Agency-SSP partnerships are growing more common – and blurring programmatic’s old dividing lines

More media agencies are attempting to go around traditional ad tech gatekeepers to strike their own deals with supply-side platforms (SSPs).

Media agencies are under pressure, squeezed between marketers holding back on budgets and the cost of doing business with demand-side platforms (DSPs) like The Trade Desk. At the same time, clients want to ensure their media dollars are only going toward premium ad inventory and are being steered as far away from MFA sites and the murkier end of the web as possible.

In response, agencies are looking to tie themselves closer to SSPs, striking new partnership deals, leaning further into established ones, and consolidating their programmatic investments through the largest players in that space. Such partnerships were limited to the industry’s largest investment houses, but execs at SSPs including Pubmatic told Digiday they’re now attempting to reach beyond the major holding company networks.

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Madison and Wall’s Brian Wieser warns: the U.S. ad market is up, but the cliff’s still there

Against all odds – and headlines – ad spending is holding steadily. 

Despite a parade of problems, the market hasn’t blinked. Ad buyers are saying it, and the latest forecast from Madison & Wall backs them up. For now, the money is still moving. 

Specifically in the U.S. where ad spending (excluding political ads), is expected to grow 6% in the second quarter, and for the full year. That’s a notable jump from Madison & Wall’s March forecast, which pegged growth for the year at just 3.6%. 

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