In 2024, curation gained industry and media momentum, proving it’s more than just a buzzword. Curation's recognition continues into 2025 as it's a yearly trend to watch in EMARKETER’s Programmatic Advertising Forecast and Ad Tech Trends H1 2025, Experian's 2025 Digital trends and predictions report, and ExchangeWire's Industry Review.
“As privacy regulations and signal loss reshape AdTech, curation can optimize programmatic campaigns by connecting advertisers with valuable audiences,” says Experian in their 2025 Digital trends and predictions report. “In 2025, curation will become a cornerstone of sell-side innovation, driven by SSPs utilizing first-party publisher data, contextual signals, and alternative identifiers to create curated private marketplaces (PMPs). This trend gives advertisers demand-side platform (DSP)-agnostic flexibility and real-time audience matching, reducing reliance on cookies and enhancing addressability.”
But, with the rise in attention and ad dollars comes a greater range of curation offerings, where not all curation is created equal. In EMARKETER’s latest report, they describe the components necessary for curation to drive better campaign outcomes:
When curation is done well, it’s a win-win. ExchangeWire explains how it adds value in its Industry Review, “Curation uniquely supports both the buy and sell side. It’s a comprehensive strategy that drives incremental revenue and increases share of wallet for publishers, while delivering safer, high quality and more effective advertising for brands. With major brands like Coca-Cola embracing curation and Google entering the space, it’s clear: curation is a game changer for digital advertising.”
James Harris, VP of Strategy at WPP, continues this sentiment later in the Industry Review by saying, “After many false dawns, curation now offers the potential for real change and a meaningful evolution in digital advertising. Starting from real audiences and insights rather than just technology, it brings simplicity and enables advertisers to deliver meaningful storytelling, recognizing that people are people, not just data and cookies. It also delivers benefits such as better-quality environments, more transparency, and reduced carbon impact, making it a game-changing inflection point for digital advertising as we enter 2025 and beyond.”
Read More:
EMARKETER’s Programmatic Advertising Forecast and Ad Tech Trends H1 2025
