ANA Finds Quality Overtakes Cost Control In Determining Programmatic Results.

Media quality is now the primary driver of programmatic advertising performance, not just cost efficiency. That is one of the key findings in the quarterly report on the sector from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

The latest data shows that advertisers enforcing disciplined quality governance converted 56.7% of programmatic spend into benchmark qualified programmatic ad impressions in Q4. That is up from 50.7% in Q1.

By contrast, lower-performing advertisers converted just 37.5% of their budgets into benchmark-qualified impressions — those that are fraud-free, measurable, viewable and free of made-for-advertising inventory — creating nearly a 20-point performance gap.

The ANA says the widening gap signals a new phase of programmatic maturity, where execution quality determines outcomes. While overall market performance softened amid rising delivery and viewability pressure, top performers improved quarter over quarter, demonstrating that quality‑led strategies outperform even in challenging market conditions. The report says the implication is unambiguous — cost control alone no longer delivers performance without quality governance.

Marketers’ efforts limiting made-for-advertising inventory also continue to have an impact as median exposure to such sites held steady at 0.45 percent, slightly below Q3 levels. Those sites typically feature low-quality content, and may use tactics such as pop-up ads, auto-play videos, or intrusive ads to maximize ad revenue for the site own.

“Programmatic has entered an accountability era,” says Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA. “Transparency and efficiency are now table stakes. What separates winners is disciplined execution. Advertisers that actively govern quality are converting more of their budgets into benchmark‑qualified impressions, seeing measurably stronger results.”

For the first time, the ANA Benchmark provides real‑world proof that improvements in media quality translate directly into stronger business outcomes. Advertiser case studies show that optimizing toward quality‑adjusted metrics, rather than CPM alone, delivered nearly 40% reductions in cost per conversion, even when nominal CPMs increased.

The ANA report says programmatic ad prices rose sharply during the fourth quarter, driven primarily by web and mobile app inventory. Overall CPMs increased from $5.74 in Q3 to $7.08 in Q4. By contrast, CPMs declined by 9.4% for CTV, reflecting shifts in inventory mix and demand dynamics.

The ANA says advertiser case studies show that optimizing toward quality-adjusted metrics rather than CPM alone delivered nearly 40% reductions in cost per conversion, even when nominal CPMs increased.

“The Q4 findings confirm that structural inefficiencies continue to decline,” the report states. “But performance is now determined by execution quality.”

As programmatic platforms like Amazon Ads, AudioGo, Triton, StreamGuys, and StackAdapt, among others are now making over-the-air radio inventory as easy to buy as digital ads, the ANA says private marketplaces accounted for over 92% of median spend across all programmatic environments in Q4. At the same time, advertisers sharply reduced the supply they accessed, consolidating investment toward trusted publishers. And in situations where open marketplace buying persisted, ANA says buyers have become more selective, governed by inclusion lists and performance filters rather than scale‑driven reach.

For the first time, the benchmark also expanded beyond fraud and brand safety into user and ad experience signals. Metrics such as ad clutter, ads-to-content ratios, ads in view, and refresh behavior were incorporated into the analysis. The findings suggest that technically compliant impressions can still undermine performance if the consumer experience is poor.