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The perennial election season, a period of intense political campaigning and, consequently, massive advertising expenditure, has long been a tale of lost opportunity for digital publishers. Billions of dollars in advertising revenue, crucial for sustaining journalistic operations, are often siphoned off by programmatic middlemen, leaving publishers with a diminished share. However, a new initiative spearheaded by supply-side platform OpenX, in collaboration with data provider Givsly, aims to fundamentally alter this dynamic by introducing a sophisticated sell-side curation and targeting solution specifically designed for political campaigns. This innovative approach promises to empower publishers with greater control over their inventory, enhance targeting capabilities for advertisers, and ultimately, redirect significant ad dollars back into the hands of content creators.
The partnership, officially announced on Monday, introduces a novel methodology for political advertisers. Instead of relying on traditional, often blunt, demographic or party affiliation data, the new tool enables campaigns to reach voters based on their deeply held values. This nuanced approach leverages data signals derived from over 500 non-profit organizations, allowing for the creation of audiences united by shared principles such as environmental sustainability, women’s empowerment, or economic justice. OpenX then matches these value-based signals against its extensive identity graph to identify and target these specific voter segments across premium Connected TV (CTV) and digital publisher environments that explicitly permit political advertising.
The initial rollout includes prominent launch partners such as Newsweek, a legacy media organization seeking to bolster its digital revenue streams, and leading CTV platforms including Plex, Xumo, and Scripps. This strategic alliance signifies a growing trend within the digital advertising ecosystem: a conscious shift towards more direct, curated buying strategies, especially as the nation gears up for another high-spending election cycle.
A Skyrocketing Political Ad Market
The timing of this launch is particularly significant, coinciding with projections of unprecedented political ad spending. Industry analytics firm AdImpact forecasts a staggering $10.8 billion in political ad expenditure for the current year. This represents a substantial 20% surge compared to the 2022 midterm elections and nearly mirrors the $11.1 billion spent during the 2024 presidential race, underscoring the immense financial stakes involved.
This colossal influx of campaign funds presents a critical juncture for publishers. The desire for tighter control over pricing, brand safety, and the avoidance of undesirable ad placements is paramount. Curated deals, facilitated by platforms like OpenX and Givsly, offer a compelling solution. They not only allow political advertisers to circumvent potential brand-risk scenarios but also provide access to previously untapped pools of potential swing voters who may not be easily identifiable through conventional targeting methods.
Injecting Predictability into Political Programmatic
The traditional programmatic marketplace for political advertising has often been characterized by a "spray and pray" mentality, leading to inefficiency and a lack of transparency. Danielle Varvaro, Chief Revenue Officer at Newsweek, highlighted the transformative potential of curated deal structures in addressing this long-standing issue. "Curated deal structures introduce predictability into what’s historically been a chaotic ‘spray and pray’ programmatic political advertising marketplace," Varvaro stated. "It also helps reduce duplication in the supply path and supports more stable pricing."
This increased predictability allows publishers to move beyond the short-term revenue spikes often associated with election seasons. Instead, they can focus on cultivating "sustainable yield," ensuring a more consistent and reliable revenue stream throughout the year. Furthermore, sell-side curation grants publishers greater agency in how they engage with the political ad market. Varvaro elaborated, "Curation on the sell side also gives publishers greater control over how they participate in the political ad market, so we can access the incremental spend while maintaining our governance, our compliance, and our brand integrity." This level of control is crucial for media organizations striving to uphold their editorial independence and brand reputation while capitalizing on the lucrative political advertising landscape.
The Mechanics of Values-Based Targeting
The operational framework of this new solution hinges on the synergy between Givsly’s data intelligence and OpenX’s technological infrastructure. Givsly aggregates anonymized data signals from a vast network of over 500 non-profit organizations. These signals are meticulously analyzed to construct nuanced audience segments based on shared values and interests. For instance, a campaign focused on environmental policy could target individuals who have actively supported environmental advocacy groups or engaged with content related to climate action.
OpenX then employs its sophisticated identity graph, a comprehensive mapping of digital identities, to locate these Givsly-defined audiences across its network of publisher clients. These precisely defined audience segments are then packaged into "deal IDs," a standardized identifier that facilitates seamless activation within both direct and programmatic ad buys.
Amanda Forrester, SVP of Marketing and Communications at OpenX, explained that Givsly’s data serves as a crucial enrichment layer. "Givsly’s data is one enrichment layer," Forrester noted. "Buyers can also target specific geos and ZIP codes and zero in on particular voting districts." She further indicated that while combining these values-based insights with other third-party audience data could potentially constrain supply due to increased specificity, the primary advantage lies in the ability to reach voters whose values align with a candidate’s platform, even in the absence of explicit party affiliation data. This is particularly valuable for campaigns seeking to activate new voters or engage persuadable demographics beyond their established base.
