ANA: Programmatic ‘Waste’ Surges 34% In 24 Months.

Despite significant gains in ad spending efficiency over the past few years, major advertisers are still falling behind in the programmatic media-buying race.

According to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the amount of “wasted” ad spend has gone up 34%, rising from $20 billion in June 2023 to $26.8 billion in the latest Programmatic Transparency Benchmark report.

“To help marketers close the remaining $26.8 billion inefficiency gap, the ANA is making programmatic performance data more accessible,” the ANA said in connection with the release of the latest edition of the periodic report. The new “ANA Online Benchmark” tool is available to its members and TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group) members.

According to the ANA, the new tool will let marketers “spot inefficiencies, track progress and make smarter, faster investment decisions without waiting for the next quarterly report.”

It underscores the scope of overall waste and inefficiency in the marketplace, but according to MediaPost, “reports themselves have found significant improvements in the efficiency of specific — especially vexing — parts of the marketplace, including so-called ‘made-for-advertising’ or MFA sites, which accounted for two-thirds of programmatic ad-spending waste in the ANA’s first report in June 2023. They now represent just 0.8% on a median basis.”

“The gains we’re seeing in MFA reduction and supply path curation are encouraging, yet the billions in unrealized value and dip in efficiency make it clear that optimization and transparency must remain top priorities,” ANA CEO Bob Liodice says in a release, noting his hopes that the new tool will curb programmatic waste.

A big part of the gains in programmatic media-buying efficiency is said to be due to advertisers focusing spending on premium websites and the growth of programmatic buying in connected TV (CTV) advertising.

As a result — despite a general rise in programmatic ad waste — the ANA’s latest report highlights notable improvements in two of its proprietary metrics used to measure programmatic efficiency: the “TrueAdSpend Index” and the “TrueCPM Index.”