Integral Ad Science, a global leader in digital media quality, today (November 17th, 2022) released its latest research Constructing Your Quality Path. The report unveils how media experts use supply path optimisation (SPO) in their digital marketing strategies and how they expect media quality to impact the future of SPO, making quality path optimisation (QPO) even more relevant for purchasing high-quality inventory at the most efficient cost. 

“Advertisers are pushing for greater transparency into their programmatic buys and want to ensure that they are getting quality inventory from their ad spend,” said Yannis Dosios, chief commercial officer, IAS. “Widening access to programmatic has caused the same ad inventory to be offered through multiple paths, resulting in increased complexity for advertisers. This is where Quality Path Optimisation (QPO) comes in.” 

Programmatic advertising is growing exponentially — but the purchasing experience is getting more complex. IAS research found that industry experts cite media quality threats as the main challenge in programmatic advertising, with increased brand risk, ad fraud, and lack of transparency topping the list. With media professionals combating pressure to maximise their advertising spend and impact, it’s become critical to place SPO and media quality at the forefront of digital advertising strategies. 

IAS surveyed digital media experts from brands, media agencies, and creative agencies.

Media experts understand the importance of introducing media quality in path optimisation strategies

• 93% of media experts believe quality spend by supply-side platform (SSP) is important for evaluating supply path performance 
• 91% of media experts believe qCPM is important for evaluating supply path performance
• 53% of media experts think it’s important to know how much ad spend is devoted to low-quality media

Visibility into media quality and cost facilitates understanding of SSP performance and path optimisation decisions

• 69% of media experts consider quality spend when making path optimisation decisions 
• 53% of media experts think adding media quality to cost metrics tells a more comprehensible story
• Adding quality metrics lifted media experts’ confidence in path optimisation decisions by 12 percentage points 

Industry partners can help increase SPO adoption through centralised data, education, and insight automation 

• 53% of media experts would benefit from third-party platforms centralising DSP data sharing
• 52% of media experts would benefit from more guidance on how to interpret performance metrics
• 49% of media experts would benefit from more automation for using insights through pre-bid segments/optimisation