In this insightful follow-up to her talk at AdMonsters PubForum Scottsdale, Hélène Parker, CEO of Hélène Parker Consulting, unpacks common misconceptions about curated deals. Bridging buy-side and sell-side perspectives, this guide explores setup ease, performance, and the evolving role of curation in driving advertising success.
In the wise words of Albert Thompson, Managing Director, Digital Innovation at Walton Isaacson, “Anything more intentional always does better.”
Curation isn’t new. Brands and advertisers have been using it for years now. The excitement around curation comes with some adjustments, but also some serious misconceptions.
Let’s clear things up right from the start: at the end of the day, advertisers just want to ensure they’re targeting the right audience to drive performance. That means reaching the right consumers, based on where and how they consume media.
I had the honor of sharing space with a room filled with media owners and publishers during the Admonsters Publisher Forum and Curation was one of the many important topics covered. However, misconceptions around their ease of use, performance, and overall value persist, leading to confusion among both buyers and sellers.
This guide is for both the buy-side and sell-side to understand where misalignments in definitions come from and how we should move forward, based on shared experience from expert consultants’ and clients’ perspectives and what media owners have demystified for me at PubForum.
Misconception 1: Curated Deals Are Difficult to Set Up
Some believe curated deals are more complex to set up than standard PMPs. This isn’t necessarily true.
Amanda Wallingford, Director of Programmatic, The Shipyard, explains that curated deals in platforms like The Trade Desk (TTD) can be easily activated and reused across campaigns, making them convenient for traders.
Stefanie Beach, CEO & Founder of SMB Media Consulting adds that challenges often arise from poor communication or unprepared partners, not the curated deal process itself. With everyone aligned on expectations, setup can run smoothly, even for high-value inventory.
Most traders we’ve worked with, either via workshops or 1-on-1 training, have shared that it’s simply another packaged PMP deal, used as a supplement in their strategy to diversify their tactics.
Misconception 2: Curated Deals Guarantee Superior Performance
While curated deals often deliver strong results, performance is not automatic.
Crystal Foote, Founder & Head of Partnerships at Digital Culture Group shared a successful campaign targeting multicultural audiences, where curated deals provided premium placements aligned with advertiser goals.
However, success depended on thoughtful collaboration, careful vetting, and high-quality inventory—not just the deal type. Similarly, Tashia Souza, a Senior Programmatic Expert and trusted advisor at Hélène Parker Consulting, notes that performance varies depending on scale, targeting, and inventory availability. Curated deals are powerful tools but must be approached strategically to meet campaign objectives.
We often throw the words “premium” or “higher performance” around, but what we really mean is “we do a better job at it than others.” If true control is given by the curator to the advertiser, performance will be determined by how the setup is implemented, which is influenced by the campaign goal.
Misconception 3: Third-Party Curators Always Align With Advertiser Needs
There’s a perception that third-party curators always prioritize advertiser outcomes. David Nyurenberg, Director of Video Product Development & Innovation at Rain For Growth Agency challenges this, arguing that external curators may focus on their own platform’s volume or relationships rather than specific campaign goals.
His agency, Rain For Growth, uses an in-house approach to curate inventory. By analyzing bid-stream data and collaborating with partners like DeepSee.io, they ensure brand-safe, high-quality placements tailored to performance metrics. This transparency and control can outperform generic third-party curation models.
Misconception 4: Curated Deals Eliminate Targeting Challenges
While curated deals often help refine targeting, they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
As privacy concerns grow and ID-free targeting becomes more common, achieving scale can be challenging. Souza suggests publishers strengthen partnerships and offer better audience solutions to support evolving buyer needs. For buyers, clear communication with clients about targeting limitations is critical to bridging gaps and ensuring realistic campaign expectations.
Here’s a sidenote: Publishers are describing curation as an ad network because it often adds a middleman who controls when and how their inventory is curated—sometimes with little say from the publisher.
Buyers, do me a favor and take that extra step to understand which media owners (or publishers, supply inventory owners) are included.
Misconception 5: Curated Deals Are Only for Premium Platforms
Curated deals are often associated with top-tier platforms like Hulu or Disney. While these are valuable, they’re not the only option.
Foote emphasizes the importance of multicultural inventory, citing sites like Blavity and The Root as examples of premium platforms catering to diverse audiences. These trusted voices deliver deep audience connections going beyond traditional “premium” placements.
During the PubForum conference in Scottsdale, Ana Milicevic, Principal and Co-Founder at Sparrow Digital Holdings challenged a room full of media owners and supply inventory partners to “go ahead and create your own 500+ list of premium inventory.”
So as buyers, I want to second that request: let us know what “premium” represents for you and what it means to reach your audience. We’re looking for niche and specialized audiences—like Discogs offering contextual relevance as a music marketplace where consumers upload/listen/sell their own music. What an interesting concept!
Another specialized audience that could be a good candidate for a curated deal or direct partnership? PetScreening. Did you know they have a truly verified audience of pet owners and their specific dog breeds? This can be a valuable audience for real estate, tourism, leisure, or related brands.
Closing the Gap Between Misconceptions and Reality
Curated deals are not inherently better or worse than standard PMPs—they are tools that must be used correctly. Buyers and sellers can get the most out of them by:
- Being open-minded and picking up the phone: Traders and buyers, go ahead and bypass the partners and go straight to the source. We now know this doesn’t create any additional steps for activation, aside from taking the initial call.
- Improving setup processes: Align teams early to streamline activation.
- Focusing on data-driven performance: Evaluate results and refine strategies based on outcomes.
- Exploring in-house curation: Gain control and transparency by curating inventory directly, by understanding what’s under the hood (for real life!)
- Embracing niche opportunities: Don’t overlook the value of partnering directly with multicultural partners and or to reach niche inventory.
- Adapting to privacy challenges: Work with partners to scale ID-free targeting effectively.