The digital advertising landscape, particularly during election cycles, has long been a battleground where publishers grapple with significant revenue leakage to programmatic intermediaries. This year, however, a new approach is emerging, spearheaded by supply-side platform OpenX and data provider Givsly, aiming to fundamentally alter this dynamic. Their recently launched curation and targeting solution is designed to empower publishers to reclaim billions in digital ad dollars by offering political advertisers a more precise and values-driven way to reach voters. This initiative arrives as the United States braces for another high-spending election year, with political ad expenditures projected to reach unprecedented levels.
The core innovation of the OpenX and Givsly partnership lies in its departure from traditional political advertising metrics, such as party affiliation. Instead, the tool leverages data signals from over 500 non-profit organizations to build audience segments based on shared values. This allows political campaigns to connect with voters who align with their candidate’s platform on issues ranging from women’s empowerment to environmental sustainability. This values-based approach is being rolled out across premium Connected TV (CTV) and digital publishing platforms that permit political advertising. Among the initial launch partners are prominent entities like Newsweek, and CTV platforms Plex, Xumo, and Scripps, signaling a significant industry push towards more direct and curated ad buying.
The Escalating Stakes of Political Advertising Spend
The timing of this new solution is particularly opportune, coinciding with what is shaping up to be one of the most expensive election cycles in history. AdImpact, a leading industry analytics firm, projects a staggering $10.8 billion in political ad spend for the current year. This represents a substantial 20% increase compared to the 2022 midterm elections and approaches the $11.1 billion spent during the 2024 presidential race, underscoring the immense financial stakes involved.
This substantial influx of campaign funds presents both an opportunity and a challenge for publishers. On one hand, it offers a significant revenue stream. On the other, it amplifies concerns about maintaining brand safety, ensuring ad placements are appropriate, and controlling pricing in a potentially volatile market. Curated deals, as proposed by OpenX and Givsly, address these concerns by providing political advertisers with a more controlled environment, helping them avoid undesirable placements and discover previously untapped voter demographics.
Introducing Predictability to Political Programmatic
Danielle Varvaro, Chief Revenue Officer at Newsweek, highlighted the transformative potential of curated deal structures in a historically unpredictable programmatic political advertising marketplace. "Historically, political buying could be highly transactional, particularly within the programmatic channels during peak seasons, when buyers are competing aggressively for limited supply," Varvaro stated. "But this cycle, political advertisers are much more focused on curated access to that supply path, and also transparency and compliance."
The new solution aims to inject a much-needed element of predictability into what has often been characterized as a "spray and pray" approach in political programmatic advertising. Varvaro further elaborated on the benefits for publishers, noting that curated deals help "reduce duplication in the supply path and supports more stable pricing." This, in turn, allows publishers to move beyond chasing short-term revenue spikes during election seasons and instead focus on achieving "sustainable yield."
Crucially, sell-side curation grants publishers greater agency in 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," Varvaro added. This control is vital for publishers like Newsweek, which aims to safeguard its supply chain during periods of high demand while simultaneously reinforcing its reputation as a premium, centrist news outlet.
The Mechanics of Values-Based Targeting
The operational framework of the OpenX and Givsly solution is designed for precision and efficiency. Givsly aggregates data signals from a vast network of over 500 non-profit organizations, creating distinct audience segments defined by shared values. OpenX then leverages its sophisticated identity graph to match these Givsly-defined audiences across its network of publisher clients. These curated audience segments are then packaged into "deal IDs," which can be activated through both direct and programmatic advertising buys.
Amanda Forrester, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at OpenX, explained that Givsly’s data serves as a primary enrichment layer. "Buyers can also target specific geos and ZIP codes and zero in on particular voting districts," Forrester noted. She also cautioned that combining this values-based data with third-party audiences from other vendors could potentially constrain supply, suggesting a strategic approach to audience segmentation is key.
The integration of Givsly’s data enables political campaigns to engage voters whose values resonate with their candidate’s message, even without direct access to party affiliation data. This is particularly impactful in identifying and activating new potential voters, especially in ZIP codes where campaigns might already possess extensive data on party affiliation. The objective is to activate new voters rather than solely reinforcing existing supporter bases, a critical strategy in competitive electoral landscapes.
