Guideline has announced the expansion of its Programmatic Spend Intelligence to include CPM Pricing, offering increased transparency within the digital media landscape. The demand for premium inventory and brand-safe environments in the programmatic ecosystem has led to a remarkable 47% year-over-year growth in the Premium Programmatic market during the first eight months of 2024. This growth includes both Private Marketplaces (PMP) and Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) deals, contributing to an overall 8% year-over-year increase in the U.S. advertising market.
According to data from Guideline, the definitive source for advertising spend and pricing metrics, the insights capture actual agency investments from all major agency holding companies and a majority of large independents.
Shift Towards Premium Programmatic Deals
“When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, only a quarter of programmatic investment was sourced from premium deals, with open exchanges dominating the market,” explained Alberto Leyes, Head of Product Strategy, Data Solutions at Guideline. “That figure has risen to 48% in the first eight months of 2024, demonstrating a 47% year-over-year increase, with an anticipated share of 50% by the end of the year.”
In line with this data release, Guideline also launched Programmatic Marketplace Insights, providing marketers with a comprehensive overview of the entire programmatic marketplace.
The newly available Programmatic CPM Pricing equips media buyers and sellers with essential intelligence to enhance their advertising strategies across the programmatic landscape.
Key Insights from the Data
Additional data points from Guideline reveal significant trends in the advertising market:
Overall digital media spending increased 16% in the year-to-August, while traditional media saw a 5% decline.
Total DSP/SSP-transacted programmatic buying grew 26% year-over-year, outpacing direct-sold insertion orders, which increased by 13% during the same period.
Within the programmatic sector, spending in open exchanges grew 10% year-over-year, a moderate increase compared to the impressive 47% growth in Premium Deals (PMP/PG).
The Travel Services category experienced the fastest growth in premium programmatic investments, surging 75% year-over-year, while the Technology sector allocated a higher share of its investments to premium compared to open programmatic (66% to 34%).
Beyond Premium Programmatic, Retail Media (+33% year-over-year) and Social (+27%) were the fastest-growing digital media segments.
Addressing Industry Demands for Transparency
“The launch of Guideline Premium Programmatic Pricing responds to the industry’s demand for greater transparency and a growing preference for quality content in controlled advertising environments,” stated Leyes. “Gone are the days when top-tier content was limited to direct-sold inventory. A significant example of this evolution is the Olympics, which was traded programmatically for the first time this year through an agreement between NBCU and The Trade Desk.”
Despite the growth in Programmatic Premium Deals, the new data indicates that CPM prices have decreased in two out of three key programmatic ad types. Specifically, both Streaming Audio and Standard Display experienced eCPM declines of 6% and 14% year-over-year, respectively, while OTT pricing saw moderate growth of 4%.
In Q2 2024, buying OTT under Programmatic Deals commanded a 10% CPM premium over open exchanges. In contrast, direct-sold inventory exhibited a 25% CPM premium over open exchanges. This trend was even more pronounced in Standard Display, with a 32% CPM premium for Programmatic Deals and a striking 68% premium for direct-sold inventory compared to open exchanges.
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