Eleven ways publishers can get the most out of curated marketplaces

Published: 19 Aug 2026

Are curated marketplaces the future of premium digital publishing – or are they just another layer in an already complex ad tech stack?

Regardless as to the answer, it seems likely that curated marketplaces are here to stay. We challenged our Associate members to share what they believe publishers need to hear right now to adapt to the rise in curated marketplaces – and how they can ensure they receive maximum value from their investment.

Curate the evidence, not just the inventory.

Recent evidence suggests that curated marketplaces now process more than a fifth of all programmatic spend and that number will only increase. That momentum is real, but it does also create a risk. If every publisher packages their inventory as "premium," the word stops meaning anything. In this context, the publishers who will win aren't just curating inventory, they're also curating proof. They are the ones who know which environments actually shift how audiences feel about the brands advertised in them. They know which environments consistently drive increased consideration or purchase intent. Curation without such evidence is just a prettier wrapper, but if publishers start to build a body of proof, then the premium price they charge will defend itself.

Anders Lithner, CEO, Brand Metrics

Get the full fee stack in writing – and stay on top of it.

I believe curated marketplaces are definitely part of the future, but given that curation is a distribution mechanism I believe it will be part of a broader strategy. Buyers want cleaner supply paths and outcomes, which finally rewards what premium publishers have always invested in - viewable inventory, rich audiences, and quality content (written by humans!). What curation doesn't do by itself is give publishers leverage, and I think that comes from owning the thing being curated which is your first-party data. The danger is that without that control, you might just become supply in someone else's product.

My one essential piece of advice would be to know your vendors margins, and stay on top of them. Curation adds a layer and that layer costs money. Get the full fee stack in writing - curation fee, SSP take, data fees, measurement. Then work out your net revenue per thousand impressions. If your curation partner won't show you the full economics, I would be wary.

James Dempsey, GTM, ArcSpan

Demand transparency and don’t lose control of your data inventory.

Curated marketplaces are gaining momentum across many markets and are likely here to stay, but whether they benefit premium publishers is less certain. They can make inventory easier for buyers to discover and combine with valuable audience and contextual signals. However, limited visibility into the curation layer creates risks: publishers may not know what markups are being added, who captures the value, or whether curators are genuinely improving outcomes. The essential advice is therefore to retain control of your data, pricing and performance insights. Participate, but demand transparency and measure the incremental value. Otherwise, curation risks becoming just another costly intermediary.

Thuy Ho, Senior Sales Manager, Relevant Digital

Educate buyers on the full value of premium publisher inventory.

Current trends would suggest so, yes. As open-market scale tightens and buyers consolidate spend around quality and outcomes, curation is becoming the mechanism through which premium publishers can reassert their value. The curated marketplace is quietly turning into the main event for buyers and therefore sellers, too.

But curation is only as good as the intelligence powering it. Too many buyers still under-exploit the full value of premium publisher inventory, packaging and bundling it into static deals on which to run data strategies, rather than looking to each individual publisher's data. In an outcomes-led market, that gap costs real revenue.

If there's one thing publishers need to hear right now, it's to continue promoting the value of their audience and the contextual onsite experience. The publishers who thrive will be those who understand - page by page, in real time - what actually works for advertisers and have ways to scale these insights dynamically, both on- and off-site.

Peter Mason, CEO, Illuma

Assess how you can go to market collectively with other publishers.

Curated marketplaces are only going to become more important as advertisers look for ways to work with premium publishers at scale, without the complexity of managing dozens of individual relationships.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is a really interesting example of where this is heading. Winning in AI search isn’t about securing one great publisher placement; it’s about building authority across a breadth of credible, trusted sources. That’s difficult to achieve if you’re working with one publisher at a time, or in fragmented workflows and it creates a much bigger role for curated networks that can bring that scale together.

The opportunity for publishers is to think more collectively about how they go to market. The strength of an individual publisher’s expertise will always matter, but as advertiser strategies increasingly require breadth and scale, being able to plug into curated networks without losing what makes that publisher valuable will become increasingly important.