Furthermore, advertisers benefit from localized reporting capabilities, providing reach and frequency metrics at the county, Designated Market Area (DMA), and ZIP code levels. This granular reporting allows for campaign optimization toward specific outcomes, such as driving traffic to campaign websites or voter registration pages, thereby enhancing accountability and demonstrating campaign efficacy.
The Growing Demand for Audience Precision
This innovative solution is built upon two significant industry shifts that have empowered publishers to take a more active role in programmatic dealmaking. Firstly, the past few years have witnessed a notable rise in sell-side curation. Secondly, there has been a pronounced industry-wide shift towards prioritizing audience precision over sheer volume, a trend that has not bypassed the political advertising sector.
As Varvaro pointed out, political advertisers are increasingly focused on achieving measurable outcomes, mirroring the priorities of brand advertisers. This focus has become evident in numerous negotiations for midterm ad buys throughout the current year. The historical transactional nature of political advertising, especially within programmatic channels during peak seasons when competition for limited inventory is fierce, is giving way to a more strategic approach.
For Newsweek, participation in OpenX’s curated political packages offers a dual benefit: safeguarding its supply chain amidst high demand and bolstering its standing as a trusted, centrist news publisher. However, the publisher maintains a discerning approach to ad placement. While Newsweek is open to running political ads across its digital properties, it will not feature political advertisements on CTV inventory sold through Adprime, its healthcare-focused demand-side platform acquired in June of the previous year. This specific inventory is not part of its partnership with OpenX, highlighting the publisher’s deliberate control over its ad placements and brand association.
Encouraging Publisher Participation in the Political Arena
Despite the potential revenue gains, not all media companies are equally enthusiastic about accepting political advertising due to ongoing political polarization and persistent brand safety concerns. Similarly, political buyers have their own preferences regarding the publishers they choose to support. OpenX has proactively addressed these hesitations on both sides of the supply chain by incorporating robust controls into its system.
Through the OpenX Select curation platform, buyers can establish custom brand standards and create allow lists of preferred publishers. This sell-side curation mechanism means buyers can activate these pre-approved lists across any demand-side platform without the need for repeated reconfiguration for each individual platform.
On the publisher’s side, advertiser approval lists ensure that curated packages do not inadvertently cannibalize existing direct deals. Publishers also retain the ability to review ad creative to confirm alignment with their editorial values and can dictate the stringency of the creative review process. Options range from rigorous vetting of every political ad to whitelisting trusted advertisers and streamlining the review process.
OpenX emphasizes that participation is entirely opt-in, and reports that over half of its publisher network has already enabled political advertising. Nevertheless, participating publishers retain the flexibility to block political ads from appearing on specific site subsections or domains. Political campaigns, in turn, are restricted to bidding on inventory that has been explicitly approved by the publisher, ensuring a controlled and compliant advertising environment.
The ultimate goal of these comprehensive controls is to encourage publishers who may have previously withdrawn from political advertising 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, then people are more comfortable providing access," Forrester remarked. This strategic implementation of publisher-centric controls is designed to foster a more inclusive and responsible political advertising ecosystem, benefiting both advertisers and the media outlets that host their messages.
Broader Implications and Future Outlook
The introduction of OpenX and Givsly’s values-based targeting solution signifies a potential paradigm shift in the political advertising market. By moving beyond superficial demographic data and embracing a more nuanced understanding of voter values, campaigns can potentially achieve higher engagement rates and more meaningful connections with their target audiences. For publishers, this represents a significant opportunity to recapture lost revenue and regain greater control over their digital ad inventory.
The emphasis on transparency and compliance within this new framework is also a crucial development. In an era where trust and data privacy are paramount, offering political advertisers a clear and controlled path to reach voters while assuring publishers of brand safety and governance is likely to foster a more sustainable and ethical advertising environment. The success of this initiative could pave the way for similar values-driven targeting solutions in other advertising verticals, further democratizing access to premium ad inventory and fostering deeper connections between brands and consumers. As election cycles become increasingly digital and data-driven, innovations like these will be critical in shaping the future of political communication and advertising.
