The ANA Releases Q2 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark Report Reveals $26.8B in Wasted Programmatic Spend
- Pascal Zahner
- Aug 11
- 4 min read
Effective ANA Launches Transparency Tool for All Members Democratizing Access to Data Once Reserved for Benchmark Participants
NEW YORK – August 11, 2025 — The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) today released its Q2 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark report, revealing that $26.8 billion in global media value remains unrealized due to persistent inefficiencies in the programmatic ecosystem. The report showed the TrueCPM Index, a key measure of media efficiency, dropped from 37.8% to 36.5%, even as paid CPMs remained steady.
The ANA has now launched the ANA Online Benchmark, a first-of-its-kind, always-on interactive transparency platform offering free, real-time access to programmatic supply chain data for all ANA and TAG members. Previously, this level of insight was only available to brands participating in the Benchmark. Now, all eligible members can access detailed findings, quarterly trends, and benchmarking data across CTV, web, and mobile in-app environments, as well as PMP and OMP marketplaces.
"The industry is at a critical inflection point,” said Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA. “Marketers are under growing pressure to validate ROI, reduce waste, and meet new regulatory and sustainability standards, all while managing through fragmented and opaque programmatic supply chains. The ANA Online Benchmark levels the playing field. It puts powerful data and benchmarking tools directly into the hands of every member so they can increase efficiency, improve accountability, and make smarter investment decisions in real time.”
Key findings from the Q2 2025 Benchmark include:
ANA Online Benchmark Launch:
Quarterly benchmark releases over a live interactive interface
Detailed findings showing trends over time
Distribution of findings with highs, lows, medians and quartiles
Breakdowns by environment (CTV, web, mobile in-app)
Marketplace-level insights (PMP vs. OMP)
Ongoing updates with benchmark comparisons for participating marketers
$26.8B Optimization Gap Persists Despite Improvements
TrueCPM Index declined from 37.8% to 36.5%
TrueCPM Opportunity rose from 20.8% to 25.8%, largely due to an increase in CTV spending going from 30.4 to 44.2% with lower media productivity scores
CTV spend increased from 30.4% to 44.2% of total programmatic spend; future reports will treat CTV separately with tailored quality metrics.
Data Access Is Still Not Universal
Of 39 participating marketers, only 21 had access to log-level data (LLD) with permission to use it in the Benchmark
Despite progress, data asymmetry continues to challenge cross-platform transparency and accountability
Supply Path Curation Trends Upward in Drive for Quality
Median number of SSPs dropped from 19 to 17
Active domains decreased from 53,799 to 28,958
Spend among top 3,000 domains rose from 90.3% to 94.1%
PMP share of spend jumped from 64.5% to 87.8%
PMP CPMs averaged $7.15 vs. $4.41 for OMP
LLD-based curation enables efficiency gains even outside PMP environments
MFA (Made-for-Advertising) Exposure Lower, But Still Needs Scrutiny
Median MFA spend declined from 2.3% to 0.8%
Top-quartile marketers still spent 5.2% to 28.7% on MFA domains
45% of marketers paid higher CPMs for MFA domains than non-MFA
29% of MFA impressions occurred within PMPs, revealing exposure even within curated buys
Number of domains characterized by DeepSee.ai increased from 4,800 in 2023 to 128,000 today
Carbon emissions reduction asks for simplified supply chains and more direct media buying:
Using the Global Media Sustainability Framework developed by WFA and AdNetZero, CO2 emissions per dollar are slightly down from 0.10 to 0.09kg
Most effective way to reduce CO2 emissions is to reduce ad spending going to non-TrueImpressions — impressions not delivering value to marketers.
More sustainable media strategies require only necessary hops in the supply chain, reducing server loads, data transfers and bid processing.
The report underscores that transparency, data access, and ongoing benchmarking are foundational to media accountability. Participating marketers reported gains in ROI, stronger supply path control, and better alignment with ESG goals. With the launch of the ANA Online Benchmark, some of these advantages are now available to the full ANA member base.
PRESS CONTACT: Jocelyn Weiss
ABOUT THE ANA
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is the definitive voice of the marketing industry. Since 1910, we have set and advanced the agenda for marketing transformation, connecting over 1,600 member companies to an influential global network, insights and resources that drive growth. Our members represent 20,000 brands and $400 billion in annual marketing investment. Through industry-leading research, the CMO Growth Council, and our proprietary Growth Agenda and Practices, the ANA empowers marketers to shape the future of marketing 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 reconciliation of impression LLD across the supply chain and generates immutable records as ‘shared truth’, a unified record for eve
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 by the ANA 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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