging far behind the walled gardens. And without clear, data-backed outcomes, buyers will continue to lean toward platforms with proven incrementality.
So what does the future hold?
- SSPs such as Index are positioning themselves as “dumb pipes” welcoming open curation, while other SSPs remain guarded, protecting buyer relationships. The level of openness SSPs adopt could determine how the supply chain reconfigures over the next few years.
- Publishers are torn between being raw material in a supply chain and maintaining brand-driven buyer relationships. There's a call for re-emphasizing direct sales innovation and building audience trust as a differentiator in an AI-driven, privacy-constrained future.
Chris and Rob agree: there’s no time to wait. Publishers must take action to prove their value and evolve programmatic relationships to be more strategic, not just transactional.