Moreover, the solution offers granular reporting capabilities, providing advertisers with localized insights into reach and frequency at the county, Designated Market Area (DMA), and ZIP code levels. This empowers campaigns to meticulously track their campaign performance and optimize their strategies towards specific outcomes, such as driving traffic to campaign websites or encouraging voter registration.
The Imperative for Precision in Political Advertising
This innovative offering is built upon two significant industry shifts that have collectively empowered publishers to take a more active role in programmatic dealmaking. The first is the ascendance of "sell-side curation" over the past few years. This trend, where publishers take a more proactive role in packaging and presenting their inventory, has been complemented by a growing industry-wide emphasis on "audience precision over volume."
Political advertisers, much like their brand-side counterparts, are increasingly demanding measurable outcomes and a sophisticated understanding of their target audience. Varvaro emphasized this evolving landscape: "Political advertisers are no exception. They’re just as concerned with driving measurable outcomes as any brand, and that’s come out in many of the negotiations for midterm ad buys that have taken place so far this year."
Historically, political advertising, especially within the programmatic channels during peak seasons, was often highly transactional. Intense competition for limited ad inventory could lead to inflated prices and a lack of strategic engagement. However, Varvaro observes a palpable shift in this cycle. "Historically, political buying could be highly transactional, particularly within the programmatic channels during peak seasons, when buyers are competing aggressively for limited supply," she explained. "But this cycle, political advertisers are much more focused on curated access to that supply path, and also transparency and compliance."
For Newsweek, participating in OpenX’s curated political packages represents a strategic move to safeguard its valuable supply chain during a period of heightened demand. It also serves to reinforce its positioning as a premium, centrist news publisher, an identity that can be leveraged to attract advertisers seeking a reputable and aligned environment.
However, Newsweek’s participation is not without its nuances. While the publisher is open to running political ads across its digital properties, it will not be utilizing the CTV inventory sold through Adprime, a healthcare-focused Demand-Side Platform (DSP) that Newsweek acquired last June. This specific inventory is not included in its current partnership with OpenX, demonstrating a careful segmentation of its advertising offerings and a strategic approach to brand safety and partnership alignment.
Facilitating Publisher Re-engagement with Political Advertising
Despite the allure of substantial ad revenue, not all media companies are eager to embrace political advertising. The prevailing political polarization and persistent concerns around brand safety continue to be significant deterrents for some publishers. Similarly, political buyers often exhibit distinct preferences regarding the publishers they choose to support.
Recognizing these hesitations on both sides of the supply chain, OpenX has integrated robust controls into its system. Through the OpenX Select curation platform, buyers are afforded the ability to establish custom brand standards and create explicit "allow lists" of publishers. A key advantage of this sell-side curation model is that these meticulously defined lists can be activated across any DSP without the need for repetitive reconfiguration for each platform, streamlining the buying process.
On the publisher side, the platform provides access to advertiser approval lists, ensuring that curated packages do not inadvertently cannibalize existing direct deals. Furthermore, publishers retain the critical right to review ad creative, ensuring that it aligns with their organizational values. The stringency of this creative review process is entirely at the publisher’s discretion. Some may opt for a rigorous vetting of every political advertisement, while others may choose to whitelist trusted advertisers and streamline the review process.
OpenX emphasizes that participation in political advertising is entirely opt-in. To date, over half of its publisher partners have enabled political advertising capabilities. Even for those participating, publishers retain the ability to block political ads from appearing on specific site subsections or domains, maintaining granular control over their content environment. Political campaigns, in turn, are restricted to bidding on inventory that has been explicitly approved by the publisher.
The overarching objective of these comprehensive controls is to encourage publishers who may have previously withdrawn from the political ad market due to concerns about brand alignment, data governance, and privacy compliance to reconsider their stance. "If you can deliver a solution that has strong guardrails and protections, and that keeps content aligned with other quality publishers," Forrester concluded, "then people are more comfortable providing access." This approach aims to rebuild trust and foster a more responsible and sustainable ecosystem for political advertising, ultimately benefiting both publishers and advertisers seeking to engage with voters in a meaningful and impactful way.
The integration of values-based targeting, coupled with enhanced publisher controls and greater transparency, marks a significant evolution in the political advertising landscape. As billions of dollars continue to flow into campaign advertising, solutions like those offered by OpenX and Givsly are poised to redefine how campaigns reach voters, how publishers monetize their content, and how the digital advertising ecosystem can better serve the democratic process.