Chloe Patterson, Director of Media Partners, Avid Collective

Start treating audience understanding as your core product.

Curated marketplaces are emerging as a defining model for premium digital publishing. In an environment defined by privacy constraints, brand safety demands, and AI-driven fragmentation, undifferentiated open auctions increasingly fail both publishers and buyers. Curation restores control: packaging quality inventory with context, audience signals, and transparent supply paths so premium content can command the value it deserves rather than competing on price alone.

When inventory is thoughtfully selected and matched to genuine intent, both engagement and yield improve, making the open web more sustainable. The one essential piece of advice publishers need right now: stop treating inventory as a commodity and start treating audience understanding as the core product for how to drive yield and revenue higher, at a time where scale and discoverability are hard to come by.

Jason Iliou, Regional Publisher Director, EMEA, Taboola

Your editorial judgement should be part of the package.

Curated marketplaces can play an important role in the future of premium digital publishing, but curation alone isn’t enough — trusted curation is what will create real value. For publishers, this means moving beyond optimising purely for reach and focusing on building a recognisable, owned relationship with a clearly defined audience.

The essential advice is to make your editorial judgement part of the product. Strong audience relationships, distinctive content and trusted environments are what allow publishers to differentiate their inventory and create more meaningful value for both advertisers and audiences.

Olly Aulakh, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Opti Digital

Bring together quality content with quality data.

The publishing world is continuously challenged by the technical power and financial leverage of a range of large platforms, along with the complexity of multiple 3^rd party ad-tech agents in the process. In such an environment curated, quality marketplaces have to play a part in digital publishers' route to success. Curation of quality content is the first step. The application only of quality trusted data in those curated marketplaces is the critical second.

Ian Dowds, CEO, UKOM

Build a foundation of media quality metrics.

Although curated marketplaces may seem to be just digital advertising’s future, they're already transforming the present. And it's easy to see why: they create genuine wins on both sides of the transaction.

For publishers, curation opens the door to more compatible partners and strengthens their ability to command fair value for premium inventory. For advertisers, it delivers the transparency they've long demanded: clearer sight lines into where and how their ads are being served, leading to better alignment and stronger outcomes.

But none of it works without a solid foundation. The real enabler of curated marketplaces is a meaningful investment in media quality metrics: viewability, suitability, and fraud and IVT, alongside relevant audiences and contextual alignment. These are the building blocks that make curation credible.

Anya Libova, Senior Publisher Sales Director, DoubleVerify

Don’t assume premium content speaks for itself.

Many advertisers already understand the principles of effective advertising: invest in quality media, balance short and long term growth, focus on attention, and measure success against real business outcomes. The challenge is putting those principles into practice at scale.

Curated marketplaces solve this problem. They help advertisers navigate complexity and make more informed buying decisions by bringing greater transparency, quality and accountability to the supply chain. For example, OpenSincera delivers detailed insights into ad quality – including the environments, content and devices where advertising appears across the open internet. It doesn’t own or operate media but remains neutral and gains objective insights into the quality of ad inventory on the open internet.

For publishers, the essential piece of advice is this: don’t assume premium content speaks for itself. Prove it. Signals like ad density, page weight and average ads in views are emerging as critical indicators of quality for advertisers seeking better outcomes. The publishers that embrace transparency, surface these signals and make it easier for advertisers to understand the value of their inventory will be in the best position to succeed.

Phil Dunfield, VP Northern Europe, The Trade Desk

Get the fundamentals right before your begin to experiment.

Curated marketplaces are likely to become an increasingly important part of premium digital publishing, particularly as audiences look for trusted, high-quality content. My advice to publishers is to stay focused on the fundamentals: know your audience, understand what makes your content valuable, and make sure you are offering a great user experience as the market changes. The publishers that are ready to experiment and evolve will be best placed to take advantage of what comes next.

Ben Pheloung, General Manager, Mantis