Why your Deal ID might be ghosting you & what to do about it

Finding love in adtech is hard.

Things look perfect on paper, but dig a little deeper and the red flags start waving. And hey - we’re not immune either. Despite our best intentions to curate the perfect media love story for you, sometimes there are bumps along the way.

The truth is: you’ve got curated deals from us live in your DSP. But something’s not quite clicking like it did when our eyes first met. Fewer bids. Dodgy delivery. Impressions drying up faster than a suburban British lawn during a six-week rain drought. (Seriously, my grass is crispy right now.)

We get it - we promised you the world, and now we’re floundering during the honeymoon phase. But before you start blaming the algorithm or sacrificing a media planner to the ad gods, take a breath. We’ve seen this before. And we’ve got your back.

This Best Practice Guide is your no-fluff walkthrough on how to get the most out of curated supply. Because while we handle the supply side - sourcing quality inventory and packaging it into punchy little Deal IDs - what happens in the DSP is a shared mission. A partnership. The Robin to our Batman.
 

What @curate actually does (no catfishing here)

We’re not just sprinkling buzzwords into a bucket and calling it a day. We build curated deals based on what actually works - past performance, not theory.

Think:

• Better formats
• Higher viewability
• Stronger contextual signals
• Zero marketplace sludge
   

It’s curation with a purpose, connecting serious buyers to premium inventory without the waffle.

So where does it all go wrong? Lucky for you, we’ve got a list of tips, tricks and home truths to ensure you get the most of your curation journey.

01/ Start strong: Deal activation tips & tricks

• Check the Deal ID: It sounds basic, but is it actually live and tied to the right DSP seat? You’d be surprised how often this gets missed
• Assign it properly: Make sure your curated deal is in the right line item and isn’t blocked by conflicting targeting
• Use PMP priority settings: If your DSP allows for bid multipliers or priority settings, use them. Curated deals often win on quality and access—not just on price. But if your base bid is way too low, you’ll get iced out
   

Reminder: If your DSP is still obsessed with open market traffic, curated PMPs may need a little help to shine.

02/ Targeting tweaks: Let’s keep you in the game

• Separate your PMP from the open exchange: Give curated deals their own line item for best results
• Don’t over-filter: Every layer of targeting (geo, demo, device, contextual) is one step closer to killing your scale. Keep it aligned to what the deal was built for
• Match the format to the deal: Mobile video won’t perform on desktop display. Obvious? Yes. Common mistake? Also yes
• Dayparting drama: Too narrow? You could be throttling yourself
• Frequency caps: We love a cautious client, but 1x per user forever? You’ll get nowhere fast
  
   

03/ When performance drops, here’s why

• Your bid is too low: Premium inventory needs premium bids. Simples
• Slow pacing: Some DSPs throttle early to avoid overspend. Check those settings
• Creative mismatch: If the asset doesn’t match the SSP spec, it won’t run
• Over-targeting (again): Yes, we said it twice
• Unrealistic CTR goals: Standard banners won’t set the world on fire - let’s align on reality
• Creative fatigue: Been running the same assets for weeks? Try something new. Your audience is bored
  
   

04/ SSP Issues (rare but real)

• Timeouts or latency: Usually a blip, and usually fixed fast
• Deal sync delays: Some DSPs take a few hours to register new deals. Patience is a virtue
• Inventory gaps: If a deal isn’t seeing traffic, let us know. We’ll check under the hood
   

How to troubleshoot like a pro

Here’s how to get back on track:

• Pull DSP logs (bid rate, win rate, impressions)
• Check your targeting matches the deal’s intent
• Share your Deal ID with us - we can dig faster with context
• Ask your DSP for a Deal Report (TTD, DV360, etc. all have one)

And remember: we’re in this together. If something’s off, send it our way. 

Whether it’s DSP-side, SSP-side, or somewhere in the tangled mess in between - we’ll help you fix it. This open relationship only works with complete transparency and truth. No ghosting allowed.