The ANA Releases Q1 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark Report
- Pascal Zahner
- May 22
- 4 min read
Effective ad spend climbs to 41%; $21.6B in global optimizations remain untapped
Despite gains, more than a third of open web spend still goes toward impressions that don’t meet quality standards
NEW YORK – May 21, 2025 — The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) today released the findings of its Q1 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark Study, revealing continued progress—and persistent inefficiencies—in the programmatic advertising ecosystem. The study shows that marketers directed 41% of programmatic budgets to effective ad impressions in Q1 2025, up from 36% in the 2023 study. The TrueCPM Index, introduced in this benchmark and serves as a key metric to track the effectiveness of programmatic investments, identified an average 37.8% optimization gap, indicating that over a third of open web ad spending still goes toward impressions that don’t meet standard quality metrics, which translates to an estimated $21.6 billion in unrealized global media value.
Key findings from the Q1 2025 Benchmark Study include: ● TrueAdSpend Index: 41% of programmatic ad spend delivered impressions meeting quality standards, a five-point improvement from 2023. ● Introducing the TrueCPM Index: The study found a 37.8% optimization opportunity across participants, equating to $21.6 billion in unrealized global media value. This new metric is calculated by dividing the total spend by only those impressions that meet quality standards (non-IVT, measurable, viewable), allowing marketers to better value their programmatic investment. ● MFA Reduction: Ad spend on Made for Advertising (MFA) website inventory dropped from 15% in 2023 to just 0.4%, marking a substantial quality gain. ● Supply Partner Consolidation Still Lags: Median number of supply partners used increased from 14 to 19, showing that marketers have not yet streamlined to preferred partners. ● Long-Tail Publisher Growth: The median number of domains and apps used grew from 22,634 to 53,799; however, 90.3% of impressions were concentrated on the top 3,000 domains, highlighting a long-tail effect. ● CTV Improvements: Connected TV (CTV) accounted for 30% of programmatic spend, up from 28% in Q4 2024. Median measurability rose to 64.1%, and viewability improved to 21.4%, despite fragmentation challenges. 75% of spend was delivered across the top 20 main platforms and service providers.
“This latest benchmark report shows progress in identifying inefficiencies, but there remains significant room for improvement,” said Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA. He added, “Implementing the ANA’s recommendations—such as reducing the number of supply path partners and tightening domain lists—can substantially enhance these outcomes.”
Launched in 2024, the ANA Programmatic Transparency Benchmark builds on the 2023 Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study, which revealed that $22 billion in open web ad spend could be better optimized. The Benchmark initiative is designed to provide marketers with deeper visibility and control by analyzing impression-level log data (LLD).
Developed in partnership with TAG TrustNet and Fiducia, the same LLD platform provider used in the 2023 study, the initiative aims to eliminate data asymmetry and provide marketers with the same access to LLD as their supply chain partners.
Download the report HERE
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PRESS CONTACT: Jocelyn Weiss Jocelyn.weiss@Digennaro-usa.com
ABOUT THE ANA
The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) accelerates growth for marketing professionals, brands, and the entire industry. With a mission to shape the future of marketing, the ANA sets the agenda for the industry, connecting its members to unparalleled expertise, industry-leading resources, and an influential global network. Representing over 1,600 companies — including 1,000+ client-side marketers, 600 marketing solutions providers, and 20,000 brands — ANA members collectively influence $400 billion in annual marketing spending. By championing the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda and the CMO Growth Council, the ANA drives actionable change, empowers marketers, shapes the marketing ecosystem, and delivers exceptional experiences at every touchpoint. Since 1910, the ANA has been setting the agenda for industry transformation. It enables marketers to advance their ambitions, make better decisions, and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.
ABOUT TAG TrustNet
Launched by TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group), the global certification program to strengthen safety and transparency in digital advertising, and developed in partnership with technology partner Fiducia, TAG TrustNet is the always-on industry utility for connecting and matching impression log-level data (LLD) at scale. As a global cross-industry initiative, TAG TrustNet automates the deterministic reconciliation of impression LLD across the supply chain and generates immutable records as ‘shared truth’, a unified record for every single ad running through the supply chain made available in near real-time.
About the ANA Programmatic Transparency Benchmark
Launched in 2024, the ANA Programmatic Transparency Benchmark is an ongoing initiative developed in response to the 2023 ANA Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study, which found that $22 billion in open web ad spending could be more effectively allocated.
The Benchmark is designed to help marketers maximize returns on their programmatic media investments by leveraging impression-level log data to bring greater accountability, responsibility, and efficiency to programmatic supply chains. Built in partnership with TAG TrustNet and Fiducia — the same LLD platform provider used in the 2023 study — the initiative aims to resolve data asymmetry by granting marketers the same access to LLD as their supply chain partners.
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