“If we don’t work with 25 SSPs [supply-side platforms], we would take a very significant revenue hit,” Li said, noting that Mediavine has taken several steps to make their programmatic strategy more efficient, like running ads server-to-server.

Unwind Media has reduced its ad requests to SSPs by 50% by pruning inefficient pathways, said Emry Downinghall, svp of programmatic revenue and strategy at the casual gaming publisher. Now, inventory performs better without an impact on revenue, Downinghall said.

“We have so much recognition of things that publishers do wrong,” he said. “If you put that energy into recognizing publishers that are making the right decisions, that are creating more value and incentives, you will create massive adoption.”

Buy-side adoption is low

Green private marketplaces and measurement tools from adtech firms like Scope3 help brands buy media more sustainably, but execs at DSPs have not seen overwhelming adoption of these solutions.

About 10% of ad spend on Viant’s DSP goes through its incentives program, which offers renewable energy credits for media spend, said John LoPresto, director of brand marketing at the company.

Brands can address sustainability in media head-on by deploying the right stakeholders internally to own the task, said Ariel Deitz, vice president of adtech enterprise partnerships at Nexxen.