Curation gives brands the ability to assemble inventory partners that match their criteria, at scale, finally making exciting and ambitious purpose-driven pledges a reality.
An additional benefit of curation is that most large agencies and holding companies are already using or have started embracing it in some capacity. This is evident in the number of companies announcing curation capabilities and the simple fact that the ubiquitous LUMAscape has added “data curators” to several of its maps. Curation has become increasingly utilized by SSPs and DSPs to create new options to identify more efficient solutions, making it a popular tactic for performance marketers. It is also a foundation for the growth of off-platform retail media solutions.
Defining ambition-driven
With a solution to reallocate investment at scale now a reality, the industry needs a clear definition of “purpose-driven” to inform how curated marketplaces can be developed.
Possibly the simplest way to define purpose-driven is around two key terms: underrepresented and recognized.
“Underrepresented” refers to a marginalized group in at least one part of the advertising supply chain. How the concept of underrepresented is applied can be determined by the buyer, brand, company or holding company that has specific purpose-driven media investment goals. This can include race, gender, disability status or other criteria, similar to how we’ve seen brands like GM commit to spending with Black-owned media.
“Recognized” speaks to the need for external validation through auditing or third party validation of the specific purpose-led criteria. Media opportunities need to meet clear and confirmable criteria such as reach or audience composition. Organizations like the National Minority Supplier Development Council certify that businesses are at least 51% owned by an ethnic minority, while Media Framework’s Maven operates as a diversity discovery and reporting platform.
The key steps here are first, for the buyer to set the criteria, and second, for a way to validate if a company meets that criteria. If that sounds basic, that is because this is the same approach utilized by nearly every media buy to provide the confidence to unlock scale.
More than an afterthought
With a solution and definition in place, brands will need their purpose-led initiatives to demonstrate results to ensure the longevity and impact of purpose-led investments and strategies. For the long term, measurement is key to proving that purpose-led investment is good for society and the bottom line.
