Build Your Own Marketplace

Curation has gained a reputation in some circles as niche or situational. Something reserved for specialist campaigns or narrow use cases. And this is simply not true. 

Curation isn’t a format. And it isn’t a special request. At its core, curation is simply a more intentional way of trading media.

If a campaign has:

• Viewability or quality thresholds
• A defined category or context
• A preferred publisher list
• Brand or suitability requirements
   

Then curation is already happening. Just inefficiently and with a lot of smoke and mirrors.

The opportunity the curation brings, lies in packaging those decisions properly, optimising them across supply paths, and activating them cleanly within existing DSP workflows. 

When done well, curation becomes scalable infrastructure, not manual overhead.

What’s wrong with open marketplaces?

Nothing. Open marketplaces continue to play a role in the ecosystem. But relying on them exclusively has limitations.

Algorithmic bias towards ultra-low CPMs can prioritise price over outcomes. And while those CPMs may look efficient on paper, they often fail to deliver meaningful performance once attention, quality, and wastage are accounted for.

A more intentional approach - one that combines curated supply, transparent economics, and optimised routing -  allows buyers to trade cost efficiency for value efficiency. 

Not by spending more, but by wasting less. It should never be about harsh compromise. It should be about striking the perfect balance.

Build your own marketplaces

It’s no coincidence that large holding companies and agency groups are increasingly building their own SSP-led marketplaces.

The motivation is clear:

• Greater control over supply paths
• Clearer economics
• Reduced dependency on bloated tech stacks
   

But this Build your Own Marketplace (BYOM if you will) model shouldn’t be limited to the largest players in the industry.

The next evolution of programmatic is about democratising marketplace control, enabling agencies, brands, and partners to build marketplaces that reflect their own quality standards, commercial models, and strategic priorities.

A BYOM approach allows buyers to:

• Run deals across multiple SSPs from a single framework
• Centralise targeting and decisioning without manual complexity
• Scale curated strategies without fragmenting line items
• Maintain visibility into cost, performance, and optimisation logic
   

Rather than reacting to briefs or defaulting to open exchange buying, buyers gain the ability to proactively shape how their media is traded.

This isn’t about replacing existing infrastructure; it’s about simplifying it.